Thread: Stropping on the hand.

It sounds crazy, but...

I just watched the video 'The Art of Mastro Livi', where he makes a razor in a few hours somewhere in Italy.

At the end they show him, Lynn and several others getting shaves, and one of the barbers doing the shaving is shown stropping a razor on his hand.
I did a double take, and rewound a little, and sure enough, he's using his hand as a strop.

Besides the obvious risk to the integrity and cohesiveness of your hand, could this be a good thing? or a useful one?

Thoughts and comments?

I saw the same vidio and shook my head. Not for me, that's for darn sure.

Like with everything else there are tried and true ways of doing things and these are recommended for most folks. Of course there are guys who develop their own way or even break all the rules yet they get superior results doing it that way.

Actually using your skin to strop is a well known procedure. It's not for everyone though.

I've tried it for giggles and believe it or not it does work. When you break it down a piece of leather is a piece of skin I'd rather knick a strop than my hand though...lol

My barber does this several times as he shaves. He also turns the blades over the edge when he strops but the results are always excellent.

I've seen those videos too. No substitute for a hanging strop or a paddle AFAIC.

Now I'm dying to try this out!

The video is all too short, and I can't lift the technique. All I can tell for sure is that his hand is not fully opened, and that he turns the blade on the edge.

Just when I think I'm starting to learn something, something or someone, somewhere reminds me how little I really know.

I can't see the video and several studies have proven it is not effective, but the general way I do it and have read about it is to strop on the "meaty" part of the outside of the palm.

I think the curve of the meaty part helps a bit. Why anyone would ever roll a razor on any part other than the spine is a mystery to me. Not only is it damaging but it looks so uncool too.

I suppose your skin is just as good to use as a cows. As long as you don't nick "your" strop.

[QUOTE=Snake;746894]
The video is all too short, and I can't lift the technique. All I can tell for sure is that his hand is not fully opened, and that he turns the blade on the edge.

QUOTE]
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See if you can find Mastro Livi's "Snake Razor" video. You will see him honing a razor and palm strop it at the end of the video.

I have been palm stropping for quite some time and barbers have been doing it longer than any of us can remember.