Sharpening strop - which side?

Hello, I have a Thiers-Issard double-sided sharpening strop that I purchased along with my razor and initial setup, but I am a little puzzled about which side to use. I have watched Lynn's video and that answered most of my questions, but I am left looking at this strop and not sure which side to apply the diamond paste to. One side is black leather and the other is a tan (I think leather but I'm not sure). The tan side appears harder, flatter, and thinner than the slightly rough black side. I have 1 and .5 micron paste, any tips on whether I should use both, 1 on each side? Or leave off the 1 micron? The store I bought my equipment from knew I was a newbie and I think they intended that I use this strop and the paste to polish after using the Norton 4k/8k. In that case, just to confirm the progression - after the stone, use the 1 micron side and then the .5, clean, strop and shave? Is this reasonable or is a polishing stone necessary?

Thanks! Rob

Is it this strop?

if so I would use the rougher side for the lower grit paste etc. If this is your only strop, leave the smoother side plain for now and put the .5 on the rougher side for sharpening with.

The .5 is a fine polish after your Norton and nothing else is really needed.

Again if this is your only strop, keep one side free of paste to allow you to have a surface for daily stropping.

Hi, yes that is the strop I have. I do have a hanging strop so using both side is not an issue, but I like the idea of leaving one side clean for now. Thanks for the info, that helps!

Rob

Depending on how long it is, you could paste one side half and half. You really only need about 6-8 inches (:hmmm: ) to effectively strop with the pastes.