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Thread: week two, strop is ruined?

  1. #11
    Senior Member blabbermouth tcrideshd's Avatar
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    yep going to fast , just slow down . maybe lay your strop on a table and use it like a bench strop till you learn how to strop, if your cutting it your not stopping the motion before you flip . slow is good any way tc
    “ I,m getting the impression that everyone thinks I have TIME to fix their bikes”

  2. #12
    Senior Member feltspanky's Avatar
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    "SLOW DOWN" Don't hold your strop overly taut, allow a little slack in the leather, make a slow lap and watch the razor's edge hug the leather as you vary the amount of slack in the strop, adjust the tautness of the strop accordingly. Use a light touch and don't force the razor down into the strop. Allow the edge to glide across the leather.
    Last edited by feltspanky; 05-02-2015 at 04:07 PM.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by 32t View Post
    And slow down.
    +1

    From the way you describe the area where you nick the strop, I suspect that you turn the razor while the blade is still moving.

    Slow down.
    In straight shaving there are no prices to be won for speed.

    (That's left to the You Tube crowd who are keen to impress their clueless friends after a few cans of beer. I have seen some very hasty, slipshod shaves there and always wondered whom the guy was trying to impress. )


    B.

  4. #14
    Senior Member k5MOW's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 32t View Post
    And slow down.
    Yes as a beginner myself you must go slow at first. Going slow gets the job done just as well is going fast.

    Roger
    Have a great shave.

    Roger

  5. #15
    Senior Member JTmke's Avatar
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    I think most of us have nicked a strop or two when learning. I know I have. One strop I will never part with is a very nice 3 inch English bridle that still displays my early efforts (and nicks). I could replace the leather but won't.

    I took a look at my barber's strop that hangs from the chair and his is nicked, scratched, and very well worn. He has been at it for 40+ years.

    Slow down until you get the hang of it.
    "The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas." -Linus Pauling

  6. #16
    Member... jmercer's Avatar
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    It is kinda a right of passage to ding the first strop for me. I'm on my third with no dings finally.

    If I can go a year or so with no dings I will move up in strops.
    32t, Hirlau and pcm like this.
    Shave the Lather...

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by jmercer View Post
    It is kinda a right of passage to ding the first strop for me. I'm on my third with no dings finally.

    If I can go a year or so with no dings I will move up in strops.

    The (straight shaver's) three most common lies:
    1. You are the first girl I truly fell in love with.
    2. The check is in the mail.
    3. I never nicked my strop.


    If the damage is only superficial and isolated, the strop may still be perfectly usable and you could wait till you really proficient and replace the strop later.

    The nice thing about many SRD strops is that you can replace the stropping leather (while keeping the end parts) at around ⅔ of the price of a new strop.
    That way you can make all your little mistakes disappear and start anew.


    B.

  8. #18
    Member Nails's Avatar
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    Stay with it. I ruined my first strop, practiced cutting the same spot on my face daily and had to send my Hart out to get resharpened because of my awesome stropping skills. Oh, I banged my Boker off the facet and had to get it fixed too. Slow down with the stropping, make deliberate passes on your leather and you will be fine.

    When a pro got my Hart for honing he did say that it wasn't in great shape from the get go. It might be worth asking one of the experts on the site to hone your Hart while you are waiting for you new strop to arrive. I found that my Hart shaved much better after being honed by one of our guys than it did when I first received it.
    Allen

  9. #19
    Junior Member 130Nav's Avatar
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    As a new straight razor shaver myself I also learned the hard way about going too fast with too much pressure.

    RIP Premium Leather I strop by SRD.

    One thing I noticed I kept doing even when going slow was letting the razor come back towards me at the end of my wayward (that word works for this right?) stroke and nicked it every time. Not sure if this is a popular technique but I corrected it by starting to lift on the spine before stopping that direction of movement and also making sure I was going the next direction before the edge came back in contact with the leather.

  10. #20
    Senior Member blabbermouth tcrideshd's Avatar
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    don't go lifting the spine , that is not correct. as you start your flip get the blade moving the other direction then lay the edge down. go slow or just stop and do the flip tc
    “ I,m getting the impression that everyone thinks I have TIME to fix their bikes”

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