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Hello everyone,
Its pretty obvious I'm new here, and this question might be a little foolish but I'll ask it anyway. I just received my shave ready razor from Joshearl, and I'm wondering if I can use a smooth leather belt I have laying around to strop it. If this is not possible, where would y'all recommend purchasing a strop from (I'm willing to buy from the states but something from Europe would be easier). Also, if I were to go looking for an antique strop, what exactly am I looking for?
Mate
Correct or incorrect i used a leather belt for some months before i got hold of a really decent strop. I guess you just need to be sure it is good leather and that you don't mind it getting scuffed a bit while you're getting your technique right.
Tony Miller will set you up with a very nice strop you can find many references to his website here in the forums.
Failing that... you can try ebay UK. What you are generally looking for is a genuine horsehide strop, single or double sided... with or without canvas or linen... (i know that sounds complicated)
The very least you want is a good strip of genuine horsehide with the least amount of nick and cuts on the face as possible (none would be a rare and beautiful thing)
Cuts are ok if the leather is still there... it can be repaired with contact cement... gouges, where a chunk has been removed is a whole other problem... in the middle of the strop face and not extending to the edges is fine because the razor will slide over it un-noticed... but a gouge out of the edge you will feel every time.
My favourite strop is about 60yrs old and has a number of gouges out of the face of it.... these dont seem to effect its performance at all...
i don't know if that says something about how good the strop is or how little i know about stropping :thinking:
Greg Frazer
I've also used a smooth belt made of quality leather before I got a strop from Tony. I found it being narrow a bit of a problem but it was still relatively ok... Still, I can't imagine myself without my li'l Latigo wonder :nj
Thanks for the replies guys. I'm a bit confused with what the word "draw" means. Is it better to have more or less draw? I noticed on Tony Miller's website he states that some of his premium strops draw less?
That can be a litle subjective... too much draw means the razor will drag too much, even awkwardly so... too little draw means the strop isnt doing its job...
here's a bit of folk lore you might be able to use in conversation... horses are the only leather baring animal that sweats through the skin.. it is these pores in the leather that make it a desireable texture for strops and 700 dollar dress shoes.
Greg Frazer