Questions About Stropping...

[Scissors]

I have two questions about stropping I should have asked before getting started with straights. I made some assumptions that may be damaging my blades. So here goes:

1. When one strops, should one always use the cloth (canvas, linen, whatever) and the leather, or only reserve the cloth for periodic use?
2. Stropping after shaving: is it beneficial, inconsequential, or destructive? Keep in mind that the before and after shave stroppings both use the cloth and leather strops.

As you can probably tell, I've been stropping before and after shaving using both the linen and leather (latigo) strops. Have I been damaging my blades? If so, should I just follow proper procedure (whatever it may be), or do I need to remediate my razors in some way? Thanks. :nervous_smile:

 

[Luc]

Here's my understanding on stropping, it might be wrong...

1.The canvas side is like a light honing... You can do it everytime before the leather side or just use the leather side and use the canvas side periodically. I always use both

2.I had the same question and from the given answers, it doesn't matter, many strop before and after.

I strop between shaves so my straights are always ready to use.

So, no I don't think you damaged your blades if you've been stropping properly

 

[JPM]

Here's my understanding on stropping, it might be wrong...

1.The canvas side is like a light honing... You can do it everytime before the leather side or just use the leather side and use the canvas side periodically. I always use both

2.I had the same question and from the given answers, it doesn't matter, many strop before and after.

I strop between shaves so my straights are always ready to use.

So, no I don't think you damaged your blades if you've been stropping properly

+1. I strop on both the linen and the leather before and after every shave. Seems to be keeping the blade plenty sharp enough to shave with.

 

[Chimensch]

I strop on the leather after the shave on the theory that it helps dry the blade.

 

[English]

I think that the linen / leather strop is totally misunderstood and I also think the modern strops are not appreciated in full.

I say linen / leather because today you have various grades of leather.

Split leather or linen or cotton or even hard pressed wool are all course strops which will clean and even refresh a tired edge. If you do this less than once a week (the time will vary dependant upon your beard and skill with a strop), it is usually necessary to add an abrasive spray or apply an abrasive paste to speed up the process. The paste or sprays turn your course strop into a very light hone. Each paste or spray has a distinctive feel to it which you either enjoy or continue to look for something more satisfying for your skin. The problem is that once a paste or spray has been applied, it is not really possible to reverse the effect without starting out again with a new strop. For this reason, it is best to try the light honing mediums on some cheap throwaway flat bed hone first to see if you like the effect or not.

The finest finishing strops are found in in high quality horse leather and from the rump of the animal.. The leather has a very fine surface and as with a hone, the finer the surface, the sharper the edge. Fine leather goes with fine hones.

Down the line you find various grades of bovine or cow leather.

To be honest all well prepared finishing strops from noteworthy suppliers will do a great job in finishing your razor for a daily shave.

Having said all this a fine grade horse hide (SHELL LEATHER) strop with a linen secondry strop is hard to beat. The problem is finding one.

I do not think you can buy one today other than finding a vintage strop.