Thread: What to choose

Hey all,

In 10 days I will pick up my first straight razor and get my first professional straight razor shave. Till then I used to shave with a safety razor and therefore stropping and honing is new for me. Those new things are giving my hard times in choosing the right products. Maybe it is because of my language lack, I'm a native Dutch citizen, but I don't know the difference between certain types of stropping products.

For what I have seen so far, you have three types of stopping products. The hanging strop, the paddle strop with two sides and the paddle stop with four sides. So my questions are:

1. Is the paddle strop with two sides the same as the hanging strop, so with a leather and linen surface?

2. However some have not a linen surface but with some kind of side with pasta.

3. Isn't the use of pasta the same as honing with a stone?

4. What do I have to buy, to be fulfilled for the next 50 years? (That includes a honing stone, which you don't want to do as a beginner, but in 10 years I certainly have to do haha)

Great thanks, Robin

No one can help me out? I am reading many forum topics and even an article but I don't know the difference between the stropes and pasta vs honing. Please help me out?

Boob,

The daily stropping should be done on plain leather; the use of a 'fabric' component (linen/cotton/polywebbing) has been much discussed, and the concensus seems to be that use of fabric is optional, but worthwhile.

I use a paddle strop exclusively for my stropping - I use a Neil Miller double sided modular paddle.

Pastes are used as a means of intermediate edge maintenance - when the razor starts to tug, you would give it ca 5 - 10 laps on the pasted strop.

The use of a pasted strop is not a daily thing - I tend to touch up this way once a week.

You can apply pastes/sprays (e.g. Chromium oxide (CrOx), diamond etc) to a variety of strop materials - leather, felt, poly-webbing. I prefer to use CrOx on hard leather paddles, and the diamond sprays on hard wool felt.

So, you need a plain leather strop, either paddle or hanging, with the option of a 'fabric' component. If you want to go the paste route, either get another strop or use the back of the leather or fabric component (hanging strop only).

Good luck

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

I´ll try and answear a few of your questions.

1. No, it´s not. A paddle most often has two leather sides (one can be with some paste, but I think it´s best with two different leather sides).

2. I don´t think I understod the question, I´m sorry.

3. No, it´s not. It´s more of a touch up history.

4. Wow, I don´t think anyone can help you with this. It depends on how you develope and what kind of gear/way you´ll prefer.

Get a cheapish strop of good quality to start with (not a cheapo Ebay strop though, I recommend Neil Miller, as mentioned before - LINK ). You´ll prob nick the strop before you get used/good at it, so no need for an expensive one to start with.

What I would recommend is a nice 4 sided paddle strop and paste two sides 1.0 Diamond and 1.0 or .50 ChromOx and leave the other two sides open for leather stropping. A decent one should be less then $100 and it should last you a very, very, long time and help you continually keep your straight razor performing well for a long time before it needs a stone honing.

I also have a decent 3" Latigo Leather Strop, but I don't think it will last me more than 10-15 years. I think my canvass strop just heats up the edge a little as well as getting the little "items" off the edge before I strop with the leather.

Wecome to Straight Shaving and SRP.

Pabster

Already, thanks both of you! I'm getting close but I still have a remaining questions.

First, you will use the leather surface of a strop for daily maintanance? This side will never be treated with some kind of pasta, just clear leather?

Secondly, if you are losing a bit of the razor's edge, you will use another leather side, this times with pasta, to get the edge back?

And last, when you are losing you edge completely, it is time to hone?


So if I understand correctly, I could buy this strop (Thiers-Issard "Extra Wide "Double-Sided Sharpening Strop) or this strop (DOVO Prima Rindleder Strop). Both have one side for daily stropping and one side is for using pasta?

Thanks, Robin

I bought my 4 sides paddle strop from Tony Miller. Excellent leather on all sides and he numbered each side for the different pastes.

The leather strop gets the most use. If I feel the edge needs to be a little sharper and the leather strop isn't getting the job done, then I give it about 10+ passes on the pasted strop. Over many, many shaves, you will find that although you go through this routine, the blade seems to struggle with shaving. Thats a sign that its time to hone it.

I once tested just how many shaves I could get in using this method without a stone honing and it was well over 70. But it got a point where the bevel was gone and although the edge was sharp, the shave was very rough. After a good honing, it felt so much better.

Hopefully this helps.

Pabster

Hey Pabster,

Didn't see your first post, I think I was typing my reply at that moment. Thank you very much for your post, now it is clear to me.

I probably will go for the Thiers-Issard 4-sided strop because Tony Miller isn't making his 4-sides strop soon. However why do you leave two sides for leather stropping open and not one?

To add a third type of paste if I desired which I did, but it doesn't get used much and it wasn't really necessary. I know this 4 sided paddle strop will last me a lifetime.

Good Luck with yours.

Pabster

1. I would get a hanging type of strop
2. I would recomend you get a strop with a linen side.
3. a pasted strop is not exactly the same as a honing stone because you cause a convex bevel though it's a common thing in our corner of the world
4. as for a honing stone although many will disagree with me I would get a coticule. I got one after I got started a few weeks and I still don't regret it.

kind regards
Stijn