Thread: Beginner's strop abuse

As everyone told me, I have put several small nicks in the edges of my 2 inch SRD strop. I should have got the 3 inch. For the size of the nicks gluing doesn't seem an option. Should I sand the edges where the nicks are and if so what type/grit of sandpaper and technique should I use.
I appreciate all the help so far, thanks.

although I can't tell you how to fix it, I truly believe that in the future, when you know and can perform a proper X stroke on the strop, you will be glad you went with the narrower strop to learn.

maybe it's just me but sometimes easier is not better when there's a valuable lesson involved.

Originally Posted by TheBaron

although I can't tell you how to fix it, I truly believe that in the future, when you know and can perform a proper X stroke on the strop, you will be glad you went with the narrower strop to learn.

maybe it's just me but sometimes easier is not better when there's a valuable lesson involved.

TheBaron,

Those are wise words. Thanks for offering them.

Hello, Rolex 1979:

Nicked strops are part of the learning process in the fascinating world of straight razor shaving. I, too, have been through that, and many others, as well. Although I still have two 2" strops, one for travel, I am slowly switching to the 3". And, yes, the 2" gave me solid training on the X Pattern.

If your strop can be repaired, you will have your answer soon from the scores of experts at SRP.

I started on a two inch strop, and as TheBaron says, you'll be glad you learnt how to do the X stroke..!

I also nicked mine up pretty good. Flaps of leather can be glued down with rubber cement and then lightly sanded with a high grit paper (I used 1000 grit on mine) to smooth out any traces of glue or rough bits of leather.

Slices can be sanded out as well if they are shallow, and you dont need to glue those.

If you have a really deep slice either avoid it if possible, or get a bit of glue in with the end of a ****tail stick. Wait for it to dry, sand it down and voila!

I've done all of these things with my first strop, so they do work. Dont worry about it too much though, we've all been there and done that and its usually fixable..!

Good luck!

It kind of sounds as if you are blaming your strop for your bad technique and just replacing the strop with a wider one wont fix anything, imo. If you cant strop without nicking the strop on a 2" wide strop I think you will find that you will still nick the 3" wide strop, probably more since there is more surface area to nick. As I understand it(I havent nicked one, yet) most nicks are caused from the turn around, that is turning the razor over without changing directions first, not the x-stroke. Also I would think that if you have a smiling or slightly warped razor that needs fancy strokes on the hone you would have to still use the x stroke, even if you have the 3" wide strop, to get the whole edge to respond to the stropping. This is all just speculation on my part since I havent the years of experience to draw from, i am still just a rookie. Good luck.