Okay, help me avoid ruining my edge again (stropping tips?)

[gswearengin]

Hello everyone,

A while ago, I tried my brand new shave-ready straight for the first time and discovered that the blade was not sharp enough. Lots of people here have suggested that I may have ruined the edge in the very little bit of stropping I had done.

Anyway, the blade has now been made shave-ready once again, and I am both excited and scared to give it another try. But I don't want to do that until I am more confident that I won't destroy the edge again. Is a shave-ready edge really that delicate???

So, I have read the FAQ's, watched the YouTube videos, etc. etc. etc. I felt like I knew what I was doing going in, and I didn't feel like I did anything wrong or poorly during the process. So, needless to say, I am now feeling a little bit spooked about the whole stropping process.

Can any of you offer up any tips to help a n00b get more than 1 shave (actually significantly less than that!) between honings? :D

Thanks,

GS

[superbleu]

Was the razor stropped by whom ever honed it? If so you shouldn't have to hone it before you shave with it the first time.

Hard to know what if anything you are doing wrong. Can you post a video of you stropping?

And yes a honed edge is pretty delicate.

[MajorBurnz]

Just use it first without stropping. That will give you a baseline for how it's supposed to perform when it's sharp.

If the performance deteriorates quickly after your first shave, then it's most likely your stropping that's causing the edge to dull.

Depending on who honed it, the razor should be shave-ready as is (no stropping required). If you feel that it's not sharp on your first shave, then it's most likely your technique that's making the razor appear dull to you.

Do not test the edge. Most edge tests require an experienced hand (and eye) to be of any use.

[Arrow]

Tip #1 - Between passes, ONLY roll the razor over ON the spine. NEVER lift the spine off the strop. That's when you roll the edge over. I think this is the most common mistake new stroppers make, and most of us have done it when learning how.......

[fccexpert]

There is only one rule to follow:

Do not under any circumstances lift the spine of the razor.

If you keep the spine in contact with the strop at all times, you will not roll the edge. As a beginner, you should go slow until you get your timing down.

[pz93c]

You say you bought it shave ready?

From who?

A lot of places say they are shave ready, but they aren't.

[Kilgore]

There is only one rule to follow:

Do not under any circumstances lift the spine of the razor.

If you keep the spine in contact with the strop at all times, you will not roll the edge. As a beginner, you should go slow until you get your timing down.
+1
I put my strop on the edge of a table & did it that way
until I got it down. Nice & slow!

[raccoonandbrush]

As far as stropping, only have the weight of the razor as you strop. Don't try to go fast. Take tim to get the technique right. Make sure the blade has stopped when you flip it over. As far as shaving, use almost no pressure so the blade can cut the hairs efficiently.

[scrambled]

if you are using a hanging strop, hold it taught (with lots of tension). put very little pressure on the razor when stropping, just enough to keep the blade flat when stropping. and, as stated above, go very slowly; speed is a non-factor when stropping (or honing) in terms of finishing an edge. just keep practicing, you will get it.

[raccoonandbrush]

if you are using a hanging strop, hold it taught (with lots of tension). put very little pressure on the razor when stropping, just enough to keep the blade flat when stropping. and, as stated above, go very slowly; speed is a non-factor when stropping (or honing) in terms of finishing an edge. just keep practicing, you will get it.

As stated above, a taught strop is very important. With me, I find it's easier to get a good grip with a D-ring handle. It's easier on my fingers, and it's a whole lot easier to get the strop taught.

[Legion]

When I first started I used a paddle strop. I think that helped me because I knew it was always flat and I could just concentrate on what the blade was doing. (But then, I'm one of those people who is not good at concentrating on more than one thing at a time.)