Thread: looking for information/opinions on strops

I've had my 3in English bridle strop I got from SRD for several months now and really enjoy it. It's held up very well for me being a newer straight shaver. I matched it with their webbing for the second strop and feel it works very well but I also have nothing to compare it to.

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You do need a strop. I would purchase a middle of the road. Mid grade strop.
Learn it and after a year or so, ask what do I like?
Do you like brushed cotton, or vintage linen?
You should learn what you like before you go all in high end strop.
I know I feel a better shave post stropping. I nicked up a few strops. Figured out my likes, and dislikes.
Invested in my favorite and am watching it patina. No need for another.

Some people enjoy honing more than shaving. I enjoy stropping... even more than shaving. But I have 6 razors in rotation and only 2 strops. Perhaps I need to get a shell, I read such good things about them. But I'm pretty happy with my Tony Miller Heirloom and Scrupleworks Horween. They are different in material, width, and draw. I do not notice any difference in the final result, but I do note a difference in the experience. For the OP, I don't think you can make a bad choice, they will all do the job and do it well...

Pros and cons ... man who knows? You can make a good argument for anything - and that's because what works best for you is a really personal thing full of variables that could take pages... But as to my milage, well, I thought I would love my 3" because then I could strop straight up and down. And I can, and I do, but I find that I reach for my 2" more often than not in spite of that. Who knows why lol!

Light draw or heavy draw? I used to prefer the heavy draw when I started because it slowed me down (which was a very good thing). Then as I got better, I shifted to prefering a lighter draw because I found that I could strop more lightly, more easily.

Now saying all that, perhaps that is indeed why I prefer my little 2" horse with it's light draw now. But it might just simply be, that I really just like it because it makes me feel cooler stropping on a 45 than a 90 lol!!

You're just going to have to pay your money and take your chances methinks. But note a 3" strop hanging in your den beside your 2", never looks uncool!!