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Starting to worry about my stopping technique

I’m starting to get worried about my stopping technique. I’ve done my 105th SR shave, so I’ve stopped a lot. I know that one can round the edge of the blade. What is it that a person does that results in a dulling of the blade when stropping?
 
I suspect that you are referring to folding the edge as a result of applying too much pressure. I share your concern about stropping. I feel that my technique is not consistent enough, so I am trying to go back and focus on fundamentals.

In Honing Razors and Nihonkamisori*, Iwasaki says:

"When you strop, if the strop bends around the edge of the razor (see fig. 1) then you will quickly start to see a convex bevel, and the edge won't stay keen for long. If the strop bends around the spine (fig. 2) then the bevel will be moving on a flat plane, and you will make a sharp edge."

I will be curious to hear what others have to say. Meanwhile, you might want to watch some videos to find some examples that you like and can use for inspiration.

*I don't think I can provide a link to another shave site, but you should be able to find by searching.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I keep my strop reasonably tight when stropping and strop with just the weight of the blade. There is no noticeable deflection in the strop when I stop.

The main thing to watch out for when stropping is that there is no deflection of the strop at the blade's edge. That is what can tend to dull the edge. How you achieve that is up to you. There are a few different ways. I am use to my way and it works for me.
 
I just rewatched:


and learned that I do better when I
  1. Keep the strop closer to parallel to the ground, and
  2. Focus on keeping the spine on the leather
Just practicing keeping the spine on the leather and playing with lowering the edge onto the leather helped me better understand the movement.
 
“What is it that a person does that results in a dulling of the blade when stropping?”

Too much downward pressure, causing the strop to roll over the edge and curl the super thin fin and “roll” the edge.

The spine is not kept flat on the strop and the edge is rolled. The spine should never leave the strop

The edge is slammed into the strop at the flip, the flip should be smooth and ease the blade onto the strop. Again, the spine never leaves the strop.

Practice the flip by holding the tang by the corners, not the flats. This will allow you to control the flip with your thumb, like flipping a switch. The opposite corner bites into the index finger.

The strop should be taught, it does not need to be excessively tight or loose.

The strop is dirty. Make it a practice to wipe the razor with a damp towel after shaving to remove soap, blood, beard hair and dirt removed from the face or hand when rubbed on the strop. Then wipe the edge on a clean dry towel and do a few laps on linen to clean the bevel and straighten the edge.

Before you strop, wipe your leather strop with a damp towel or microfiber to remove airborne dust that has fallen on the strop overnight.

Always strop on linen before leather to clean the razor so you are not bringing soap, blood, hair, dirt and rust onto your leather strop. If the razor is not cleaned and thoroughly dried before being put away after the shave, the edge will rust over night, how much depends on how clean the bevel was and the condition of the edge, a more polished bevel will hold less dirt and moisture.

The trick that is difficult to learn is, how much pressure to use and how much is too much. Less pressure and more laps, better than more pressure. Remember you are trying to polish and straighten the edge and that the edge is so thin, it can only be seen under high magnification.

It does not take much to bend or break the edge.
 
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