Thread: Strop Question(s)

Okay, my new 3" wide strop finally arrived. I mounted it to a "D" ring under my sink countertop, about 8" below my waist. I then gave my razor 50 round trip passes on the felt followed by 50 round trip passes on the leather. Arm hair test was good. The razor still cuts the hair on my arm while hovering about 1/4" above the skin. After finishing my first strop session, I noticed my cat eyeballing my new strop that was now dangling low at a very tempting and convenient height. Hmmm. Broke out the tools again and mounted 'another' "D" ring up high, atop the bathroom cabinet, and transferred the strop to that high ring for safe storage while not in use. "Poor Kitty!" Anyway, my questions...;


#1)... Should I load my felt strop with a bit of dressing, or just use it clean, as is?

#2)... If I dress the felt, should I strop the dressed side first, clean side second, then go to the leather?

#3)... Is it possible to "over strop" a razor while using proper stropping techniques?

#4)... This is a repeat question, kinda. Should I treat the new leather with Neatsfoot, or Williams, initially? If not, when should I oil it, or rub it with soap?

1) if you are talking about CrOx the answer is no. It is not used for routine stropping
2) if you were using CrOx as a touch up for your blade and had added it to the felt, then you should clean your blade on something else before going to the leather
3)I seriously doubt that you can although I suppose it is possible just not probable
4) your new strop should be good to go. Strop care is a long debated item here. One school of thought is that you need only rid it with your palm before each use. Others will use an oil or dressing of choice to change the draw of the strop. I don't so I can't remember if you dress to increase or decrease draw. As far as I know soap is for fixing damage done to a stop, like wrinkles or dents or old and dry.

Very good RezDog. Thanks for the input. I'll leave things "as is" until I become more proficient and experienced in stropping. I do like the slick/fast draw, for now, however. If I put my physicist's hat on... I feel as though treating/softening the leather would make it more pliable and allow the blade to 'sink' deeper into the surface of the strop. This "sinking effect" would increase the surface area of the blade coming into contact with the leather which would thus create more induced drag/friction and slow things down a bit, so to speak. Is this what you would call "increased" draw? I do not understand the terminology. All that I currently know is that my hard, untreated strop feels slick and fast. Exactly 'what' does increased and decreased draw mean?

Draw is how much resistance you feel going across the strop. Some like a lot some like none. The tension you pull on your strop will affect the edge more than the draw. Loose will add more pressure on the edge. Too much and you roll it. Stick with what's working for you. It will be awhile before your face can tell the difference between all the little idiosyncrasies. If you having problems then look for a change but most it it will be what you doing , not what your equipment is doing.

There is no such thing as over stropping. Improper stropping yes, too much no.

I think you have figured it out quite well. A fast draw is often a firm strop and is quite slick feeling, where as the slow draw is often softer and more supple. They both do the job exactly the same thing come the end of the job. It is a simple matter of personal preference.

And like Rezdog said pastes are great for touch ups and such and if you don't strop right you may need them. If you really don't do it right your going to need some honing. Stick with what works play later, especially if you only have 1 razor. And putting the strop up high would have only added to the fun for my cat :<0)

Yep, this will make for great fun to my cat too, but she'd best be careful. One false move and she'll wind up in a porcelain water hazard with a flush handle on it! LOL
I have two razors. My standby/practice dummy is a semi restored Wade and Butcher. It'll shave the hair on my arm, but only with the razor pressed to my skin. It's not shave ready. I was going to practice honing on this one, but am now having second thoughts. I may now send it off to have a pro set the bevel and hone it out for me. I'll then know without a doubt that both 'that' razor as well as my shaving razor are truly "shave ready" and I will know the difference. This means that I will need to purchase a "third" razor to practice on... then a fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. And then there is the issue of strops. Not yet knowing what I'm doing, I might damage my new strop. I'd better get another one of those too, maybe a third, just to be safe. What if I do something wrong to my only new brush? I'll need backups there too, obviously! Better to be safe than sorry... at least these are the excuses that I'm trying to bounce off of the Mrs. I'm beginning to think that she is made from stealth material. So far nothing bounces back at me but empty stares!

Oh no, the hundred yard stare............this could mean several things. A good way to get out of that mode is say something like " Honey, the guys suggested I practice on your legs some" I guarantee you will get a different reaction and she will forget about anything else you said. May be best to save this for when you have a new package coming in the mail:<0)

That's good thinking, but. I wouldn't dare try to shave her legs, yet. I'm far too inexperienced. What I need to do is buy more razors, strops, brushes, etc and then give "HER" the package when it arrives. "Try it, honey. You'll love it!" If she cuts herself and doesn't like it, she'll give "ME" all the stuff. If she 'does' like it I'll... I'll... I'll probably still have a hard time convincing her why I need to keep buying more stuff...