Thread: Is this a terrible idea?

Grab a two fold wallet, a pencil, a piece of paper 1 inch wide by two inches long, and some scotch tape. Tape the paper to the pencil to create an edge. Strop on the wallet rolling the pencil in your fingers. Don't let the paper bend when stropping. Practice that until perfection.

Then, strop the razor on the wallet, same zero pressure routine. Flip, flip, flip. Practice about a thousand or so times. Then, flipping and stropping on a long strop should be easy.

Then, gently, add pressure as you strop to creat a nice smooth edge.

Learning to strop is much harder until you learn to hone so you can correct errors as you go.

The spinning lazy Susan idea would work, as long as you applied a single piece of leather.

FWIW, Dad - when Afdavis talks about stropping, I listen very carefully. The thousand strokes for me was too conservative. I needed several times that. There's nothing to lose by doing more.

Wow, so much great advice. Thanks everyone!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going to give the spinning thing a shot simply because the strops I'm ordering will take a while to get here and I can get some tanned kangaroo skin in a day or two, it's pretty darn cheap stuff. I'm going to buy enough to see if I can make a couple of bench-top strops to use as paste hones while I'm at it. Should be fun.

But while my strops are en route I can practice with a wallet, maybe some newspaper if I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I'll try that tip with the pencil/paper.

Go to a fabric store and buy a yard of Nylon/Poly strapping. Buy the widest and finest weave they have usually 2 inches. Should cost less than 5 bucks. Loop it around a towel bar or get a D ring and a couple of rivets if you want to get fancy.

It will be almost cut proof and will give you an edge equivalent to leather until you learn to strop. Once you graduate to leather, month or two you can paste the nylon.

Keep the spine on the strop and go slow and pay attention at the flip.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...st-2012-a.html


Start there, learn to strop, if you don't learn to strop correctly this way of shaving is going to downhill fast for you, there is no "Shortcut" you have to climb up

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Go to a fabric store and buy a yard of Nylon/Poly strapping. Buy the widest and finest weave they have usually 2 inches. Should cost less than 5 bucks. Loop it around a towel bar or get a D ring and a couple of rivets if you want to get fancy.

It will be almost cut proof and will give you an edge equivalent to leather until you learn to strop. Once you graduate to leather, month or two you can paste the nylon.

Keep the spine on the strop and go slow and pay attention at the flip.

Nee, Nylon is not cut proof, not even almost.
Neither Nylon or all the different Kevlar fabrics can take a sharp edge, good tensile strength but ask a climber what he thinks off the combination sharp edge and a nylon sling.
There is actually lots of Kevlar products sold as "cut resistant" or "knife proof", last time a salesman tried to pull that stunt I put a pillow inside the vest and stabbed it, he just packed up his stuff and left.
The only thing knife proof I know off is when they weave in metal wires or chain mail.

But then if you want really soft nylon webbing, check you local climbing store.

Of course you can cut it if intended, but nylon can be stropped on edge forward without cutting. For a new stropper nylon is ideal, inexpensive and available at any fabric store.

I doubt you will get satisfactory stropping results with chainmail.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Of course you can cut it if intended, but nylon can be stropped on edge forward without cutting. For a new stropper nylon is ideal, inexpensive and available at any fabric store.

I doubt you will get satisfactory stropping results with chainmail.

My recommendation would be for newspaper as it would damage the edge less than nylon if you did cut it.

Originally Posted by dadsavage

Wow, so much great advice. Thanks everyone!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going to give the spinning thing a shot simply because the strops I'm ordering will take a while to get here and I can get some tanned kangaroo skin in a day or two, it's pretty darn cheap stuff. I'm going to buy enough to see if I can make a couple of bench-top strops to use as paste hones while I'm at it. Should be fun.

But while my strops are en route I can practice with a wallet, maybe some newspaper if I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I'll try that tip with the pencil/paper.

Roo does make a nice strop. I would think twice about the lazy Susan thing, but hey you might be onto something. You might be better to make several hanging or paddle strops from the roo you are getting, I have one leather strop, and that is a roo one.that I made.
All the best
Ed

Roo does make a nice strop. I would think twice about the lazy Susan thing, but hey you might be onto something. You might be better to make several hanging or paddle strops from the roo you are getting, I have one leather strop, and that is a roo one.that I made.
All the best
Ed

The hide is cheap, and I want to buy more than I'll need in case of screw-ups (I'm not the most crafty person around) so having enough to give the rotating thing a shot isn't going to cost much.

But given all this advice I may just put the excess away for a bit, and see how I go practicing. The leather will still be there.