Video: A Known Stropping Trick for Beginners

Hey Guys,

Recently I have been seeing a lot of posts regarding razors not quite being "shave-ready" from reputable honers.

I felt the same way when I started. Some time later I realized that "I" was the actually problem. Besides a lack of experience with shaving technique I was improperly stropping my razors thus creating the dreaded "rolled edge" . My razors never had a chance to be successful.

I created a video with a known trick you can do with a hanging strop to help prevent any rolled edges. Although I highly recommend a bench strop for most beginners (and everyone for that matter) this technique works and will save you some cash.

Happy Shaving Guys

 

Is the razor just laying flat on the strop?

 

Yes for the most part. It was a little difficult to see with the camera in from of the strop

 

Cool, I will try this tomorrow night. Thanks for the video!

 

Lead with the spine and go slowly.

Sometimes I resort to this method because I get a little too comfortable when stropping and make a mistake.

 

Will do. Tomorrow is my first ever full SR shave, I've only done cheeks before, so I imagine anything will be helpful to the success of this

 

Here is a video my my mug!!

You can pm me tomorrow before you go for it if you need some advice

Good luck!

 

Thank you!

 

I never found bench strops highly effective. Stropping can have incredible effect on an edge, but that does not come with baby stropping. To quote a respected craftsman "strop it like it stole something". I think many never really learn the effectiveness of linen, hemp and leather and resort to pastes and sprays. Linen or hemp which under a microscope looks very similar can enhance, recover, smooth and add character to an edge. But, it takes some effort. Rolling an edge is not that easy to do and I think that fear scares many beginners incorrectly away from the hanging strop. You can make an amazing hemp strop for a couple of dollars that will add something new to your stropping. After washing and rolling they are pliable and easy to use while incredibly effective. I like the 2.5 inch herringbone. I also use a Kanayama canvas but it is much stiffer and could more easily hurt an edge. Used properly it provide amazing results.

http://www.hempbasics.com/shop/inde...ref=6060&sid=120k0el1052r06212nq633d9z4kvsz6j

 

Great tip! Thanks.

Subscribed for future reference.

Oh, and the first vid needs more cow bell.

 

Thanks for the link! I'm going to order a few pieces and try them out.

For newbies I would recommend waiting a bit before "stropping like they stole it" because lack of of experience can lead to torn strops.

I have seen some choose to use linen and choose not to. It all depends what works for you.

 

Great info! Someday if I can find my nerve I will give my SR another try..

 

Folding the Edge

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/folding-the-edge.37594/#post-667125

 

Thanks Glen!

I forgot about this thread. A lot of useful information in this one

 

I agree that honing/stropping doesn't involve magical skills but it does require practice and patience.

Aggressively stropping a razor leading with the spine may not do any damage at all, but if your new to it chances are you may lift that spine up and the raise the possibility of a damaged edge or strop.

Guess what I was trying to accomplish with this video was a way to learn the fundamentals on how to strop a razor in a easier more foul proof way.

 

Yes, slow down and be careful as you develop your skill whether you use a hanging strop or a paddle. Maybe take a butter knife out of the kitchen drawer and practice until you are comfortable. But just strop, strop, strop.

And if you want to learn to hone, then hone in the morning, hone before lunch, hone after lunch, hone before dinner and hone before bed. It takes time and practice. I used to shave two and three times a day to test the honing I had just done. I get that everyone does not want to learn to hone, but I am here to encourage people to become self sufficient in the most cost effective way.

 

You did exactly that, this is exactly what we teach at the meet ups to the new guys, it is a well proved effective teaching tool..
Starting with a hanging stop stretched along the edge of a counter or a table or using a bench strop works very well to teach the flip, see stropping is all about control and muscle memory... After you develop the flip and the movement then you can learn how to get more out of stropping

there are basically 3 stages of learning to strop correctly

#1 Learning the mechanics while trying not to damage the edge

#2 Not damaging the edge or the leather with your stropping

#3 Actually improving the edge with your stropping

Trying to jump ahead in that learning curve does nothing good
What you showed works and works well as a learning exercise

 

This is extremely useful. I'll be copying this video link for people that ask! Teaches to slow down, and concentrate, which is a beginner's key.

Thanks!

 

Mods, can a link for this thread be added to the Master Straight Razor sticky?

 

Thanks for the vid! It seems like the motto of all things SR is "slow and steady wins the race."