Thread: Stropping Advice

Hello, Im new to this forum and had a question regarding stropping. I have a Dovo 6/8 hollow ground razor, and I was trying to figure out if there is a specific way to strop this razor compared to half hollow etc. I didnt know if hollow ground razors needed to be stropped differently because of the blade thickness or what. Thanks in advance for the advice

Welcome to SRP,

There is no difference. Everything said in Stropping Advice - Straight Razor Place Forums applies to both types of razors.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Regards,
Robin

All blades are stropped the same. Keep the touch light, whether it's a full hollow, or full wedge.

Perfect, thanks for the surprisingly quick responses!

The link in my reply was also remarkably wrong. This is the correct link Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki. What is recursion?

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

What is recursion?

I wish my brain was more recursive Robin! (I loose contexts when exiting loops)

Seriously, my "three ways rule" of stropping for beginners would be: way too little is way better than way too much.

Welcome to SRP. For an additional good read on the fundamentals of stropping the 1961 barber manual excerpt in the SRP Wiki help files here is a good read. The first part is on honing and the last couple of pages is on correct stropping.

Great link, thank you. Well I guess I should also inquire about my strop instead of trying to search on the internet for hours.

I have a dovo prima rindleder strop, canvas on one side and leather on the other, as well as the dovo black and red paste. Some people say the canvas is not necessary, and some say that it is essential.

I would assume the red paste would be used on the leather side for finishing up the razor, which I will do before and after each shave.

If I wanted to use the canvas side, how often should I use it? Once a week? And should I also use the black paste on the canvas for a quick cleaning/hone? or should the canvas be free from any paste and just used by itself?

Thanks again for the information!

Originally Posted by bwatte

I would assume the red paste would be used on the leather side for finishing up the razor, which I will do before and after each shave.

I would say don't use the paste before/after every shave. If it's the paste I think it is (sharpening/abrasive paste) it should be used to retouch a dulled edge when it starts to grab. It should be used sparingly and only a few passes are needed to retouch the edge.

The canvas can be used just like the leather; used with every strop session. I usually go about 30 passes with linen and 50+ with leather.

Don't put the paste on your strop! If you do that you'll have to buy another for everyday use. Wait till you have another, that you can use for touch ups with the pastes.
I do 30 linen 40 leather before a shave, & 20 linen after to ensure the edge is nice & dry.