Strop nicked up bad already (this is hard and frustrating)

I got my razor yesterday and strop today. I spent about 30 minutes practicing stropping with my disposable without a blade in it and thought I had things going well. I switched over to the new straight edge and started off slow. I had watched all the videos and techniques and thought it looked easy, boy was I wrong. I nicked my strop up something horrible (good thing its a cheapy.) It seemed like every time I spun the razor on its spine, when the blade would come down on the leather it would just push back up into it on both the top and the bottom. No matter how slow or fast I went, or hard or soft I pushed this would happen for me. Any suggestions?

Also how bad is it to now strop with a very nicked up strop? I feel like I am doing more bad than good at this point and I've only had the thing for an hour. The are a few nicks at the bottom and a few at the top. :(

good answers will come shortly but heres mine

when flipping the razor try to have the blade moving again before the edge touches the strop

as for if its bad for the razor, that depends on the nicks. Pictures?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. My first strop didn't make it six months. The number one reason they get cut up is that you're moving faster than your ability....you're not a barber with five guys waiting for a shave, you're one guy with lots of time to take it slow until you're ready to speed up. :) Slow it down and it, too, will come. You didn't do three passes in ten minutes the first shave, so why push the stropping speed until you're ready :)

janivar123 is correct...Keep the blade moving at all times on the strop. Also make certain that your strop is taut while stropping.

As for the nicks...If they are not too bad--as in gouges or deep cuts--you may be able to remove them with some fine grit sandpaper.

Photos?

You're right, it is a good thing it's a cheapy. I agree with the previous posters, take it slow and try to have the razor moving in the right direction before letting the edge touch down. And don't get discouraged. We've all been there.

A tip I just posted the other day.....

Try to keep your wrist level with the strop. Sometimes we don't realize that it has dropped a bit, resulting in a loss of contact along the whole edge and, mor often than not, nicks on the right hand side of your strop (assuming of course that you're right handed)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generalwalton

It seemed like every time I spun the razor on its spine, when the blade would come down on the leather it would just push back up into it on both the top and the bottom. No matter how slow or fast I went, or hard or soft I pushed this would happen for me. Any suggestions?

The are a few nicks at the bottom and a few at the top. :(

---

Here is an article in the Wiki about repairing a nicked strop using rubber cement or contact cement.

When stropping your razor, until you develop muscle memory, strop slowly so you will develop good technique. Make certain that both the spine and the edge are in equal contact with the strop with almost NO pressure. Do not hold the end of the hanging strop too tightly. If you are "white knuckling" it, let up on some of the pressure.

I'm a little concerned with how you describe your technique. When you say "every time I spun the razor on its spine" are you lifting the spine of the razor off of the strop? The spine of the razor never breaks contact with the strop during stropping.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

Here is the 1961 barber manual on honing and stropping found in the SRP Wiki help files. The last few pages are on stropping and reading them helped me out. One of the things they suggest is practicing flipping the razor without doing the stroke until you are proficient with the flip. IME holding the tang between the tips of the forefinger and thumb on the top and bottom of the tang (not the sides) gives more control and makes it easier to flip without bending the wrist. I think we've all nicked a strop or two or three. :p

Hi,

I think that most if not all new persons strops develop 'character' over the first few months of use; mine (nick-naned 'ScarFace') certainly did :(

You can smooth out most nicks with some fine silicon carbide paper (600 - 800 grit), and the strop will still function OK.

Along with 'duelling' scars, strop nicking seems to be part of the rite of passage for straight shavers :)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

We've all done it..! :)

My first strop probably has a dozen or so repairs on it from where I did just what you're describing. Morty has linked the strop repair article in the Wiki, so follow the instructions there to repair major nicks. Smaller nicks can be sanded out with high grit sandpaper.

The best thing to do is to keep practicing. Most people do slice up their first strop, and mine got a good nick the very first time I used it.

Good luck!

My biggest piece of advice? Take your time. Technique is more important than speed. Don't try to mimic the guys in the movies who whip the razor up and down the strop. Remember those are the movies, not real life. You have joined all of us who have, at the start of straight razor shaving, cut your strop. :beer1:

Wow thanks for all the quick replys and tips. I only had one bad nick, the rest were all very shallow. I took the sand paper suggestion and had a 800grit sanding sponge laying around that I used to buff out the nicks. I hit the sanded area with some of the fiancees saddle soap and it looks good as new again.

I can put a disposable straight edge to my face with no worries, a steady hand and get a perfect nick free shave. I think the real deal just makes me nervous and shaky for some reason and it just make it difficult for me to strop. I am over thinking it and just need to relax and take things super slow for the first month and follow all the tips that are suggested.

Thanks again, what a great community. :)

Stropping is one of those things that seems to the uninitiated very simple and straight forward but it really isn't. It's a skill that needs to be learned and it takes practice. Like Jimmy said, first practice flipping the razor with your fingers before you ever actually touch the strop. Then go slowly so you can see what you are doing. Watch the amount of slack in the strop, watch your pressure and watch your stroke and the way the razor reverses direction.

That's why I'm a fan of starting with a cheap strop. Most of us do some damage to our strops in the beginning.

You could also try a butter knife or similar razor shaped non-sharp object to learn the motions needed, it won't be quite the same but might save a strop.

Oddly enough, I didn't start nicking my strop until well later. Almost every nick is all from my Joseph Allen XXL that I picked up off of eBay.

That blade came sharp and honed up even sharper.

It is a dangerous beast.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by janivar123

good answers will come shortly but heres mine

when flipping the razor try to have the blade moving again before the edge touches the strop

as for if its bad for the razor, that depends on the nicks. Pictures?

---

Work on this. I had the exact same problem as you and I was nicking up the edges of my strop something fierce. Realized it was because I was pausing a bit when I flipped the razor over and then started moving. When I used this piece of advice from another member here, no more nicks since. Also, there's a wiki page on fixing nicks that's pretty good. Since mine were contained to the edge, I just used some 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and sanded them down until it was smooth.

I read alot of posts about newbies nicking their strops..
I knew it would never happen to me.. It all looked so simple, and I was going to take my time until I became comfortable, which I was sure would not take long.
Luckily I bought a nice strop with an accompanying "practice strop." Well, needless to say, I hacked the practice strop up pretty good, just as everyone said! It's still usable, but it has some battle scars. I'm just tentatively moving to the prime time strop now, but I'm being extra careful!

Stropping has been, for me at least, by far the most challenging aspect of the straight razor experience. So don't worry... you've got plenty of company!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BlacknTan

I read alot of posts about newbies nicking their strops..
I knew it would never happen to me.. It all looked so simple, and I was going to take my time until I became comfortable, which I was sure would not take long.
Luckily I bought a nice strop with an accompanying "practice strop." Well, needless to say, I hacked the practice strop up pretty good, just as everyone said! It's still usable, but it has some battle scars. I'm just tentatively moving to the prime time strop now, but I'm being extra careful!

Stropping has been, for me at least, by far the most challenging aspect of the straight razor experience. So don't worry... you've got plenty of company!

---

This sounds so familiar for some reason. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dward

Remember those are the movies, not real life.

---

Isn't that the truth. Case in point - how many movies have you seen where the bloke is shaving with the razor nearly 90 degrees perpendicular to their face? And not one drop of blood whatsoever. Now that's Hollywood magic!