Thread: bad effects of strop nicks?

Hi everyone,

I know my stropping still needs some work, but I've already put quite a few small nicks into the leather. I don't really want to fix them and/or buy a new strop because I have sneaking suspicion there are more nicks to come!

I guess my question right now is am I doing any damage to my blade by using a nicked strop? They are kinda small I think, maybe I will post a pic. Thanks!

stretch it out like you would for the razor and strop a pumice stone on it till it's smooth then just rub your hand on it till it's smooth. That will take any high edges off.

also, practise your stroke on newspaper , or with a butter knife, and pay more attention to the stroke than the speed.
ive been stropping on my fore arm all week, seems to actually work ok and no nicks yet.
i suspect your as/more likely to damage the blade WHILE nicking the leather than when stropping on it..
make sure your rolling on the spine and not the bevel.

Good advice so far.

To answer your question directly about whether or not you're doing damage to your razor - you could be.

If you have any spots that are raised at all because of the nicks, it's probably not good for the edge to go over those spots.

I'd do just what has been suggested with the pumice. It's really quite easy, and will keep you from damaging the edge. Once you've gotten to the point that you're not nicking the strop anymore, you can trade it in for a new one that will last a lifetime.

I've had good luck using standard superglue to repair a large nick on my strop,

-Chief