how to tell if you're stropping right?

[Gregny2002]

Hi everyone. I just was wondering if there is any way to tell if your razor is stropped properly, short of using it. I'm new to straight razors and stropping, and I'm concerned that I may not be doing it right, although I'm following the instructions in the newb guide as well as I can.

Here's a question that may or may not sound a little silly; when I strop my razor, which is full hollow, it sings. As in, it makes the classic 'sharp razor sound' (SSHHHHIIINK). Does that sound about right?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lamontqsanford]

A full hollow will sing a little, more sore than a 1/2 etc, but it shouldn't be too loud. Just make sure that you use no pressure. Another good tip is to practice, if you are using a hanging strop, on a table. Go slow at first to learn the muscle memory.

 

[Alacrity59]

A full hollow will sing a little, more sore than a 1/2 etc, but it shouldn't be too loud. Just make sure that you use no pressure. Another good tip is to practice, if you are using a hanging strop, on a table. Go slow at first to learn the muscle memory.

I'll add to this . . . I read advise like this . . . many many times. When it got down to doing it I still wanted to "make things happen" . . . so I pushed down to hear things happen. It was totally wrong to push down. The edge of a razor is a delicate thing. Just the weight of the blade will do very well . . . you may or may not hear a lot.

Mike

 

[Gregny2002]

Thanks. I actually struggled a bit to find a place in my house- any place- where I could attach the strop to. Eventually, I attached it to the handle on the side of my bed and that worked out very well. I considered putting it on a table but I wasn't sure if having the strop supported from underneath would cause too much pressure on the blade, but I'll try it like that next time.

 

[Gregny2002]

I'll add to this . . . I read advise like this . . . many many times. When it got down to doing it I still wanted to "make things happen" . . . so I pushed down to hear things happen. It was totally wrong to push down. The edge of a razor is a delicate thing. Just the weight of the blade will do very well . . . you may or may not hear a lot.

Mike

Hey,

I was actually concerned that the 'singing' was TOO loud, I was afraid that I was putting too much pressure on it. Looks like I'm going in the right direction, though, hah.

 

[lamontqsanford]

Thanks. I actually struggled a bit to find a place in my house- any place- where I could attach the strop to. Eventually, I attached it to the handle on the side of my bed and that worked out very well. I considered putting it on a table but I wasn't sure if having the strop supported from underneath would cause too much pressure on the blade, but I'll try it like that next time.

It won't cause too much pressure from the under side. It is basically the same theory as a paddle strop and those have been around for ages. I should add that you should try to use a heavy book or something to get it up off the table a bit. You need to have it up a little so you have a surface to work with.

 

[huntmol]

Hm, this is a good question - how do you know when you've perfected your stropping technique?

I think that one easy way to tell is that you'll stop putting little nicks in your strops. I had a beginner strop that had tons of small nicks at the top and bottom where poor technique caused me to put the blade down on the leather without first beginning the stropping motion. I've been doing this for about two years now, and haven't nicked a strop in any way in more than a year. *knock on wood*

Some people will say speed, but I think that stropping too fast isn't necessarily good stropping technique. Remember - go fast on the straights, but slow down in the corners.

 

[bluemantra]

I'm a beginner as well and I'm just about ready to start. I've been doing a lot of reading and research as well and one thing that I was curious about is whether speed matters? I planned on starting out very slowly to develop correct technique and then slowly build up speed. Will going slow do harm?

 

[gull]

As a fellow newbie, I know strop pressure is a hard thing to grasp. My advice is to use as little pressure possible, but make sure the spine doesn't lift off the strop. As long as the spine doesn't lift off, you're good.

If you use too much pressure, your blade will still make a hissing sound, but you'll be rolling over the edge. Don't rely on sound alone.

 

[dakotaev]

Every razor I own sounds a bit different on the strop, some sing, some hiss, and the big wedges hardly make any noise at all, You'll probably rely more on a combination of sound, feel and other slight senses later on as you do it more often.

 

[Drybonz]

Hmm... I have been using very little pressure when I strop, but after reading this thread, now I wonder if I'm using too much anyway.

 

[Woodash]

How do you tell if you're stropping right?

Edge gets better.