Quote Originally Posted by Euclid440 View Post
It is not unusual for new inexpensive strops to be dehydrated or that could benefit from proper hydration and a bit of oil.

A while back I purchased an inexpensive leather strop from CNTG, it was not a high-quality leather and was very dry. A hydration treatment, over about a month, improved the condition of the leather, it is now a decent strop that could easily maintain a razor.

Your wrinkles may be from the cut of the leather, or from folding, during storage or shipping, but properly hydrated it should be as soft as a well washed sock and many of the wrinkles should come out or at least not be detrimental to a bevel or edge.

Some photos of the strop could help in advising you. I is not uncommon for new guys to have issues stropping and damage the strop while learning, (it can take up to a year to develop good stropping technique). So, a strop of the CNTG quality is perfectly acceptable for learning the skill.

As your stropping improves, so too will your edges and shaves, then is a good time to upgrade to a quality strop, where the strop can make a difference.

Worst case it can be converted to a pasted strop for knives or tools. Post some photos and use light pressure.
Cheers for the advice on the strop. I am going to try and hydrate it and see if it helps.

I did practice on a piece of newspaper first to find the right amount of pressure to use but I guess I might of rushed to the strop a bit to quickly.

I will try and post a photo of my strop when I get a chance. But like I said, I am 99% sure that it is my doing.

As the saying goes "a bad craftsman always blames his tools".


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