Thread: New here, Can I strop with an old belt?

Originally Posted by FTG

I understand the wish to use what you have - and this may work for you.

However, if you have a leather merchant / wholesaler near you it could be worth a visit.

A suitable length of smooth leather can be bought and cut to size, cheaper than the cost of a belt. (They may even cut the length for you).

Poke a hole in the end and tie it to something. Done.

The advantage of this is getting a piece of leather of known quality.

All the best,
Michael

I do have a collection of leather from other projects, I understand you want the "strop strap" to be cut in the direction that stretches the least, right?

And, given that said leather has a rough and smooth side, I want to use the smooth side? BTW, this is cow leather...

Yes, you want to use the smooth side.

Don't be surprised if you end up with a horrible shave though, for a few reasons. For one, the razor may need honing even if it feels sharp to you.

Secondly, technique is very important in straight razor shaving, and being a beginner you simply won't have good technique.

But if you want to go ahead and shave with it, I'd offer these bits of advice.
1) Go overboard on beard prep. This will soften your beard as much as possible. It won't make up for a sharp razor and/or bad technique, but skimping on beard prep in addition to razor possibly not shave ready and lack of good technique is a recipie for disaster.

2) Read as much as you can in the wiki, and watch the shaving videos. They will help a lot.

Yep smooth side.

Try and make sure leather is flat and smooth. If not perfectly flat, it may flatten when you pull on it.

Making the strop doesn't have to be fancy or complicated - just a hole and something to tie it to will do the trick.

If you're interested in other people's homemade strops, use the search button at the top of the page and type in words like DIY strop or Home made strop.

I made my first strop with left over bits of leather and sewed on a handle. Worked fine, but decided to get a new piece of leather to see if it would be better. All I did with that was poke in a hole and thread some cord through it - again working nicely.

Stropping - worth paying attention to. Makes a big difference in the shave... and of course shaving technique.

All the best,
Michael

It can be done, and generally leather belts increases the likelyhood that you pooch your edge which doesn't matter a whole lot since just about any ebay or antique store razor will have a pooched edge anyway. I foresee unpleasantness in your future.

Now, if you want to clean the edges, you can give a whirl at honing on a piece of 2k grit wet/dry sandpaper. When you start it will be 2k grit, but as the paper begins to break down, the grit will become finer. Afterward, several good laps using a good polish compound should work out lots of the honing marks. This certainly isn't a recommended technique for honing a blade but I did the same when I started and it worked well enough to get a decent edge on the blade. The total expenditure using this technique is about $5 for the paper and compound. And, like I said, this isn't the recommended technique, but it sure is better than using a 90 year old edge on your face.

Thanks.

The blade had no problems taking arm and leg hair off, but when I got it touching the beard... Yikes!

I suppose I need to start shopping for a beginner kit, with a professional hone & a decent strop. I do like the reasons given for said beginner blades.

Wonderful group y'all have here.