All about Using and Maintaining a Straight Razor

 

Any good bearded will affirm that in addition to honing the blade of a straight razor, it must still be stropping before each shave. As for sharpening, the techniques for stropping a straight razor blade are varied and require learning. After reading this blog post, you will be able to strop by yourself the blade of your straight razor and thus, maximize the life of it and the quality of your next shave.
 
First, when you use a strop it must be positioned in a specific position. This one should always be hung on a ring along a wall or on a support such as a towel stand for example. A strop should always be positioned so that you can grab it at your chest level when you stretch it with your hand that doesn't handle the straight razor.

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Although the techniques to strop a straight razor blade are varied (about which side of the strop should be used first), the one presented here is a classical one. You may decide to do otherwise when you'll have mastered this first technique and when you'll become more experienced and more educated.
 
Depending people, some use only one side (leathery side) of their strop while others use it at first on the linen side (to warm the razor blade) and then on the leather side (to strop the blade). In other words, the leathery side is essential in the straight razor blade strop process while the linen side is optional. To make the strop more flexible, it is suggested to apply and extend paste with the palm of your hand, on each side of the strop and this, on a weekly basis. The linen side should be covered with a gray paste while the leather side should meanwhile be covered with a yellow or white paste.
 
A strop should be only used before each shave. The reason is simple. After shaving, the blade edge becomes slightly bent (invisible to the naked eye) and after stropping, the metal micro-particles may tend to come off. In this case, the risk of cuts would be significantly increased or even unavoidable. During the 24 to 30 hours after shaving, the misaligned metal micro-particles of the blade of a straight razor tend to detach. This principle is called the micro-separation. This is why you should never strop the blade of your razor directly after shaving. After a period of about 35 hours, these micro-particles do not tend to come off anymore. A well done stropping session of the blade of your straight razor before each shave will make his blade aligned and ready for the next shave. For people who shave more than twice in 48 hours, barbaware and his team strongly suggest to have two razors in order to properly maintain the blade of each of them and to allow an appropriate period of rest to each of the blades. Keep in mind that the more the razors and blades are well maintained, the more the shave will be smooth and delicate and that the performance of the blades will be optimal.

How to strop a straight razor blade

Once your strop is properly installed on a wall or on a stand, you have to handle it with your weak hand so that it is well stretched. If the strop isn't enough stretched in the process, the blade edge of a razor will tend to want to bend. So on one hand you are holding well taut the strop and with the other, you are holding your straight razor as if it were a pencil. The exercise is quite simple, it is done in 4 steps.

- You must first place your straight razor blade flat (the blade front to you) on the part of the strop which is closest to you. If the blade is not facing you from the beginning, you could damage your strop or even scraped the blade of your razor.
 
- By applying a little pressure (the single weight of the blade is sufficient) and, making sure that the back of the blade never took off the strop, make a slight diagonally movement in the opposite direction of thereof . The full blade of your razor should always be in contact with the strop. For those who have a narrower strop than their razor blade, include an '' X " motion in your movement to come and go so that the complete surface of your blade is touching the strop as illustrated in the picture above (Figure 1 and 2).
 
- Once the movement is completed without taking off the back of the razor blade, rotate it of 180 degrees and brings it back to the near side of the strop by sliding it in the same way. Then, rotate it again of 180 degrees and voila a first rehearsal.
 
- If you use only the leathery side of the strop, repeat steps 1 to 3 to make thirty rehearsals with a natural and constant movement. The blade of your straight razor should have been stropped each side about approximately fifteen times. If your strop has a linen face, made about ten rehearsals on this side first and then do about twenty rehearsals on the leather side.

By following these stropping steps, the surface of the blade of your straight razor will be always smooth and in perfect conditions to be ready for the next shaving.

In conclusion

Finally, the maintenance of the blade of a straight razor is crucial and has a significant impact on the next shaves. A poorly maintained blade is liable to cause cuts or scratches much more easily than a well-maintained blade. In addition to honing your blade once or twice in a year, the stropping of it before each shave allow it to give optimum performances and allow soft and smooth shaves as you like it. Just like the honing of the blade, the stropping process is not a race against time. Allow yourself a learning and practicing period. The process will quickly become natural with time and experience.

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