Thread: I need guidance for my first strop purchase!

+++1 on dave5225's advice. A daily strop should not be pasted.

Later--6-12 months from now--you can get a balsa or paddle strop and some Chromium Oxide paste to refresh the sharpness of your blade. Not now though.

My advice to you is to get a 3 inch strop From any of the vendors here that cary them. I prefer SRD and Vintage blades. I have had mine since october and sure I nicked it a couple times but that can be dealt with easily. Recently I sanded out the nic's with some 1500 grit sand paper, gave it a slathering of lather, let it sit for a minute, wiped it down with a warm towel then a dry one. I hung it up to dry for a day and gave it a good rubbing with my hands. Once it was ready it seemed to strop better than ever and I did not have to spend any more money.

I've got a 3" "Big daddy" from starshaving, it's cheap enough that you won't want to kill yourself for nicking it, yet performs quite well.
they also carry some cheap 2" ones that you can play around and practise with.
they also have cheap paddle strops etc.

later if you want a really good strop and you are sure you've mastered stropping, you can get an SRD or miller strop

I received a three inch from SRP last week and highly recommend.