Thread: Is the canvas part of the strop necessary?

Got my first razor and looking at this for a strop.

http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.c...7&categoryId=4

I noticed that it does not have a canvas side as other hanging strops do.

why is this? and do i have to have a canvas side?

Canvas is supposed to gently polish and warm up the edge. It's benefits are widely contested. I use it anyways.

Don't have it on my everyday strop only on my travel. I don't notice a difference.

I only use mine on my stainless blades, becuase I only notice the difference on stainless and not on carbon steel. That said if I did not have it, I would not miss it.

Peter

hello clam,

no.

thanks,
mike

Originally Posted by clam61

Got my first razor and looking at this for a strop.

http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.c...7&categoryId=4

I noticed that it does not have a canvas side as other hanging strops do.

why is this? and do i have to have a canvas side?

I've got strops with and without. I use it on the ones that have it, but never noticed a difference.

Yep.. I look at the linin back on my strop as a sort of 'on the run'
hone. It takes the light oxidation off the edge and prepares it for
the leather side which polishes. As you use the strop the linin picks up
metal bits which provide enough abrasive to do a very light honing.
If I have not used a blade for a while it is especially useful. Some folks
imbue their cloth with verious mild abrasive creams...However I leave
mine plain, would not be without it....As you may know strops themselves
come in verious degrees of coarsness, the linin does as well. containing
different elements of cotton, silk, etc..Good stuff....

jim thinking about what to write for sunday here in Gold Bar

Lets see. Straight razors, strops and linen have been around for about 150 years or so. Millions of men have purchased them. A vast majority of them came with linen. Do you think they all made a mistake?

Randy, even though I may not want to go against your advice on razor-related issues, I question time-honored traditions as a matter of general principle. Don't forget that European people thought that other races were beneath them for at least 300 years. And how long did we think that the Sun revolved around the Earth? Just because we spent centuries thinking believing in something doesn't necessarily make it right.
With that being said, I still use the linen side of the strop and I noticed a difference in the draw.

Originally Posted by honedright

And he mentioned something about the superior abrasive quality of linen over cotton in the manufacture of canvas strops. This may help clarify the intended purpose of using the linen when stropping.

This is a quote from the thread "Illinois Razor Strop Company" in the strops forum.