Thread: how do I avoid getting the little feathering, micro-nicks on the sides of my strop?

how do I avoid getting the little feathering, micro-nicks on the sides of my strop?

Thanks

They come from running the edge of the blade at an angle off the edge of the strop... Stop doing that

Glen, the master of subtlety.

Are you noticing them on the inside of the strop closest to your body? If so, that's usually where you see those "micro-nicks." You are pulling the blade towards you and bringing the blade off the strop like you would in an X-stroke. The problem is that you're laying the blade down before moving it forward again and the blade is coming across the strop at an angle and nicking the strop. It's pretty common; just watch your stroke and try to keep the blade perpendicular to the motion.

It's as easy as lifting up your wrist. Sometimes you might tend to drop your wrist slightly on the return stroke (towards you), so by elevating your wrist and elbow you will avoid those micro nicks. It also helps if you twist the strop somewhat towards your body.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

They come from running the edge of the blade at an angle off the edge of the strop... Stop doing that

Hello, Steveorocks,
My good friend gssixgun is quite correct on this. Practice and awareness should resolve your problem. Also, don't forget to keep the pressure light.

Well it's gotten much better, although I have found I should not strop or shave when hung over.
I put a good slice in my strop, I guess better than my face

That's why it's a good idea to have a DE in your roatation, just in case you need to shave but don't have the time and/or the full concentration needed to devote to a straight shave.

I'm a beginner, 20 daily shaves in. After about 2 weeks, I had found that my blade, which had been expertly honed by Lynn, had become so dull that it was barely cutting at all. Needless to say, poor stropping technique was the source of my problem. Lynn suspected that I was lifting of the strop at the end of each pass, which was absolutely true(I have no idea how he knew that...), resulting in rolling the edge. Since then, I have concentrated on keeping the spine down on the strop at all times, including during the changes in direction, and of course using minimal pressure. As a result of this adjustment, my stropping is improved, and I've also noticed that I'm no longer nicking the edges of my strop. For me the nicks seem to have been related to this "lift off/landing" effect at the end of my strokes.