Weird stropping issue.....please help!

First, let me say thanks in advance to anybody who can advise me on the issue I'm having.

I am fairly new to the straight razor, but had previously been shaving with a DE for the past five years. I decided to make the switch and purchased a Dovo Shavette about 3 months ago to try and somewhat get the hang of shaving with a SR. I had become pretty decent with it, so went ahead and purchased a Boker Edelweiss a week ago, along with a 3" Latigo strop, some razor oil and a razor sleeve. I received everything yesterday and since I've watched a million videos and read a million posts online, woke up this morning and was ready to go......yea, not so fast!

I had absolutely no issue with cutting the strop with my blade, the issue came with the spine of the razor shaving vertical grooves into the leather. No matter how lightly I tried to strop, every now and then I'd be picking shards of leather off the curve of the spine. Obviously this isn't the way it's supposed to go, right? Now I've got these long vertical grooves in my strop that I've had now for two whole days. Is the strop ruined? Can it be repaired? Should it be repaired? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

I'm sure the strop can be repaired. If the scratches are really light but clearly visible I have found a stiff rubbing with a cotton shirt takes any of the frayed leather off. As far as some deep scratches you may need to sand it. I used a worn dmt 1200 on a strop with no ill effect. As far as using sand paper or anything that can lodge particles in the strop I would be wary of. Some guys with better experience will chime in soon. In the mean time address the sharp edge on the spin with some 2500 grit wet dry then polish it back out with mothers.

Not an expert, but please post pics of both the strop and razor. Definitely not how it's supposed to go. More experienced gents will chime in soon I'm sure. Pics will hopefully help them get a better idea if the problem. I also have never repaired more than small nicks in the edge of my strop with sandpaper and then conditioner. Again others have much more experience of such.

Ignore me, better advice while I was writing.

Although I might contact the seller of the razor before sanding it. That really does not sound right if the edge of the spine is that sharp.

Sounds like more of an issue with the razor then the strop. Was your made shave ready by the factory or vendor? What type of strop is it? Did the scratches happen the first time you stropped? Did you shave with your razor first or strop it before first shave? Pics will help. Take pics of the spine of the razor and the edge.

You need to post some photos. Did you strop on the cotton/linen side of your strop first? Does it have a cotton/linen side? Are there rough edges on the spine? If there are, but not too severe, tape the blade edge of your razor then strop on the cotton or the rough leather side of your strop to smooth these off before going any further. If the spine has severe jagged edges, return it from whence it came! First time I've ever heard of a Boker having problems like that.

Quality close up photos of spine and strop damage will help lead to a definitive answer.

As far as I can see in vendor pictures, the Boker Edelweiss has no fancy spine work, so it would be good if you could post a few pictures of both sides of the razor and the damage on the strop. What you are describing makes no sense to me unless there is a burr on the spine of the razor, or the strop had some pre-existing issue.

Sounds like the leather has some kind of dry rot. Bend the strop like it was a belt you were going to give someone a spanking with and see if it has any little cracks on the smooth side. If it does the leather has aged with out being conditioned, and example is old horse reins that have just hung in the barn for years. The strop maker may have gotten some old leather and didn't know it by just looking at it . Just a thought :)

Run the edge of your fingernail along both sides of the razor spine where it contacts the strop. If the spine is causing the scratches, then the defects in the spine should be catching your nail.

As others have said please post pictures.
Are the scratches happening in both directions when you strop or just one?

The only razors that left scratches for me were a spike point razor and I was doing to much of rolling pattern that I corrected as soon as I noticed what I was doing and a razor with hone wear that developed a spike at the stabilizer (a new razor shouldn't have that)

I would think the problem is going to be right where your finding the leather on the spine :<0)




ps.... your probably within walking distance of a member that could help out .

I have one custom razor with jimps on top of the tang that run up onto the spine. I had the same problem with it and realized right away that I have to tape it when I strop. If there aren't any jimps on top, check the spine of the razor with a loupe for any defects. You could also rub it lightly with a cotton ball and see if it grabs anywhere. If these tests produce nothing obvious then I would suspect the leather as previously mentioned.
Good luck and let us know what you find.

Pete <:-}

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Originally Posted by dmnc

Not an expert, but please post pics of both the strop and razor. Definitely not how it's supposed to go. More experienced gents will chime in soon I'm sure. Pics will hopefully help them get a better idea if the problem. I also have never repaired more than small nicks in the edge of my strop with sandpaper and then conditioner. Again others have much more experience of such.

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Here is a pic of the strop aftermath:

Attachment 221987

You can see that it's just on the one side where the front edge of the spine is hitting.

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Originally Posted by Castel33

Sounds like more of an issue with the razor then the strop. Was your made shave ready by the factory or vendor? What type of strop is it? Did the scratches happen the first time you stropped? Did you shave with your razor first or strop it before first shave? Pics will help. Take pics of the spine of the razor and the edge.

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Yes, I purchased the razor from SRD, as well as the strop (3" Red Latigo). Yes, the scratches literally happened the first stropping session. I stropped before I shaved, per the instructions on the website.

Attachment 221988Attachment 221989Attachment 221990

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Originally Posted by wayne394

You need to post some photos. Did you strop on the cotton/linen side of your strop first? Does it have a cotton/linen side? Are there rough edges on the spine? If there are, but not too severe, tape the blade edge of your razor then strop on the cotton or the rough leather side of your strop to smooth these off before going any further. If the spine has severe jagged edges, return it from whence it came! First time I've ever heard of a Boker having problems like that.

Quality close up photos of spine and strop damage will help lead to a definitive answer.

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Yes, I did strop on the linen side before attempting the leather side. This is my first razor (other than a Dovo Shavette), so I'm not exactly an expert on how sharp the spine should be, but it does not feel like it has any jagged edges.

Very carefully check and see if there is a frown on edge by holding it edge down VERY lightly on a known flat object and hold it up to a light, there shouldn't be any spots where light comes through under the edge

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Originally Posted by rodb

As others have said please post pictures.
Are the scratches happening in both directions when you strop or just one?

The only razors that left scratches for me were a spike point razor and I was doing to much of rolling pattern that I corrected as soon as I noticed what I was doing and a razor with hone wear that developed a spike at the stabilizer (a new razor shouldn't have that)

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I appears that it is only on the one side. I'm right-handed, so it would be the left-side of the spine (when holding blade side down straight in front of me). The other side does not appear to have the same issue.

Pictures and explanations, send to SRD. I am confidant they will make things right.

Something is not right... I do not know what. The scratches, honestly, will not damage the strop... it will look ugly, but not damage the strop.

The razor is the cause and that is NOT right....

Again, query SRD with pictures. I'm confident that Lynn and Don will make things right for you.

Regards

Christian

As Rodb asked, are the scratches occurring during one or both stropping directions?

Also, are the scratches on the strop happening from the heel or the toe end of the blade?

All the usefull stuff has been said, so I can't add to that.

Biut just a thought that occurt to me: Are you sure it is the spine?
I remember when I first started stropping (My first SR was e 5/8 Dovo) that the heel was a bit sharp and not the spine). If I tilted the blade just a bit, the heel would scratch the leather.

After a while I got the hang of it (and the use of the linen side of the strop as well as the paddle with green and red stuff may have taken the edge off literally).

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Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

Pictures and explanations, send to SRD. I am confidant they will make things right.

Something is not right... I do not know what. The scratches, honestly, will not damage the strop... it will look ugly, but not damage the strop.

The razor is the cause and that is NOT right....

Again, query SRD with pictures. I'm confident that Lynn and Don will make things right for you.

Regards

Christian

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I think this may end up being the best call. Thank you.

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Originally Posted by toonboog

All the usefull stuff has been said, so I can't add to that.

Biut just a thought that occurt to me: Are you sure it is the spine?
I remember when I first started stropping (My first SR was e 5/8 Dovo) that the heel was a bit sharp and not the spine). If I tilted the blade just a bit, the heel would scratch the leather.

After a while I got the hang of it (and the use of the linen side of the strop as well as the paddle with green and red stuff may have taken the edge off literally).

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It is definitely not the heel in my case. I can clearly see tiny shards of leather piling up right at the spot where the spine and point meet.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

As Rodb asked, are the scratches occurring during one or both stropping directions?

Also, are the scratches on the strop happening from the heel or the toe end of the blade?

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Definitely not. It is coming from where the spine turns into the point.

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Originally Posted by dmorris247

where the spine turns into the point.

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Would you please explain what this means?

Also, for the third time, are the scratches happening during one or both stropping directions?

Are you leading with the toe of the blade, flat or heel? Toe leading would be a bad idea with a spike or square point.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Would you please explain what this means?

Also, for the third time, are the scratches happening during one or both stropping directions?

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Again, they are only on the left side of the razor (when holding it blade-side down in front of me). So in other words, it is happening when the razor is drawn back towards me on the strop (I'm right-handed). I've attached a photo here to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. The leather shards seem to pile up right in the area I colored in red on the picture.

Attachment 222019

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Originally Posted by dmnc

Are you leading with the toe of the blade, flat or heel? Toe leading would be a bad idea with a spike or square point.

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The blade seems to be perfectly flat while stropping, but again I'm very new at this.

The bits could also be knocked loose on the other pass and picked up on the return.

With the heel of your hand, work out the scratches so you can't see them as much. Then do one pass each way and check in between to see where and from which side it's coming from. If it's the spine I would think you could feel it

Also try taping the spine to see if it's still scratches

I've had this exact problem. The edge where the point meets the spine was a bit sharp. I took some 1500 grit sandpaper to that area and smoothed it out, problem solved. The amount I sanded wasn't visible to the eye but was enough to stop the scratching.