You will benefit a lot by regularly stropping your razor. It will make the razors stay in good condition for a long time and you will feel more comfortable when you use such a razor for shaving.
How to strop a straight razor is very easy and all you need to do is to follow the instructions given in this article. The most commonly used items for stropping is a leather strop even though other varieties are available.
It depends more on the technique used for stropping when it comes to superior performance of the razor. In this regard, you must understand that you will benefit a lot by learning the proper technique to sharpen your razor.
You have to also remember that you can master this technique only by practice and you can use your own experience to determine which technique is suited for your style of shaving. In this way, you will be able to get the best performance out of your razors in the long run.
Not only that, you will feel comfortable while shaving with such sharpened razors as you will be able to get most of the work done with a single stroke. This will also save you lots of time and you will be able to get the perfect shave in minutes.
Simple steps how to strop a straight razor
- Understand why it is necessary to strop the razors
- Hold the strop and razor properly
- Tighten the strop
- Apply the right amount of pressure
- Repeat the process once in a while to keep the blades sharp
Why stropping is essential?
To begin with, you have to realize the importance of stropping often to keep the razors in good condition for a long time. The scientific reason behind this is that it knocks of some metal from the surface and thereby realigns the edge to a perfect shape.
Yet another reason comes with the fact that it helps to remove oxidation from the surface of the metal which makes it last longer without any hassles. It will give the best sharpness for the razor when the process is performed in the proper manner.
In this way, your shave becomes very comfortable and you can get the job done in less number of strokes. All this will mean that you will have less irritation and it will also save you lots of time on a daily basis.
Proper way to hold the razor and strop
You have to hold the strop and razor securely to get the best out of the entire process. In the initial stages, you can hold the hand held strop with the left hand and offer a firm grip.
If you are using a wall mounted leather strop, you will not have this issue and you can comfortably get a good finishing in this manner. Once this is done, make sure to open the razor to a straight line and hold it firmly between your thumb and forefinger. This will give you the best grip and you can secure the handle in your palm.
After this is done, you can begin the stropping by moving it to and forth in a proper rhythm. Do it at a comfortable speed so that you will get the best results out of the process.
You will be able to do it quickly when you have a comfortable grip. You can experiment with the angles you use for the stroking as it will have a huge impact on the final results.
It is possible to align the best angle for stroking after a few uses and you will be able to master the skills and get the best performance out of your razor.
Tighten the strop
It is essential to tighten the strop properly to get the best results. In this way, the strop will not slide away when you are doing the task and it will stay firm, even when you apply some pressure on the strop. Also remember not to keep it too tight as it will make it difficult for you to get the best strokes and you may damage the razor in the process.
On the other hand, keeping it loose will also work against the sharpening process and you will have to strike the right balance when it comes to tightening the strop. In this way, you will be all set to get into the final step of stropping the razors.
Pressure
This can be a tricky thing in the initial stages but you will be able to get a good hold of the optimum pressure once you get used to the process. In the beginning, try to apply less pressure and keep the stropping process for a longer duration.
Other than that, you will also have to be careful about applying uniform pressure for the razor as it will give you the best sharpness throughout the edges. In this way, you will not get any cuts when you use them for shaving.
In the same manner, you have to understand that when you increase the pressure, you will be able to get the job done in quick time and this will also give you better sharpness in lesser number of strokes. You need not worry too much about this as you will understand the optimum amount of pressure to be applied in due course.
How often to make the process?
There is no thumb rule with regards to this issue and you can do it as often as you want. There is no harm caused to the razor when you do it often and it will only help you to get the best performance out of the razor.
In this regard, some people do it every time before they shave and this gives them a comfortable shave with fewer efforts.
On the other hand, others prefer to do it once in a while depending on the performance of the razor. Whenever you feel that the sharpness has decreased a little bit, you can repeat the process and get back the best sharpness for the razors.