Difference between revisions of "Razor stropping"

Revision as of 18:36, 25 April 2009

Background

Stropping is a necessary and important part of straight shaving. Every time a straight razor's cutting edge touches your face you can feel the results of your last stropping and whether or not the results are consistent. The purpose of this article is to help explain why stropping is important and how to achieve good, consistent results from stropping.

Stropping is straightforward though and not terribly difficult; anyone who can shave with a straight razor should be able to properly strop their own razors. Good stropping will help keep a razor shave ready longer before it needs to be resharpened on a hone. There are different kinds of strops and pastes that can be applied to strops for the purposes of helping keep a razor sharper longer. If you find that your razor dulls after just a few shaves, you may want to examine your stropping technique as a good strop should keep a good razor sharp for many shaves. You may also want to examine your strop and make sure it is in usable condition. Strops need to be properly maintained in order to achieve optimum results.

Nothing mentioned in this text is set in stone. We are human beings and our needs, habits, personal interests and many other things are so varied from each other that you can be free to trust your learning abilities and see what works best for you.

Why proper stropping is essential

Jack La Lanne has a saying, "Exercise is king, nutrition is queen, put them together and you have a kingdom!"^[1] Along the same lines "stropping is king, honing is queen."^[2] Good honing and good stropping are both absolutely necessary for a good straight razor shave, but even a perfectly honed razor by the best expert will not make up for poor stropping technique.

Stropping helps keep a fine, shaving edge on a razor. The most commonly held understanding^[3] ^[4] is that stropping knocks oxidation off a razor's edge, removes some metal from it, and realigns it.

Ergonomics

There are two basic considerations to make when stropping: How the strop will be secured in place and how the user will perform the stropping motions.

If these considerations are solid then stropping technique will be learned much more easily. It is important to make sure everything is in place and ready before beginning to strop.

Muscle memory is a factor in stropping. Therefore it is difficult to correct poor technique, and is worth it to take time and effort to learn it correctly from the start. Regarding muscle memory in martial arts there is a saying that one needs a thousand repetitions to learn something the right way but ten thousand repetitions to correct having learned it the wrong way.

Securing a strop

Be sure that your strop is properly secured to a stable, non-moving point i.e. not a door handle, arm of a chair, back rest of a chair, etc. (unless you have bolted or anchored it but I dare to doubt it). Pull the strop and make sure the attached end is stationary. If it moves around you will not achieve good results.

One exception for this is when traveling where you must use a paddle strop or attach your hanging strop to something less secure. It is wise to learn to strop on a steadied paddle first before attempting to hold it freehand while stropping.

Try to secure the strop at a height which will let your hands and body strop comfortably. You should not have to tense up in order to hold the strop or strop the razor. It is much easier to strop with proper technique if you are relaxed.

Surroundings

Find a peaceful place to do your stropping. You have a sharp edge in your hands and there is no point to put others in danger. While you're familiar with sharp edges, many people are scared them. And you may not be able to relax if there are kids or pets running around while you're trying to strop.

Basic strop handling

How to hold the strop

Many hanging strops have a leather handle or d-ring on the non-secured end which can be firmly held to get a good grip. Strops that do not have any such attachments need to be held firmly with one's palm several inches up from the end of the strop. Do not squeeze too hard: if your knuckles turn white it might be time to release a little bit of pressure.

How to hold the razor

Open the razor's handle a full 180 degrees so that it's easier to roll the razor around. Take the tang between your thumb and forefinger. Find the best point to hold the razor so that it will freely flip from side to side. If you have a poor and uncomfortable grip, it slows your stropping speed and you will constantly be trying to compensate for it.

Tighten the strop

Pull the strop until it is a taut. It doesn't have to be overly taut, but it avoids further problems if the strop is held tightly in a straight line. Make sure that you orient the strop in such a way as to provide a flat, non angled surface for the razor to travel down.

Watch your wrist angles, and see how your hands move during stropping to prevent unnecessary twisting.

Loading the blade pressure

Neither too much nor not too little. That is as precise a description as you will get.

Tensioning the strop and loading the pressure of the blade against the strop go hand in hand. This can only really be learned by doing and testing. Then doing and testing again... and then again... and again. I think you get the point. I suggest that you start with a comfortable yet firm tension and very light pressure of the blade against the strop. It is natural to load too much pressure instead of too little. This is especially important to remember when stropping full hollow ground razors which are more flexible than wedges.

Toe leading

With a narrow strop I find it best to strop so that the tip of the razor leads in the motion of an X pattern. It might be a must to get the whole blade stropped properly. A toe leading keeps the blade against the strop better due to reversed forces of left and right hand.

Tip leading

Stropping issues

Improper stropping can cause a properly sharpened razor to feel duller and/or rougher than it should during the shave. Issues resulting from poor stropping include the following:

Uneven feel across the razor's edge - caused by the razor not making good, even contact with the strop throughout the stropping stroke
A rolled edge - caused by bending the razor's edge against the strop with such force that the strop begins to bend the fine edge of the razor away from the blade
An increasingly dull, harsh edge - caused by the razor not making enough good contact with the strop (eg. very slow stropping, stropping too infrequently or too few times across the strop)

Simply returning to good stropping is often enough to correct these issues. However if damage caused by poor stropping is severe enough, the razor will have to be repaired and/or resharpened.

Uneven feel

Uneven edge

Razor is not making a good, even contact with the strop through the stropping stroke.

Some parts of blade will be stropped and others will not.

The first thing to check for is that your strop hand is not leaning the strop too much to the left or right side during the stropping motion.

The second possible cause is that your blade hand might be leaning too much to the left or right side during the stropping motion

Rolled edge

Bending the razor's edge against the strop with such force that the strop begins to bend the fine edge of the razor away from the blade.

This can be caused by pressing the blade against the strop too hard.

This can also be caused by flipped the razor over on its cutting edge at the end of a stroke instead of flipping it over on its spine

Timing and contact problems

Razor is not making enough good contact with the strop.

First reason for that might be that the stropping motion is too slow. You can start with slow motion to get the feeling but after that you must add the speed. But it does not need to be a speed contest. Check out the good videos.

Secondly your stropping speed may be too inconsistent. If you start with low speed increase the speed steadily to keep the feeling. There are more speeds than too fast and too slow.

Lastly you might not be stropping enough. Check out section 5 to avoid this.

Common mistakes

Sloppy rolling/flipping: When concentrating on your stroke up and down the strop, you might lose your technique, especially when flipping the razor at the end of each stroke. You may actually end up fumbling around by manually changing your grip on the razor at the end of each stroke, thereby affecting the consistency of your speed and blade angle. Whether your roll, or flip, the razor with your thumb or wrist, just make sure it supports a smooth, and consistent stroke. Doing it correctly might actually feel a bit unnatural at first, but it is essential. We recommend that you practice the flip with the razor in mid-air, and move to a practice strop. You may cut your strop occasionally while learning, unless you have way better hand/eye coordination than most beginners. We recommend that you learn on a cheap strop and watch some member stropping videos.

Excessive slowness: Excessive slowness in the stroke is considered even more counter-productive than too much pressure. For most, a light stroke is much easier to learn than a solid, confident, quick stroke. Many beginners stroked lightly and incorrectly for months, because they were too slow and inconsistent. You do not have to strop in a blur to be effective, but as a general rule, 40 - 60 light strokes per minute gets you much farther and sharper than 10 - 30 strokes per minute.^[5]

Using your senses

Hearing

As you are stropping, collect all the sensual information you can in order to learn more quickly and reach better results. You can hear different things when stropping. Here are two examples

Uneven sound Uneven contact, you don't want to hear this

Proper sound Proper contact, this is real music to your ears.

Seeing

Watch your strop and blade during stropping and find out if they lean too much to one side or the other.

Feeling

The strop and blade give you a lot of feedback during stropping. If you're not pulling the hanging strop too tightly you can get a better feel for how the stropping is going.

Other things to mention

Different steels can vary your stropping times and strokes a lot. Harder steels naturally need to be stropped more often than softer ones. The best thing to do is to simply strop, shave, and see if you are satisfied with the results.
Different blade widths produce different feels.
Different grinds also make an impact. A near wedge is stiffer than a full hollow which can suffer a rolled edge more easily.
Different leathers: A latigo strop gives more feedback and draw than smoother horse hide.
As if this is not enough there are also pasted strops and newspaper stropping.

Here are many things to take care of but don't be scared. It isn't hard. Be patient and do not rush yourself too much. There is still so much to learn.

Have fun & enjoy

Stropping demonstration videos


SRP member Seraphim^[6] demonstrates the sights and sounds of good stropping. They are the result of much practice.	Instructional straight razor stropping video

References

Acknowledgements

Originally created by TonyJ on 22:37, 23 December 2008 (UTC). He would like to point special thanks to Robin who inspired him to write this.

[1] ttp://www.jacklalanne.com/mission.html

[2] ttp://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/8864-stropping-king.html

[3] ttp://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/06/02/wonder-photos-reveal-unsuspected-facts-about-razor-blades-and-shaving

[4] ttp://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/22461-interesting-article.html

[5] Taken from FatboySlim's post: http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/32667-common-stropping-mistakes.html#post339770

[6] ttp://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/members/seraphim.html

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-This article is meant to help to understand what happens during stropping and how different aspects affecting to the stropping result.  The stropping is a necessary and important part of straight shaving.  Every time the edge touches your face you can feel the result of your stropping and it is different each time.
+== Background ==
+Stropping is a necessary and important part of straight shaving.  Every time a straight razor's cutting edge touches your face you can feel the results of your last stropping and whether or not the results are consistent.  The purpose of this article is to help explain why stropping is important and how to achieve good, consistent results from stropping.
 Stropping is straightforward though and not terribly difficult; anyone who can shave with a straight razor should be able to properly strop their own razors.  Good stropping will help keep a razor shave ready longer before it needs to be resharpened on a hone.  There are different kinds of strops and pastes that can be applied to strops for the purposes of helping keep a razor sharper longer.  If you find that your razor dulls after just a few shaves, you may want to examine your stropping technique as a good strop should keep a good razor sharp for many shaves.  You may also want to examine your strop and make sure it is in usable condition.  [[Strop treatment|Strops need to be properly maintained]] in order to achieve optimum results.
-Everything mentioned in this text is not set in stone. We are human beings and our needs, habits, personal interests and many other things are so individual that you can thrust your learning abilities and see what forks best for you.
+Nothing mentioned in this text is set in stone. We are human beings and our needs, habits, personal interests and many other things are so varied from each other that you can be free to trust your learning abilities and see what works best for you.
 == Why proper stropping is essential ==
 Jack La Lanne has a saying, "Exercise is king, nutrition is queen, put them together and you have a kingdom!"<ref>http://www.jacklalanne.com/mission.html</ref>  Along the same lines "stropping is king, honing is queen."<ref>http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/8864-stropping-king.html</ref> Good honing and good stropping are both absolutely necessary for a good straight razor shave, but even a perfectly honed razor by the best expert will not make up for poor stropping technique.
-Stropping is what puts the final fine edge on the razor. There is an abundance of wrong information of what stropping actually does, and a lot of it is just legacy from not understanding the process and wrong hypotheses about it.
+Stropping helps keep a fine, shaving edge on a razor.  The most commonly held understanding<ref>http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/06/02/wonder-photos-reveal-unsuspected-facts-about-razor-blades-and-shaving</ref> <ref>http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/22461-interesting-article.html</ref> is that stropping knocks oxidation off a razor's edge, removes some metal from it, and realigns it.
-The current consensus <ref>http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/06/02/wonder-photos-reveal-unsuspected-facts-about-razor-blades-and-shaving</ref> <ref>http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/22461-interesting-article.html</ref> is that the stropping knocks off oxidation on the edge, removes a bit of metal to add sharpness and realigns the edge back into a straight line.
 == Ergonomics ==
-There are two basements where to start. The first one is strop and seizing and the second is yourself and the way how you handle strop and razor.
+There are two basic considerations to make when stropping: How the strop will be secured in place and how the user will perform the stropping motions.
-If these basements are stable you can start to build your stropping technique much easier and just to focus in the important part of action.
+If these considerations are solid then stropping technique will be learned much more easily.  It is important to make sure everything is in place and ready before beginning to strop.
-Your muscle memory storages your learnings and believe me it's much harder to learn out the wrong technique that doing it right. My other interest lies on the martial art section where this memory thing appears so clearly. There is also a saying the one needs a 1000 repeats to learn and 10000 repeats to learn it away.
+Muscle memory is a factor in stropping.  Therefore it is difficult to correct poor technique, and is worth it to take  time and effort to learn it correctly from the start.  Regarding muscle memory in martial arts there is a saying that one needs a thousand repetitions to learn something the right way but ten thousand repetitions to correct having learned it the wrong way.
-=== Seizing point ===
+=== Securing a strop ===
-Be sure that your strop is properly seized to the stable non moving point. The stable point is not a door handle, arm of the chair, back rest of the chair etc (unless you have bolted or anchored it but I dare to doubt about it). You have to pull the strop and if it moves all the time in each stroke you can be sure that the result is not best.
+Be sure that your strop is properly secured to a stable, non-moving point i.e. not a door handle, arm of a chair, back rest of a chair, etc. (unless you have bolted or anchored it but I dare to doubt it).  Pull the strop and make sure the attached end is stationary.  If it moves around you will not achieve good results.
-One exception for this is travelling where you must use paddle strop or things mentioned above. With paddle strops I think it's wise to steady the paddle at first and after learning hold it in the air during stropping if you like.
+One exception for this is when traveling where you must use a paddle strop or attach your hanging strop to something less secure. It is wise to learn to strop on a steadied paddle first before attempting to hold it freehand while stropping.
-=== Seizing height ===
+Try to secure the strop at a height which will let your hands and body strop comfortably. You should not have to tense up in order to hold the strop or strop the razor.  It is much easier to strop with proper technique if you are relaxed.
-Try to get the strop to the level which is most comfortable for your hands and body. You should not get any tensioning by holding the strop or during action. You can do stropping much easier and focus again only for your proper technique if you feel relaxed.
 === Surroundings ===
-Find a peaceful place to do your stropping. You have a sharp edge in your hands and there is no point to set others in danger. While you're familiar with sharp edges many people scared them. You can't either relax if kids and/or pets run around you at the same time.
+Find a peaceful place to do your stropping. You have a sharp edge in your hands and there is no point to put others in danger. While you're familiar with sharp edges, many people are scared them.  And you may not be able to relax if there are kids or pets running around while you're trying to strop.
 == Basic strop handling ==
 === How to hold the strop ===
-Most strops have a leather handle or d-ring where do you get a good and secure grip. If it's just a plain straight leather grab it deep inside in to your palm and hold firmly. Do not squeeze it too hard and if your knuckles turn into white it might be time to release a little bit.
+Many hanging strops have a leather handle or d-ring on the non-secured end which can be firmly held to get a good grip.  Strops that do not have any such attachments need to be held firmly with one's palm several inches up from the end of the strop. Do not squeeze too hard: if your knuckles turn white it might be time to release a little bit of pressure.
 === How to hold the razor ===
-Open the handle totally as it's easier to roll the razor around this way. Take the tang between your thumb and forefinger. Find a best point to hold razor with flipping it side by side. If you have a bad and uncomfortable grip it slows your stropping speed and you must correct it all the time.
+Open the razor's handle a full 180 degrees so that it's easier to roll the razor around. Take the tang between your thumb and forefinger. Find the best point to hold the razor so that it will freely flip from side to side. If you have a poor and uncomfortable grip, it slows your stropping speed and you will constantly be trying to compensate for it.
 === Tighten the strop ===
-Pull it until it is a taut. It doesn't have to be overly taut but I think it avoids further problems if you keep the strop in line. Watch out that the strop does not lean too much in any side.
+Pull the strop until it is a taut. It doesn't have to be overly taut, but it avoids further problems if the strop is held tightly in a straight line. Make sure that you orient the strop in such a way as to provide a flat, non angled surface for the razor to travel down.
-Watch out your wrist angles and see how your hands move during stropping to prevent unnecessary leaning.
+Watch your wrist angles, and see how your hands move during stropping to prevent unnecessary twisting.
 === Loading the blade pressure ===
 Neither too much nor not too little. That is as precise a description as you will get.
-Tensioning the strop and loading the pressure goes hand by hand and I think that these parts are the things what you learn absolutely by doing and testing. Then again doing and testing... and then again doing.....I think you get the point. I suggest that you start with the comfortable and firm tension and very light blade pressure. It is a nature to load too much pressure instead of too less one. This appears especially with full hollow blades which are more flexible than near wedges.
+Tensioning the strop and loading the pressure of the blade against the strop go hand in hand.  This can only really be learned by doing and testing. Then doing and testing again... and then again... and again.  I think you get the point. I suggest that you start with a comfortable yet firm tension and very light pressure of the blade against the strop. It is natural to load too much pressure instead of too little. This is especially important to remember when stropping full hollow ground razors which are more flexible than wedges.
-=== Tip leading ===
+=== Toe leading ===
-With narrow strop is easier ( for me) to strop the way where tip leads and with motion of X pattern. It might be also a must to get the whole blade stropped properly. Tip leading keeps the blade better against the strop due to reversed forces of left and right hand.
+With a narrow strop I find it best to strop so that the tip of the razor leads in the motion of an X pattern. It might be a must to get the whole blade stropped properly. A toe leading keeps the blade against the strop better due to reversed forces of left and right hand.
 [[Image:Tip_leading.png|thumb|200px|Tip leading]]
-== Stropping problems ==
+== Stropping issues ==
+Improper stropping can cause a properly sharpened razor to feel duller and/or rougher than it should during the shave.  Issues resulting from poor stropping include the following:
-Improper stropping can cause a properly sharpened razor to feel duller and / or rougher than it should during the shave.  Issues resulting from poor stropping include the following:
 * Uneven feel across the razor's edge - caused by the razor not making good, even contact with the strop throughout the stropping stroke
 * A rolled edge - caused by bending the razor's edge against the strop with such force that the strop begins to bend the fine edge of the razor away from the blade
@@ Line 63: / Line 61: @@
 Razor is not making a good, even contact with the strop through the stropping stroke.
-Some parts of blade is stropped and others is not.
+Some parts of blade will be stropped and others will not.
-First reason for this is that your strop hand might lean the strop too much to the left or right side during stropping motion.
+The first thing to check for is that your strop hand is not leaning the strop too much to the left or right side during the stropping motion.
-Second reason is that your blade hand might lean too much instead of first reason.
+The second possible cause is that your blade hand might be leaning too much to the left or right side during the stropping motion
 === Rolled edge ===
@@ Line 73: / Line 71: @@
 Bending the razor's edge against the strop with such force that the strop begins to bend the fine edge of the razor away from the blade.
-First you might load too much pressure on to your blade.
+This can be caused by pressing the blade against the strop too hard.
-Second one is that you might roll the edge by it's axle during stropping motion
+This can also be caused by flipped the razor over on its cutting edge at the end of a stroke instead of flipping it over on its spine
 === Timing and contact problems ===
@@ Line 81: / Line 79: @@
 Razor is not making enough good contact with the strop.
-First reason for that might be that too slow stropping motion. You can start with slow motion to get the feeling but after that you must add the speed. Not anyway like in a speed contest. Check out the good videos.
+First reason for that might be that the stropping motion is too slow. You can start with slow motion to get the feeling but after that you must add the speed. But it does not need to be a speed contest. Check out the good videos.
-Secondly you might do a stropping too infrequently. If you start with low speed increase the speed steadily to keep the feeling. You can't neither drive your car only with an idle and full throttle.
+Secondly your stropping speed may be too inconsistent. If you start with low speed increase the speed steadily to keep the feeling. There are more speeds than too fast and too slow.
-Third option might be that you don't do enough stropping. Check out section 5 to avoid this.
+Lastly you might not be stropping enough. Check out section 5 to avoid this.
 == Common mistakes ==
-; Sloppy rolling/flipping : When concentrating on your stroke up and down the strop, you might lose your technique, especially when flipping the razor at the end of each stroke. You may actually end up fumbling around by manually changing your grip on the razor at the end of each stroke, thereby affecting the consistency of your speed and blade angle. Whether your roll, or flip, the razor with your thumb or wrist, as long as it supports a smooth, and ''consistent'' stroke. Doing it correctly might actually feel a bit unnatural at first, but it is essential. We recommend that you practice the flip with the razor in mid-air, and move to a practice strop. You will most likely cut your strop while learning, unless you have way better hand/eye coordination than most beginners. We recommend that you learn on a cheap strop, and watch some [[Razor_stropping#Stropping_demonstration_videos|member stropping videos]].
+; Sloppy rolling/flipping : When concentrating on your stroke up and down the strop, you might lose your technique, especially when flipping the razor at the end of each stroke. You may actually end up fumbling around by manually changing your grip on the razor at the end of each stroke, thereby affecting the consistency of your speed and blade angle. Whether your roll, or flip, the razor with your thumb or wrist, just make sure it supports a smooth, and ''consistent'' stroke. Doing it correctly might actually feel a bit unnatural at first, but it is essential. We recommend that you practice the flip with the razor in mid-air, and move to a practice strop. You may cut your strop occasionally while learning, unless you have way better hand/eye coordination than most beginners. We recommend that you learn on a cheap strop and watch some [[Razor_stropping#Stropping_demonstration_videos|member stropping videos]].
 ; Excessive slowness : Excessive slowness in the stroke is considered even more counter-productive than too much pressure. For most, a light stroke is much easier to learn than a solid, confident, quick stroke. Many beginners stroked lightly and incorrectly for months, because they were too slow and inconsistent. You do not have to strop in a blur to be effective, but as a general rule, 40 - 60 light strokes per minute gets you much farther and sharper than 10 - 30 strokes per minute.<ref>Taken from [http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/members/fatboyslim.html FatboySlim]'s post: http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/strops/32667-common-stropping-mistakes.html#post339770</ref>
@@ Line 95: / Line 93: @@
 == Using your senses ==
 === Hearing ===
-Same time when stropping collect all information what you can get to learn faster and reach better results. You can hear different voices. Here are two samples to get the idea
+As you are stropping, collect all the sensual information you can in order to learn more quickly and reach better results. You can hear different things when stropping. Here are two examples
 [[media:Uneven.mp3|<big>Uneven sound</big>]]
@@ Line 104: / Line 102: @@
 === Seeing ===
-Watch your strop and blade during stropping and find out if they lean too much.
+Watch your strop and blade during stropping and find out if they lean too much to one side or the other.
 === Feeling ===
-The strop and blade gives you a lot of feedback during stropping. If you're not tensioning too much you can better get these feelings how the stropping goes.
+The strop and blade give you a lot of feedback during stropping. If you're not pulling the hanging strop too tightly you can get a better feel for how the stropping is going.
 == Other things to mention ==
-* Different steels can vary your stropping times and strokes a lot. Harder ones needs naturally more to go than softer ones. The best thing is to strop and test/shave.
+* Different steels can vary your stropping times and strokes a lot.  Harder steels naturally need to be stropped more often than softer ones. The best thing to do is to simply strop, shave, and see if you are satisfied with the results.
-* Different blade widths gives you a different feelings.
+* Different blade widths produce different feels.
-* Grounds is in there too. Near wedge is stiffer than full hollow which pops up the rolled edge quite easily.
+* Different grinds also make an impact. A near wedge is stiffer than a full hollow which can suffer a rolled edge more easily.
-* Latigo strop gives more feedback and draw than smoother horse hide.
+* Different leathers: A latigo strop gives more feedback and draw than smoother horse hide.
-* As this is not enough there are also pasted strops and newspaper stropping.
+* As if this is not enough there are also pasted strops and newspaper stropping.
 Here are many things to take care of but don't be scared. It isn't hard. Be patient and do not rush yourself too much. There is still so much to learn.