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Stropping A DE?

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A fellow shaving video creator recently posted this video about stropping a DE/SE/cartridge blade:

An interesting idea for sure, especially stropping against the skin. Before I go any further let me quote this description of stropping:
“The razor strop is simply used to straighten and re-align the edge of the straight razor. Stropping does not remove any metal from the razor. With use, the extremely fine edge of any razor will become micro-scopically bent from cutting the coarse beard. Today we have disposable razors that we simply throw away when the edge becomes dull. With a straight razor the edge must be straightened, re-aligned and/or redefined after use. Stropping is one the most important steps in keeping your razor shaving sharp.”
So we’re talking about aligning or straightening a blade vs. “sharpening” the edge.
Dave, the author of this video states:
“as far as blade life: it works on some blades better than others (carbon steel), but ive found with my autro strop razor ive extended stainless blades 4 shaves. a good hand stropping can also achieve this ive noticed (ymmv). as far as DE blades go, the same would probably also apply (carbon vs. stainless). the stropping i showed was more along the lines of just getting everything realigned for the next shave. it has proven to work though in some cases regarding blade life extension. as far as performance goes, as with all things: ymmv. some blades can be extended a few more shaves and be rougher than a cheese grater, while some blades can only go one more shave but be as smooth as its first shave.”

I guess I’m going to have to try this!

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3 thoughts on “Stropping A DE?”

  1. Great idea and I can see how it would work, especially to get an extra shave or two out of a cartridge razor in a pinch.

    Although you can do this with a DE blade I don’t see the point unless you were just the ultimate penny pincher. I mean, my DE blades only cost me 15 cents a blade and I get two shaves easy. That’s turbo cheap right there.

  2. I’m just afraid that I’d cut myself while handling the blade. It does make sense to do this though.

  3. You mean to tell me you can use your hand like in his video to sharpen the blades? How much longer will the blades last if you do this for a de blade? Mark, I’m doing great with the super speed but I’m going to get the merkur hd for christmas. Is this the best razor for the money and what reputable sites have the best prices? (Another words…what site do you recommend I purchase my merkur from?) thanks, Nick

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