Thread: Which side of the strop to use?

Good morning gentlemen,

I have just received my strop.

You can find the detail of the product here in this link.

The strop has two sides, one softer, the other quite hard. And I am puzzled which side to use.

As from the advice I found on the internet I should use the soft one first and then also the hard one.

But I am not sure.

Could you please help me to clarify the situation?

Thank you

Peter

Peter-

Welcome. There are two sides to most strops, typically a "rough" leather or fabric, and then the "smooth" leather. Most people use both sides, using the rough leather side first, then finishing on the smooth leather side.
I wasn't quite sure from the link when it says one side is for sharpening. Do you know if one side is pasted with some kind of compound? If it is, then you don't need to use that side daily. If fact there are members here who only use the "smooth" leather side anyway.
At the beginning it's smart to lay the strop on a table and get the feel of the motion, and concentrate on not cutting up your strop too bad.
Not to pry, but what razor do you have, and is it honed up properly?

Shane

The information contained in the link is pretty vague. Sounds like it's probably a linen and leather strop so linen first then leather. Pictures would help us tell you for sure.

Hello guys,

thank you for a swift reply(ies).

As for the strop, unfortunatelly I do not have any more information.

However, both sides are leather, that I can confirm. I would not say that any is pasted at all, but it is true, that sometimes I have a feeling that the "smooth" one might contain some like a little protective layer of dried something. But it is not greasy or anything like that, it is just my personal feeling, maybe the leather is supposed to be like that.

As for the razor, I have a basic Thiers Issard Dandy. As I am a beginner, I think it is enough so far for me.
And yes, I would say it is properly sharpened and honed. I have already shaved with it once (using also the strop) and it was quite an experience to which I am now addicted.

However, I will take pictures and upload them tomorrow.

Thank you

Peter