How many passes on a strop?

At this point I can't tell any effect at all from stropping. It must have some effect or no one would do it, but I can't tell how much is enough, if it's working, if I'm doing it wrong, or anything. Hmm.

Gee whiz, it seems like the more the discussion, the higher the "norm" is raised.

I think only those who get consistent BBS shaves know just how much to prepare the blade.

30 linen, 60 Leather before shaving. 20/40 after. As a median, this is my preferred way.
Some leathers a bit more, others a bit less. Depends on what I experience on the strop and blade in question.

about 30 seconds on leather

60 linen, 60 leather right off a coticule. 20 linen, 40 leather before each shave, between honings. No pastes. 10 cotton after the shave. Works for me.

There is no set formula. I have found that it depends on the razor as well as my own face. Wedges tend to need more than hollow grounds. Stropping on hard wool felt used with .125 micron diamond spray shortens the time considerably.

PapaFish said:

I go for 100 passes on my balsa strop pasted with CrOx. 50 passes isn't enough, 75 is close, 100 is popping hairs like nobody's buisness!
For plain leather it depends. I have shaved off of 10, 25, 50 and 100 passes. 10 wasn't enough, 25 was good, 50 was a bit better, and 100 had no really noticable difference, so I go with 50.
You should try these things yourself, since YMMV.

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I may be exaggerating a bit but how long will your razor last doing that??

O.G. said:

I've seen varying ideas about the number of laps one must use to prepare an edge for shaving on a strop. Some say only six passes others say 40+. So for the most part I'm confused, how many passes do I need to make. I primary use TI and the steel is supposed to be good. With the better steel would you need more passes due to it hardness or fewer since its so hard?

Please advise O'Great Oracles.

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Somebody already touched on this but hardness does not equate to quality in metals. Quality has to do with purity, how the blade was forged, etc. Hardness is simply a result of the Carbon content in the metal. High Carbon-Steel is (unless I'm flip flopping these) softer and more maleable. It therefore takes a sharper edge, but requires more maintenance and is more prone to rusting, pitting, etc. Stainless steel is the other common steel used in razors. It is harder (less Carbon) and more difficult to hone, but less finicky and holds an edge longer. So tying all this science back into your question, the number of laps will vary by razor and the type of steel it was made from (along with some other factors).

I strop a lot right after honing, about half that amount before shaving and about half that after shaving.

i like stropping. When I'm stropping on my Kanayama suede and my wife catches me, I feel dirty.

I am still searching for my persoal optimum, but at present time it in 40XLinen (after honing) and 65X Leather. For TU it is around 25X Linen 50X leather (I also do about 25X on leather after shaving).

ShavingPrivateRyan said:

I may be exaggerating a bit but how long will your razor last doing that??

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I have no idea. I have since gotten many more hones, and gotten much better at using them. I don't think I have used CrOx for anything in the past 6 months or more. I am sure that since my honing has improved, it would no longer take 100 passes on CrOx to get the edge I was going for (since I normally can get the edge I wanted right off the hones now). I suppose if I wanted to spend less time honing, I could just CrOx things again, but I like to hone.

ShavingPrivateRyan said:

Somebody already touched on this but hardness does not equate to quality in metals. Quality has to do with purity, how the blade was forged, etc. Hardness is simply a result of the Carbon content in the metal. High Carbon-Steel is (unless I'm flip flopping these) softer and more maleable. It therefore takes a sharper edge, but requires more maintenance and is more prone to rusting, pitting, etc. Stainless steel is the other common steel used in razors. It is harder (less Carbon) and more difficult to hone, but less finicky and holds an edge longer. So tying all this science back into your question, the number of laps will vary by razor and the type of steel it was made from (along with some other factors).

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Low carbon steel is softer, high carbon steel is harder. Our razors are most likely not just a "carbon steel" but have other additives that raise the hardness. Tempering also plays a role in the hardness of the steel. The razors we use are brittle (this is why they can chip, crack, etc.) due to both the hardness of the steel that is required to provide a lasting edge. I'm not sure what qualifies as "good quality" vs "poor quality" steel, but I know good quality steel is required for razors, and the hardness has to be at or above that of good tool steel, such as that used for steel files and such. I am sure you can find a lot more good information than I can offer in the Restoration and Razor Making sub-forum.

Fresh off the hones, I do 40/60 to total 100 passes. For just everyday shaves, I only do 30/50 for 80 passes total. It may be a bit overkill, but it works for me. I would say to make sure that you have good technique though. 100 passes with bad stropping technique is going to hurt your razor alot more than only 6 passes with good technique.

I strop until the feedback says 'done'. 40-50-60 laps, etc. Whatever it is - it is. Done is done.