Thread: Some say strap, some say strop. OED to the rescue!

I want you to send that cerium oxide back to me Lee

for wasting my time reading this thread

In French I say strap, in English I say strop.

Go figure.

I'm going with strop.

I've always been a fan of blades. Even if you're aligning the edge of a knife on leather, it's called stropping. It makes sense that it would be called a strop.

So strap your strop to something stout and start seriously shaving with your straight.

I called it a 'strap' before I logged on to the site. Then I learned it's actually spelled that way and not just a funny pronunciation. But now, I'm really confused. To confuse things further, I was showing someone my razor collection the other day and he asked what I used for a 'leather.' Anyone heard it called that before?

My grandfather grew up with a Barber for a father (My great-grandpa).

My grandfather uses the term strap exclusively, and I asked him if his dad called it a strap as well, and obviously the answer was yes!

I say strop because you don't "strap a razor" prior to a shave.

Also, I like the sound of "strop" better - sounds more gentlemanly.

Mark

I look at it in terms of logic:

All strops are straps, but not all straps are strops.

There are plenty of straps out there, but not all are suitable for stropping a razor.

Thus the two different words.

It's like saying all German Shepards are dogs, but not all dogs are German Shepards. German Shepards can (about) do anything that any other dog can do, but not any dog can do what a German Shepard can do.

(attn: dog lovers - this is just a generalized comparison, so please don't get your panties in a wad and break out the technicalities. It's not needed. We know already.)

Originally Posted by Ben325e

I look at it in terms of logic:

All strops are straps, but not all straps are strops.

I look at it in terms of logic too. All razor straps are straps, but not all straps are razor straps

All strops are strops but not all strops are razor strops

thus the term razor strap

Well Escher calls a slurry stone a rubber ..... what do they know ?