Thread: New Strop Excitement and a Question!

Hey folks...I received a brand spanking new strop for christmas, and I am very excited to use it! My original whipped dog leather/ poly strop has been serving me well and has its fair share of nicks. The new strop I received is a "veg" tanned leather and linen, with .5 diamond spray on the back of the leather. On my whipped dog I go poly then leather. On the new one If I am doing a bit of a touch up before a shave, what would the order be... Diaox>Linen>Leather?? I do have the balsa wood touch up with .3 FeOx, would I need to incorporate that in as well?
Also...would I be doing the typical hand rub on this strop as well?
Thanks!

Pastes are for touch ups when you notice a diminishment in the shave. They are not for every day.

Linen then leather is all you need for every day.

Hand rubbing the leather before stropping should be done every time. If nothing else, it clears off any dust or debris that may have accumulated on the leather. In addition the friction warms the leather and improves the draw.

If doing a touch up diamond linen then leather making sure that you clean the blade after using the diamond. If you wanted to use the balsa (unsure what you have here as crox is .3 and feox is .1) then you can use it after the diamond and before the linen. Again clean the blade after use.

Excellent!! thank you! and yes you are are right on the Crox and feox numbers!!!
thank you again!!!

Originally Posted by eddy79

If doing a touch up diamond linen then leather making sure that you clean the blade after using the diamond. If you wanted to use the balsa (unsure what you have here as crox is .3 and feox is .1) then you can use it after the diamond and before the linen. Again clean the blade after use.

It depends, on you and what your result are now.

Diamond is different from Chrome Oxide. Diamond is for adding keenness and Chrome is more to smooth an edge for example after stropping on Diamond, it can add keenness when use in a maintenance program as opposed to repair.

What have your results been with the Diamond and Chrome Oxide? Chrome on balsa can be aggressive, I suspect because most use too much pressure.

Linen is used to clean the razor prior to going to leather, but can add some keenness.
What you should do, depends on what your results are with the pastes and substrates you have been using.

If you already have strops that are pasted, perhaps you should just use those and leave the new strop natural. If you are still nicking your leather you might wait on the new leather, until you perfect your technique, when you know why you are nicking leather.