Does it matter when you strop, or is it important to strop immediately before you shave? Could you strop after each shave and be good for the next morning?
Stropping
- Thread starter joto
- Start date
People get very confused about stropping.
It is simple really. All steels rust. Even between shaves on a daily basis. The process is chemical in that steel reacts with the moisture in the atmosphere to form rust. Needless to say the more moisture in the atmosphere, the worse the oxidation. Also if you oil the blade after use, the minimum oxidation will occur.
So the first thing is that a stropping removes rust. It is best to remove the rust using the linen or cotton strop. You will notice that the strop will darken and blacken over time. This is the rust deposting on the strop. I think linen is best for this job. Its rougher and lasts longer.
Secondly, the edge of the blade cuts the beard better if it has been stropped on a nice smooth flat piece of leather. Nobody understands why. But if you think of a razor edge as being a fine toothed saw, the leather aligns the teeth to perfection. I think that the finer the leather, the smoother the razor. You will find different guys talk about horse or cow or kangaroo being the best. In truth you need the best leather and finest leather you can find. Horse was preferred by barbors historically because it is tough and lasted the longest in the barbers shop. Tough doesn't mean smoothest or finest.
But generally speaking a good leather strop used before a shave really does put the icing on the cake.
I wouldn't use a razor without stropping immediately before use.
So cleaning and aligning the edge on linen and leather immediately before you shave makes for a smoother shave.
It is simple really. All steels rust. Even between shaves on a daily basis. The process is chemical in that steel reacts with the moisture in the atmosphere to form rust. Needless to say the more moisture in the atmosphere, the worse the oxidation. Also if you oil the blade after use, the minimum oxidation will occur.
So the first thing is that a stropping removes rust. It is best to remove the rust using the linen or cotton strop. You will notice that the strop will darken and blacken over time. This is the rust deposting on the strop. I think linen is best for this job. Its rougher and lasts longer.
Secondly, the edge of the blade cuts the beard better if it has been stropped on a nice smooth flat piece of leather. Nobody understands why. But if you think of a razor edge as being a fine toothed saw, the leather aligns the teeth to perfection. I think that the finer the leather, the smoother the razor. You will find different guys talk about horse or cow or kangaroo being the best. In truth you need the best leather and finest leather you can find. Horse was preferred by barbors historically because it is tough and lasted the longest in the barbers shop. Tough doesn't mean smoothest or finest.
But generally speaking a good leather strop used before a shave really does put the icing on the cake.
I wouldn't use a razor without stropping immediately before use.
So cleaning and aligning the edge on linen and leather immediately before you shave makes for a smoother shave.
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Lathering your face before you strop, gives the lather some more time to soften your beard. If you're trying to save time by stropping the night before, why don't you go to bed a little earlier and get up a little earlier. Straight shaving is not something to be rushed, but to be savored.
+1 To this.
Also, besides stropping right before the shave it is also important to "strop" lightly on a towel afterwards, followed by a few laps on the leather to thoroughly dry the blade.
- Thread starter
- #5
It's not really to save time- I'm just starting out, and it takes me a LONG time to shave with a straight. I'm getting some pretty good results, but the length of time I am taking is really killing the lather, and I'm trying to push as much prep as possible before the lathering up to extend the lather's useful lifespan. My lathering techniques are good enough I can get usable lather out of almost anything, and great lather out of my favorites, but it's dying in the brush with the amount of time I'm taking even to get to the second pass. For a 3 or 4 pass DE shave, no problems at all.
You strop after you make your lather?
Have you thought about stropping before you make the lather? It doesn't have to be immediately before the shave as in 10 seconds before. Just do it within an hour or two of your shave and I'm sure the oxidation bugs will not bite the blade that badly.
- Thread starter
- #7
You strop after you make your lather?
Have you thought about stropping before you make the lather? It doesn't have to be immediately before the shave as in 10 seconds before. Just do it within an hour or two of your shave and I'm sure the oxidation bugs will not bite the blade that badly.
No, but it was suggested above. What you suggest I am basically doing already. I was just curious about the physical ramifications of the timing of the stropping relative to the shave.
Stropping would be the first part of the process. The blade shouldn't deteriorate into a rusted mess within five minutes
.
Don't be shy about re-lathering whenever you feel the lather has dried/faded/whatever.
Sometimes I get carried away during the ATG/touchup pass and need to re-apply some lather before continuing.
Stropping would be the first part of the process. The blade shouldn't deteriorate into a rusted mess within five minutes
Unless its a Zeepk.
I usually strop between 2 shaves. I will use my straights and when I have 1 straight left in my rotation I do a stropping-marathon!
My two cents worth:
As a practical matter, I can't tell the difference between stropping right before shaving, and stropping the evening or afternoon before -- 8 to 16 hours prior to shaving.
My there's some microscopic difference, maybe there's a bit of oxidation on the blade by the time I actually shave. But not enough to matter.
As a practical matter, I can't tell the difference between stropping right before shaving, and stropping the evening or afternoon before -- 8 to 16 hours prior to shaving.
My there's some microscopic difference, maybe there's a bit of oxidation on the blade by the time I actually shave. But not enough to matter.
+1. The convention is to strop just before the shave for the reasons mentioned above. However, you can do it the night before, expecially if you try it and it works for you.
On occasions I have stropped several razors and taken them with me on a road trip. It worked great on one trip, and not so great on another. Go figure.
On occasions I have stropped several razors and taken them with me on a road trip. It worked great on one trip, and not so great on another. Go figure.
I usually strop 5 to 7 razors in advance, never really noticed any difference between the one used the next day and the one used after 7 days. If you keep them dry they hardly rust. if so the mid section between spine and cutting edge would become very rusty after a while as that part never touches the strop.
