Thread: Thoughts on make-shift strops.

Howdy everyone. I know I post like a madwoman, but bare with me.

Like a lot of our newer members here, I'm young and broke. And yet, being young, I want to have a life despite being broke. So I looked into this whole straight razor thingie and decided, yes, I want to do this!

I read lots and lots, and looked into what's good, what's good enough, and what's crap. I wanted as good as can be had for cheap, which usually means good enough, without winding up with crap.

So, I read lots of threads about make-shift strops. A lot of the more experienced members recommended against it, but I never saw a clearly articulated reason as to why. They would instead recommend that a cash-strapped newbie buy a piece of leather.

"But isn't that the same damn thing as a belt?", I thought. I smirked and assumed that it was tied up in SRP's constant drive to get that extra 1% out of their shave.

Well, I was wrong.

So, to any newbie wanting to used a belt, or your jeans, or whatever, as a strop, here's my story. Here is a clearly articulated reason to think about it.

First, I'd like to say that lots of people can and do have success with such make-shift strops. This is just one tale of one person. But, maybe it's something worth considering.

I bought a belt from the Salvation Army. Two inches wide, perfectly smooth, no obvious imperfections. Looked like it had hardly been worn. Genuine leather and everything. Perfect.

When I first tested out my razor the moment I opened it (shave-ready from LilithParker the beautiful!), it shaved hair off my arm. Tiny bit of pull, but nothing a good stropping won't clean up, right?

I stropped my razor, and tried to have a shave. And failed miserably. So miserably that I would have almost been better off not shaving at all.

Tried to shave my arm again. Nothing.

The immediate concern was my stropping technique. Obviously I'm new, and while I did practice before hand, that was my first time stropping a real razor. I assumed the fault rested entirely with me.

And to be sure, my stropping is not that great. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't all that effective.

But when I sent it off to be honed (by the spendiforous Onimaru!), assuming I'd rolled the edge, I got quite a shock when I got an email with micro pictures of my blade.

I had not rolled the edge.

I had apparently ground off the edge like a maniac with a 400 grit stone.

I was completely confused. How did this happen? I was so careful with keeping my edge from hard surfaces. I was so good about storing it properly. The only thing it touched, besides my skin, was a leather belt. And while my stropping may have been a little more insistent than necessary, there is no way I was pushing hard enough to do *that.* Onimaru wondered if perhaps it was something in the leather.

And then, it was pointed out to me, that after a certain point, your fingers can no longer feel differences in consistency. A 4k stone feels almost exactly the same as a 16k stone, one member told me.

It is entirely possible that something has been embedded in, or roughened up, my belt. And my fingers may not feel it, but my razor will show it.

I have no idea where that belt has been. I have no idea if it was thrown in a box with a bunch of saw dust. I have no idea if it had tiny scrapes from being banged around. I have no idea.

I spent $5 on that belt.

I could have just as easily spent that $5 on a nice piece of leather which would have been sufficient. I would know that it had been carefully shipped. I would know it had little contact with anything, apart from other bits of leather.

I would know a lot more about what I was using, and thus it would have a better chance of being successful.

People don't really think about the micro surface of their belts. That's not what they're for.

But people do think about the micro surface of their strops, and even of plain leather. They are more likely to treat it accordingly, and it is more likely not to chew your blade apart.

So, the belt, being that it is far too big for me to use it for its intended purpose, is going back to the Salvation Army. Lesson learned.

Love,
Cassie

Yep! The stropping makes all the difference!

I was suprised by the closeness in feel of those two stones, I must admit. I thought it would be like a sandpaper versus glass, but its much closer than that. Dont get me wrong, you can tell them apart, but theres not a huge difference in it..!

Or maybe its just that my fingertips have been ruined with all that guitar playing..! Hehe!

Great post, thanks for sharing!

ShavedZombie - Actually, my full name is Cassiopaea.

Onimaru was ever so kind as to offer me a strop of his, one he thinks will suit my wandering ways. I cannot thank him enough for all of his help and generosity. Ditto to Ms. Lilith Parker. Sorry I couldn't give the Wapi a better entrance!

Thanks guys, I hope someone finds this helpful. To be cheap is one thing, but to be cheap and wise is another!

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

ShavedZombie - Actually, my full name is Cassiopaea.

Lol I read that and I was like, what if her name is Cassiopaea or Cassidy? Anways...

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

Onimaru was ever so kind as to offer me a strop of his, one he thinks will suit my wandering ways. I cannot thank him enough for all of his help and generosity. Ditto to Ms. Lilith Parker. Sorry I couldn't give the Wapi a better entrance!

Thanks guys, I hope someone finds this helpful. To be cheap is one thing, but to be cheap and wise is another!

The ruprazor filly would be my best recommendation for you, but I recall you posted somewhere that shipping is restrictive. AFAIK it is the cheapest strop on the market, so I would then probably look to buying some nice raw leather.

Originally Posted by MistressNomad

ShavedZombie - Actually, my full name is Cassiopaea.

Onimaru was ever so kind as to offer me a strop of his, one he thinks will suit my wandering ways. I cannot thank him enough for all of his help and generosity. Ditto to Ms. Lilith Parker. Sorry I couldn't give the Wapi a better entrance!

Thanks guys, I hope someone finds this helpful. To be cheap is one thing, but to be cheap and wise is another!

You're kidding... right?

Coolest. Name. Ever.

A round of applause for Onimaru, then! Wish I could have helped, too :/ No spare strops ...I'm halffway tempted to try my hand at making amateur strops, and then giving working prototypes to beginners in need... May be future in this plan...

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

Also, and I'm sure this has been suggested before, the RupRazor Filly is a great starter strop, it's only 20 dollars, has a Crox touchup side (don't use this every time :P just for touch ups) and a latigo side for daily stropping. I've heard a lot of good things about the Filly.

i'm a beginner and I got ken rup's filly strop and I recommend it. I do have a question about the rough side with the green paste. How often should i use that side, and is it equvalent to an 8k, 12k stone? Or am I thinking about all this wrong?

Originally Posted by Toplin

i'm a beginner and I got ken rup's filly strop and I recommend it. I do have a question about the rough side with the green paste. How often should i use that side, and is it equvalent to an 8k, 12k stone? Or am I thinking about all this wrong?

The green side is higher grit than 12k. Well.. Not higher grit, but smaller particle...

To save you the long version, the essentials are that there is no finite answer to your question, it's different for every razor.. When the razor starts to tug, or give rough shaves, give it 10 laps on the Green, then give it a good stropping on Latigo, if that fixes it, yay, if it doesn't, 10 more laps, repeat as necessary... When the Green doesn't do the job, you need a finishing/barber hone.

That answer your question?

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

The green side is higher grit than 12k. Well.. Not higher grit, but smaller particle...

To save you the long version, the essentials are that there is no finite answer to your question, it's different for every razor.. When the razor starts to tug, or give rough shaves, give it 10 laps on the Green, then give it a good stropping on Latigo, if that fixes it, yay, if it doesn't, 10 more laps, repeat as necessary... When the Green doesn't do the job, you need a finishing/barber hone.

That answer your question?

yes, thank you

Hey Toplin, lots of people love their Filly's!

Unfortunately due to where I live, just the cost of getting it here and the exchange rate would more than double price. This was kind of my big problem with a lot of stuff having to do with SR shaving. I know of no one in the country who hones razors. I had to send it internationally just to have it honed by someone I felt confident in trusting. I know of no manufacturer on this side of the planet who makes nice strops. After shipping, even a cheap strop becomes mid-range.

This was, essentially, the problem that caused me to try out a belt for stropping.

So, if a newbie finds themselves in similar need, it seems the very *best* investment, if they live in the more accessible places in the world, would be one of the starter strops that the wonderful people in the SR community make, such as the Filly.

Otherwise, if in my situation, or so broke that that extra 20 bucks seems like it would hurt, and one would like to go DIY, start with raw leather. You know what's gone in to it and how it's been treated. Knowledge is power.

And besides, making stuff is fun!

ShavedZombie - Thanks. I didn't like it as a kid being teased on the playground, but I gotta say, I'm lovin' it now.

Yes, we should all send Oni candy.

You did a great job explaining this! I used a belt for about two months when I first started, not believing a real strop would make much difference... but oh how it does! It's often hard to convince a beginner, though, because it seems perfectly acceptable to save some money and use a belt or whatnot...

...I will now direct these poor unfortunate souls to your thread! What a great contribution to SRP!