Thread: Belt as strop...?

Hey I'm a college student and I'm paying through my nose for everything.... would it be feasible to skimp a belt as a strop? Yes I know that its not the right tool and a real strop would work better etc, but i'm not getting an amazing razor, and until I know if this is really for me, will a belt get me by? And if so, what kind of leather should I look for?

It works! Yes it does. Works very poorly, but it works. Plus you'd need to find a strop quality leather belt. Very hard to do when you don't know what a strop is supposed to feel like.

In the end though, I highly recommend getting a real strop rather than buying a leather belt that may or may not work.

There are strops as cheap as 18$ us out there; a poor stropping on a belt can ruin an edge.

Karl

figured as much
guess I'll have to do what I do best as a college student... rack up debt
:P

Originally Posted by midgho

There are strops as cheap as 18$ us out there; a poor stropping on a belt can ruin an edge.

Karl

A poor stropping on the finest strop out there can and most likely will ruin an edge.
I suggest you get a proper strop but you could get by with a belt as long as it is smooth. as for the quality of the edge you will get, that largely depends on your skill level and also the quality of the leather, but to a lesser extent!

Originally Posted by JMS

A poor stropping on the finest strop out there can and most likely will ruin an edge.
I suggest you get a proper strop but you could get by with a belt as long as it is smooth. as for the quality of the edge you will get, that largely depends on your skill level and also the quality of the leather, but to a lesser extent!

True, true; I am a college student, and found a great deal on a strop online, we should have a thread for bargain basement shaving.

yeah i pretty much figure i'm gonna stuff something up... thats why i even considered the belt... something to learn on and stuff up on first so when I get good stuff I can do it right

Well, the best of luck to you! A pasted and well made strop takes things to the next level.

If you figure the money you have saved by not buying those cartridges you will have the strop payed off in no time.

bj

You could always use a straight that has replaceable blades for a little while (like I am) see if you get into it (like I did) and then start saving up for some better quality gear.

I effectively paid $15 for a straight razor that came with 10 blades. Plenty of blades to get your technique going with out spending a lot of money, hardly any money at all in fact. Then just keep it for traveling.

I'm even using my canned goo until it runs out!

Yes, I am a student also! Good luck mate.