Thread: Too heavy of draw damaging edge?

I have what I would consider 1 heavy draw strop and one fast strop or light draw. I agree with the fact that the heavier draw strop is pressure sensitive, I have also found that tension plays a factor. If I am a bit lax while using my heavy draw strop it gets really difficult to get a smooth stroke, but if I put a extra bit of tension on it then it helps a lot. As far as if it is actually affecting the edge? I guess I can not see how it is aside from what we know a strop to do which is align the edge, I don't believe it to be stretching or pulling the metal. JMO

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

Well to be honest i am not sure it's Roo, the Vendor sent me three strops to test and the only caviate was don't cut them and he identified each one in an email and said this colored one was Roo and this was Spanish HH and this was Cordovan but the strops upon arrival were not marked so I may have the Roo and Italian HH mixed up

In my rather limited experience, roo strops tend to be much thinner than other strops.

I completely forgot to mention all this heavy draw stropping question has mainly showed up right after honing a fresh blade. I have a Portland Razor Co English bridle strop that is new and fast, using it last night after honing another 1/4 hollow blade I found after 50 laps it did practically nothing to the edge. So still I test shaved with it and the results told me the PRC strop did nothing to prepare the edge for shaving comfortably!!!

Is the newness of the strop the reason it affects the so little? Should I strop more laps on a new strop because it is not broken in?

Ive tested a Roo strop once and i back up what Utopian says. Not that my words hold much. It was much thinner, very flexable, not stretch to it at all and felt fast to me. I plan on getting one some day.

My Roo strop is also a fast strop. And as said a much thinner strop as well

A strop being new should still align the steel edge, possibly not quite as well as a well broken in one. But still do the job it's meant to do. It sounds to me as if your stropping technique needs some refinement. Is the strop being held with some tension? If not then it is not going to do what it's meant to

Originally Posted by Utopian

In my rather limited experience, roo strops tend to be much thinner than other strops.

Originally Posted by Dieseld

My Roo strop is also a fast strop. And as said a much thinner strop as well

A strop being new should still align the steel edge, possibly not quite as well as a well broken in one. But still do the job it's meant to do. It sounds to me as if your stropping technique needs some refinement. Is the strop being held with some tension? If not then it is not going to do what it's meant to

Both the Roo and Spanish HH are backed with a second piece so both are identical in thickness, I have always held my strops taught and warm the leather with my palm before every stropping, as I said I may have the Spanish HH and Roo mixed up as they are both identical in thickness and the only difference is the color, I guess I should have worded it better by saying that the Roo strop has alot more draw than the Spanish HH as in it's a heavier draw, the makers description how ever is the opposite as he advises that the Spanish HH has a lighter draw between the two.

For sake of an explaination he avised that the lighter colored strop is Roo and the more tan colored one is the Spanish HH so i am assuming the strop to the far left is Roo then Spanish HH right next to it and if thats true the Roo has a lot more draw than the Spanish HH, at least to me it does.

That makes sense, as my Kanayama has less draw than my Roo strop. But not a whole lot.

And if your stropping is on, this is beyond what I can help you with, sorry

Roo having more draw than horsehide is unusual,, every Roo I have ever used was slick, maybe not quite as slick as a Kanayama, but darn Close, just didn't feel as smooth. Most horsehide are a medium light draw. Now Latino is some heavy draw. Tc

Originally Posted by Dieseld

My Roo strop is also a fast strop. And as said a much thinner strop as well

A strop being new should still align the steel edge, possibly not quite as well as a well broken in one. But still do the job it's meant to do. It sounds to me as if your stropping technique needs some refinement. Is the strop being held with some tension? If not then it is not going to do what it's meant to

I do hold it straight and taught! It is super fast though feels like there is no draw or work being done. I do not add additional pressure.

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Roo having more draw than horsehide is unusual,, every Roo I have ever used was slick, maybe not quite as slick as a Kanayama, but darn Close, just didn't feel as smooth. Most horsehide are a medium light draw. Now Latino is some heavy draw. Tc

My Roo is not quite slick, very soft and fast. But as you said, not slick as a Kanayama.
But still a very good strop