How many passes on a strop?

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.

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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Why don't you test the edge to see how you're doing or what it needs? Barring that, lots of folks center ~40-75 (?!?), but it varies. Six seems almost ineffective, I would think.

O'Great Idiot.

For daily stropping on leather,
I would say anywhere from 30-60. I get bored doing much more than that.

For a pasted strop to sharpen, be it wood, felt, leather, what have you 10-20 is usually more than enough.

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.

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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WHOA!

Sorry...please to continue.
Thank-you.

Woodash said:

WHOA!

Sorry...please to continue.
Thank-you.

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I should say, that is off the hone. Touchups require less, but I just keep going until it splits hairs like nobody's buisness!

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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I don't think hardness of steel necessarily equates with "good" steel. (I'm sure your TI is made of good steel. I'm just saying it's not good simply because of hardness)

Disclaimer: I am not an Oracle of any shape or fashion:
You're going to get some varying opinions on this stropping business. It's ultimately a matter of preference, but I think six passes on leather wouldn't be enough. 100 passes is probably too much. You'll have to try it out for yourself, and see how the shave feels after X number of passes. Different types of leather will give different results with the same number of passes as well. It's something you have to learn through experience.

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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This makes me think I am not doing enough laps.I usually do around 10-15.

Paul

Thanks so far for all you's guys help. I'll try something varying as I had only been doing 40 laps. Ill try 50 and see what it feel like.

I find 40-50 laps to be effective.

30/50 linen/leather before a shave 10 on linen after.

I go 60/60 on denim/leather. I notice a big difference between this and 60 on leather only. I strop on towel and leather after 10/10 or so. My wife cringes seeing me strop a razor on "her" towels (I haven't injured one yet).

I am neither an Oracle, or a metalurgist but I have done enough backyard metalwork to know that a harder blade requires more effort to improve its edge, and usually holds that edge longer unless it chips (a harder blade will tend to chip worse than a softer blade). I believe that a harder blade will require similar laps to a softer blade because the harder blade will be in better shape than the softer blade. The harder blade will also be honed to a higher polish after a similar progression (progressing each grit till complete) so it will require less work done, but require more work to do it so stroping laps will remain similar.

Proper stropping is also important because you can improve or destroy an edge with stropping.

Phil

Until it's done. I'm not being sarcastic, I simply do not count the number of passes I just strop until it feels right. Hard to explain, the best I can say is that when it's done, there is a slight change in the friction between the blade and the strop. Of course I have been doing this for many a year.

I did 25 linen and 50 leather this morning. The small increase was really noticeable. I'll do 30-60 next to see if that is any better. I'm hoping to find when it maxes out so I don't spend five minutes stropping.

I usually do 25-30 linen and 60~ leather.

I do 20 on the weaved fabric side, 50 on the Latigo side.

Per the advice from this thread, I went 50 linen, 50 latigo, and 50 horsehide, courtesy of Tony Miller's handiwork. The blade was noticeably keener compared to my 25 linen 25 latigo. When first starting out 150 laps takes FOREVER, but now 5 months later 150 laps is a minute or two, time well invested it seems.

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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Errr....

Since just about everything is YMMV, I've decied to always 2x on leather for whatever I do on the canvas side. It's weird though when you get the paperwork from TI it says don't strop until after several shaves, why is that?

O.G. said:

I did 25 linen and 50 leather this morning. The small increase was really noticeable. I'll do 30-60 next to see if that is any better. I'm hoping to find when it maxes out so I don't spend five minutes stropping.

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I'll try the same here too. Not sure if you get this but sometimes I wonder if any difference I feel is stropping vs better technique for that particular shave