Stropping - Which side do I use?

I'm very new to straight razor shaving. So far i've only done it twice and my face looks like Edward Scissorhands face. Practice makes perfect though. I was going to strop but the strop has two types of surfaces one is linen and the other is leather. The leather was two sides though and i'm not sure which one to use. Can anyone tell me if I have to use the rough side or the soft side of the leather surface?
This is the linen side
Attachment 92282

This is the rough side of the leather
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This is the smooth side of the leather
Attachment 92284Attachment 92288Attachment 92289Attachment 92290

Well to SRP you have come to a great community!! Don't rush to fast to have the perfect shave it will take time! But it is time well spent!

As for the strop use it before every shave and use the linen followed by the smooth leather. There is no correct answer to "how many laps" everyone is different. I personally do around 25-30 on the linen or cloth and do 50-60 on leather.

What Brand of strop is that I can't make out the makers mark

g

I can't really make out the entire name but it says Buckingham and
Attachment 92293

A quick google searched returned "GB Buckingham and Sons"

Oh o.... That's one of the 'don't touch with a 10 foot pole' brands.

It looks like it. I bought a very inexpensive starter kit to try out straight razor shaving and I'm digging it. I might buy a better kit when I get better but I can tell everything that came in the kit is low quality. Even the boar brush they gave me seems lame.

Glad the crap stuff hasn't dissuaded you. If you like the whole Straight razor thing so far just wait till you get some quality gear!! ;) to answer your question - you strop on the smooth leather. If your razors a buckingham too then it will likely be an exercise in futility though.

No, the razor is a Dovo 5/8 solingen. Thanks, i'll keep stropping on the smoother side.

Ahh great. Can't go wrong with a DOVO. All the best!

Leather is leather - kind of.... I wouldn't be too worried about that strop's quality, at least to begin with - in fact, the pics look OK from what I can see, although there appear to be some scratches or creases or something on it - just make sure that surface is reasonably smooth. You might just be happy to have a cheaper one to learn on anyway - everyone gets a nick or two in the leather at some point.

James.

Do yourself a BIG favor. Spend the $20 to have the razor professionally sharpened. It will give you a baseline for a proper edge. Straight Razor Designs does arguably the best job. It will also become evident quickly that stropping like shaving is an acquired skill. It will take time and practice to maintain a good razor's edge. An inexpensive strop is a great starter because you will nick and or cut the strop during the learning process. GO Slow speed comes easily with time. Don't think you need to finish every shave with your Dovo. Work it until you tire or lose confidence and then finish with what you have been using in the past. READ the beginners tutorials and the Wiki. Enjoy the ride....er the shaving experience

I have a strop that is 2 sided leather...no cloth. Can i strop on the rough side of the leather first in lieu of the cloth? Also, my strop seems pretty stiff because it's 2 layers...will that ruin my nice new dovo's edge when I strop it?

Hi,
some do strop on the back side of the strop. I haven't dared to do that yet myself, because I too have a linen side. If the leather is rather smooth, why not. I wouldn't do it on the strop of the OPer though. I find that far too coarse. On a strop like that, use the linen.

I don't think your strop will harm your razor because it is thick or stiff. Just think what stropping on a paddle strop is like. It's rather inflexible too and does the trick. When you strop on a hanging strop, pull the strop tight, but not "singing" tight. It is important to apply the right pressure of the razor - namely almost none. And, it is important to make the spine of the razor "bend" the strop and not the edge. Both hands work together to get it right. Enough said, there are loads of videos and posts on stropping here and on the net.

Stay with it and you will learn to get things right, which is part of the fun.

Best wishes,
OldSalt