Thread: Why the linen strop!!!!

My son just found a website that gives a good reason for using the linen side of the strop before the leather. This site claims that the linen 'warms up' the blade so that the leather can more easily remove micro-nicks from the blade!

It's http://coolshaving.com/straight_razor.html

Tom

I mentioned this theory a while back when I was making my first (emergency required) strop:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=4496
but it was rebutted during conversation. the comment about how it works similar to the leather but on a coarser level.

I didn't see any illistrations or links to illustrations mentioned. They don't give science and they also mention removing nicks with the leather side of the strop. I'd have to disagree based on my limited knowledge as My understanding of stropping is to realign the edge. The metal is much harder than the linen or leather and unless it's pasted, the strop shouldn't be removing any metal at all.

It doesn't seem that they have anything more than an opinion and a second or third hand one at that.

I've seen a few references to blade warming, and a few to gross alignment. I do know that going back and forth (linen, then leather) creates greater draw. So I do believe its effective.

I have seen several references to blade warming as well, I was just referring to the way this particular article was written, i.e. poorly, and I would say it was about the least informative directions for stropping and honing I have yet seen, in fact if I am reading them correctly, they would take the edge off of a factory sharp razor rather than improving it.

Why the linen strop!!!!??

Because it works.

Really, as best as I know, the linen has some abrassive quality to it. Regardless, it does work to improve the edge. Some will diagree of course, so at the end of the day you will still have to decide for yourself.

Scott

I've seen several people say that they skip the linen and head right for the leather when they're stropping. This has clearly caused a bit of an anti-linen movement, because now we have people asking, "Why the linen?!" as if it has no value or something. But it definitely does.

Realize that when you're refining a razor's edge, you've got to think microscopically. Did anyone watch that National Geographic documentary on shaving?

Well, in case you didn't, they explained that to accurately measure the thickness of a razor's sharpened edge, they have to use angstroms. (1 angstrom = 1 / 10,000,000th of a millimeter!) To put that in perspective, they said that a piece of copy paper had thickness of 1,000,000 angstroms. A razor's edge can be as little as 300 angstroms.

Knowing that, of course linen is going to impact the edge. Hell, you could probably fart on a razor and waste a few hundred angstroms! All strops are different, but based on the ones I've seen, the linen is usually more coarse than the very smooth leather side. Microscopically, this this not unlike switching from the 4K side of your Norton to the 8K -- incrementally smoother to get the best edge possible.

Hmm, steel and linen, steel and leather. If its untreated its unlikely to realy change the edge however it will through friction heat up the edge and the leather will dress up the edge. Small but very important changes in the edge which translates into big shaving improvements.

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

Hell, you could probably fart on a razor and waste a few hundred angstroms!

Or, get a shitty shave.

(No, I couldn't "pass" that one up)

Well I don't think I'll be farting on any razors . Consider this, however. wood workers regularly strop tools on leather but I've never heard of a wood worker stropping on linen and I've been stropping wood tools since I was 'knee high to a grass hopper' .

I'm sure it has to do with the thickness of the edge and those angstroms that Blade wielder mixes in with his methane . But none the less, it's something to think about.