How much should I strop?

I've been having a hard go at straights. I recently purchased a Boker King Cutter. I've only been shaving my cheeks to start and finishing with a DE. First shave was surprisingly smooth. No stropping before, 10 laps linen post to dry. Next shave, not as comfortable at all. Since I only did my cheeks, I figured I didn't have to strop as much, so I did 5 linen 10 leather pre, and 10 linen post. Next shave, really tuggy/uncomfortable/painful. I did 10 linen, 20 leather pre, and 10 linen post.

Now should I be doing more laps? I figured since I was only doing partial shaves, that I wouldn't have to strop as much. I focus on angle and pressure, but still to no avail. I was so excited after the first shave, than the next two were not as good, now I'm bummed out again. I only did 3 shaves, I really don't want to have to send it out for honing again already. I do have CrOx on balsa and a 12k stone OTW, but would like some advice first before I do anything.

It's not uncommon for new shavers to pooch an edge stropping. Will the razor cut your arm hair, or a hanging hair held in your fingers (carefully)? If not, you may have "rolled" your edge on the strop. I don't know if crox can bring that back, if so, but it's certainly worth a try.

I normally do 75 laps coming on the stones but from pre-shave post shave I do 50 pre on leather and 25/50 post, contrary to what i have ready I find I get better results using firm pressure on the linen/leather no weight of blade YMMV, If you have pasted balsa may try 5-7 light laps then wipe the blade clean then do 60 on leather, if all goes well you should be able to bring the edge back.

I tried to do more laps this time, 20 linen, about 50 leather, but still very uncomfortable shave. I had purchased a small 60x loupe and upon inspection of the razors edge I noticed some micro-chipping along the edge of the blade. How does this happen and how does one remedy this? Could this be causing uncomfortable shaves?

justino_14 said:

I tried to do more laps this time, 20 linen, about 50 leather, but still very uncomfortable shave. I had purchased a small 60x loupe and upon inspection of the razors edge I noticed some micro-chipping along the edge of the blade. How does this happen and how does one remedy this? Could this be causing uncomfortable shaves?

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Justin,

If you purchased the Boker new you may want to contact the Vendor to see about getting it rehoned, the micro chipping can surly cause a rough shave but all edges look rough under high enough magnification, if you were not so far away I would say box it up and send to me and i would hone it for free i would just ask you to cover shipping but since you are in Canada shipping I would think would be high, maybe someone local can hone it but i would check with who you purchased it from to see if it can be addressed that way and if you cannot get it done locally and want to spend the coin on shipping PM me and we can go from there.

Jnatcat said:

Justin,

If you purchased the Boker new you may want to contact the Vendor to see about getting it rehoned, the micro chipping can surly cause a rough shave but all edges look rough under high enough magnification, if you were not so far away I would say box it up and send to me and i would hone it for free i would just ask you to cover shipping but since you are in Canada shipping I would think would be high, maybe someone local can hone it but i would check with who you purchased it from to see if it can be addressed that way and if you cannot get it done locally and want to spend the coin on shipping PM me and we can go from there.

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Thank you I appreciate that. I do have a free honing from the vendor I purchased it from so I could always do that. I actually purchased a 12k Naniwa recently, and I have CrOx on balsa, I figured I could try to refresh the edge, and if that fails I could send it out for honing. I just hate the fact that I only had 3 shaves and now I have to send it out for honing again. I do have a tough beard but I would assume the edge should last longer than 1 shave. I will focus on my prep to see if that helps as well.

justino_14 said:

Thank you I appreciate that. I do have a free honing from the vendor I purchased it from so I could always do that. I actually purchased a 12k Naniwa recently, and I have CrOx on balsa, I figured I could try to refresh the edge, and if that fails I could send it out for honing. I just hate the fact that I only had 3 shaves and now I have to send it out for honing again. I do have a tough beard but I would assume the edge should last longer than 1 shave. I will focus on my prep to see if that helps as well.

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If you have a pasted balsa and it's green most likely it's .5 CrOx so you could try that first by doing 8-10 spine leading strokes using very light pressure then wipe it very clean so you don't transfer the paste to leather then do 60-80 laps on leather, for the first say 30-40 use a firm pressure ( I don't believe in weight of blade on a strop ) then for the rest of the session cut that pressure in half and give it a try, it should easily pop hair about 1/2" out from where you are holding it if it's close give it another 20-25 laps on leather and see, but if that fails you can use that 12K stone, not sure the Naniwa is a true splash and go but spray it with water until it just starts to pool and it's wet enough then with edge leading do 25 or so full laps ( Down and back is one ) pay careful attention to keeping the spine flat and don't use alot of pressure ( You are not sharpening a knife ) straights require almost no pressure to hone compared to a knife then after doing the 12K go to the same routine on the CrOx as above and it should do the trick, one more thing and it's kinda important, ensure the 12K stone is lapped flat as they usually don't come flat from the factory

I had the same problem with a new "shave ready" razor when I was just starting. Very frustrating.
If you like I will send you a shave ready vintage razor. I am cleaning up a bunch I got of eBay.
Let me know

Mastro Livi says over stropping is a waste of time. Strop until the edge shines. His loom strop is amazing. He has Chromium oxide on a linen that works great. 5 laps then turn it over and 15-20 laps on the skin side and you will have an edge that will shave as sooth as glass.

It might be the fault of your razor actually. I bought a Boker King Cutter myself a year ago and I could not get a decent shave out of it, so I kinda' gave up and just put it away. Luckily for me a gentleman on Reddit who was starting a new small business honing straight razors sent me one of his freshly honed straights...

Man what a good shave it has been!

I'm sure my technique isn't perfect, but the razor that was sent to me gives an excellent shave, and my stropping technique isn't any different from what I did with the King Cutter, sometimes the problem really is the razor itself and not you. You should defiantly contact the company who you bought it from to see if they'd hone it for you, and even better, take Mtn Man up on his offer so you can feel the difference with a truly sharp straight.

As for my personal stropping technique, I do 50 laps on leather before every shave.

I would do as another poster suggested and try out your 12k and then a few passes on crox and then strop on leather. If that fixes the problem it's not the razor. It's probably just less than perfect technique that almost all newer shavers have.

It might be the razor. May have had a foil edge?
I usually strop on leather only pre-shave. I don't really count, I just strop until I am tired of stropping. I usually get at least 15 shaves out of my go to razor prior to refreshing.
I used to strop on linen, but my baby is usually asleep, and it was too noisy.