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I was practicing the motion of stropping by laying my strop on the table flipping the blade on its spine and I noticed that the strop isn't flat. It is concaved, giving me 2 contact points. Is this common with new strops? Should I be concerned with this detail? Also, my strop has the logo printed on the leather, should I avoid drawing the razor across this logo?
Is it a hanging strop or a paddle strop? If it is a hanging strop then it could be cupping (bad) which shouldn't not happen if you hang it and hold it taut. If I am understanding you correctly it shouldn't with paddle strop either. If the logo is printed at end of the strop then don't strop over it. I have never seen a strop with a logo in the middle.
It is a hanging strop. Cupping is a good description. Since I am laying it on the table, it could be a factor of it not being Taut. It is hard to tell, due to my inexperience, if holding it taut Eliminates the cupping. Seems like when not taut, it should be relaxed and flat. Is this sign of a bad strop or a 'not broken in strop'?
The logo is at the top, avoiding is easy, so will going forward.
Is it a new strop or vintage? What width is it? In any case it should not cup. Some neatsfoot oil or strop dressing could help if its old.
Thanks for the tip. Its a new strop, thinking about it, it probably is just a stiff strop that needs to relax. I will try some conditioning oil to see if I can get it to relax a little before I look for different one.
Just beware that if you condition your strop it can change the texture and drag. It won't hurt it, just can make it different and different people like different draws.
And before you add any compounds, etc., just try rubbing you palms on the leather. The oils in your skin are a nice natural (and free!) way to condition your strop. Hang it up, and rub vigorously basically until you feel it getting warm. You'll want your hands to be clean, but don't do this right after washing them as that will remove the very same oils that you're trying to transfer.
Good luck :)
If it is cupping just bend it in the opposite way to remove the cupping.
When you strop it should flatten out and give you full contact. Does it do that? Or, do you really only get two contact points?
I would set it between to very flat pieces of wood and kinda press it with some weight or in some cases clamp it. Leather will hold any shape if it is say moistened and then left to dry in a certain position. I bet yours was cut from a hide that was rolled and so it retained that shape. You may be able to roll it like a belt with the cupped edges out and come back to find it a lot more flat.