First Strop Purchase... Assistance required.

Well my first razor (a shave ready wapi) is ordered.. and now I need to sort out a strop.

So I have decided to get one of Tony's strops (and most likely one of the higher-end ones with a practice strop as well.. as I like to buy once and once only)

The only issue I have is picking which one.. do I go horsehide/linen or dual leather, or latigo... 3" or 2"... tbh I have not got a clue.

Also is there a reason to not go with Leather handles.. how do you normally hold yours :w

Opinions please :) (Oh and when I get round to honing I'll pickup the norton 4000/8000 as my starting point so thats sorted !)

Cheers

Matt

I prefer 2.5" as it encourages an x-pattern. Latigo gave me great results but left some red on the blades. Linen+Leather did a great job for me. I don't hold a handle. <-- personal experience

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Originally Posted by MattUk

Well my first razor (a shave ready wapi) is ordered.. and now I need to sort out a strop.

So I have decided to get one of Tony's strops (and most likely one of the higher-end ones with a practice strop as well.. as I like to buy once and once only)

The only issue I have is picking which one.. do I go horsehide/linen or dual leather, or latigo... 3" or 2"... tbh I have not got a clue.

Also is there a reason to not go with Leather handles.. how do you normally hold yours :w

Opinions please :) (Oh and when I get round to honing I'll pickup the norton 4000/8000 as my starting point so thats sorted !)

Cheers

Matt

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Matt,

I have no comments on the linen vs. leather/leather. I would buy the dbl leather myself because I don't use the linen, but the guys here are divided on the linen issue.

I would advise you to get the leather handle. Trust me! Not all grip with the leather handle, but most of us use the "D" ring that connects the leather handle and the main body of the strop(you just put two or three fingers thru the "D" ring). It is very convienent, and prefered by most, to grip the bottom of the strop this way (IMO). My neighbor, Eli, bought a 3" strop from Tony w/o the handle, and he regrets not doing so after seeing and useing mine.

Good luck,

Steve

I have bought 3 strops from Tony. First was a #1 2.5" wide in red latigo, which to be honest was perfect in every way. I sold it to a friend when I 'upgraded' to a #1 3" wide red latigo.

However I didn't get on so well with the 3" wide one, and found it started to 'cup' a little, i.e. curl up at the edges. I'm sad to say I destroyed it in a bad attempt to get it flat again, in hindsight I really should have asked Tony's advice before I took a sander to it. :rolleyes: :cry:

So strop number 3 is now on it's way. This time I went with a Paragon 2.5" in horsehide, I asked Tony to make it without a canvas side as I didn't use that very much anyway, and as a plus it reduced the cost a little.

I can't wait to try it out now! :y

I would suggest the Honey brown with real linen. This is a very nice leather for finishing well with most razors and the linen when soaped is a marvel.

PuFF

I am very happy with my 3" wide Latigo and real linen strops with D-rings. Basically I have 2 stops: one leather only and one real linen only. No problems with cupping. Did not have to break it in, just using Tony's neatsfoot oil to keep it souple.

What is the linen for.. what does it do differently to the leather ?

thanks..

MattUK,

>>What is the linen for.. what does it do differently to the leather?<<

AHA!!! Therein lies the rub, or the strop. Opinions abound on this matter and since I don't know doodly whoop about the finer points of stropping, I hope to be able to lean back and learn a thing or two.

Other questions worth asking are: how much tension do you use to keep the strop straight, how straight (taut) should it be, and how much pressure do you use holding steel to strop?

Bruce

Good questions.. I'll also sit back and wait for a reply :)

LOL

You use enough tension to keep the strop straight for any given amount of pressure you apply with the razor. So..light pressure lower tension, heavy pressure high tension, sorta thing, you get my point.
Try not to deflect the strop any more than a fraction but not trying to pull the dam thing off the wall :)
Razor pressure on the strop is grind related in so much that, with a full hollow a lot of pressure would deform the blade and defeat the objective. So in this case it would be light pressure and enough tension on the strop to keep it taught. As the grind gets heavier you can up the pressure if you so desire and make compensation on the strop tension to accommodate this extra pressure.

You will get the feel of it if you start with Very high tension on the strop( arm ache potential) then gradually slacken the strop but maintaining the same weight on the razor. You should notice that when slack the razor makes more of a "hisssss" than a swoosh and feels like the draw increases more towards the edge than the spine. Very hard to put into words, what is a very subtle set of responses. Practice with an old razor that is sharp till you get the feel of it.
(razor has to have an edge to get the right note of the strop I find) At the point just before the note changes to a hisss is when I find it's just right.

Like I said Practice will show you the best marriage between razor and strop.

PuFF

was i reading too fast? the line was used for ???

The linen can be used for:

Cleaning the razor
Building a draw
Unsmoothing the edge
Applying a light honing paste
Gross edge alignment

Unfortunately, the linen is to stropping what a screwdriver is to carpentry, in that its function can be varied or even potentially ignored.

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Originally Posted by shavingsamurai

was i reading too fast? the line was used for ???

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...The Canvas or Linen Strop is generally used before final stropping on the leather strop. It's purpose is to provide a very honing to the razor's edge, replacing most of the keenness which was lost in it's last use. While it has proven effective for this purpose, it will not sharpen a dull razor but will extend the period between honings...

http://www.classicshaving.com/articl...90351/4052.htm

Thanks everyone...

A 3" paragon has been ordered with Tony :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AFDavis11

The linen can be used for:

Cleaning the razor
Building a draw
Unsmoothing the edge
Applying a light honing paste
Gross edge alignment

Unfortunately, the linen is to stropping what a screwdriver is to carpentry, in that its function can be varied or even potentially ignored.

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Hey AFDavis. What do you mean by unsmoothing the edge?

Furthermore, can you give any tips on how you would perform each of your functions. I get the honing paste, but is the difference between cleaning and draw just about timing (i.e. after a shave vs. before stropping on leather) or are you also referring to changes in technique.

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MattUk

Thanks everyone...

A 3" paragon has been ordered with Tony :)

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WOW that's like the Cadillac of strops - I hope you got the learning one too :)
As careful as I was with my strop i still managed to nick the edges at the turning points.

Oh yes..I did not forget to order that as well :)

Wonderful thread, very informative!

For the last week I've been in the same boat trying to figure out what is what and does what.

Seriously considering the Heirloom Artisan 3" Wide Horse/Latigo in burgundy with a leather handle and a practice strop...

personally i don't think theres a need to go with the 3". alot of the people who have them still use an x motion.

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Originally Posted by edk442

personally i don't think theres a need to go with the 3". alot of the people who have them still use an x motion.

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Well, I don't.

if you don't mind spending the few extra bucks, go for the 3". Then you have the flexibility to strop in x-pattern or not. I have 3" but I do the x, but i'm a novice.
If you want to go a bit cheaper 2.5" should work perfectly well.

I'm a rank amateur also but I think I'll end-up doing the X pattern. All things considered I think it's better to have and not need opposed to the opposite. Besides, from what I can tell it's something around a $10 (give or take a few bucks) difference between the 2.5" and the 3"... nickels and dimes my friends. ;-)

Thanks,
-David

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Originally Posted by Kees

Well, I don't.

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of course there's always the few exceptions...

i chose to save some money (which immediately went back into strops lol). the money i saved on 3 strops pretty much bought me my honeybrown :tu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steelforge

So strop number 3 is now on it's way. This time I went with a Paragon 2.5" in horsehide, I asked Tony to make it without a canvas side as I didn't use that very much anyway, and as a plus it reduced the cost a little.

I can't wait to try it out now! :y

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My strop arrived this morning, it's really quite lovely! :y

I christened it with my Thiers Issard SRP LE and had a great shave. Thanks Tony. :bow

Oh, and thanks for the freebie Williams mug soap that was in the box, I need to get a suitable mug so I can try it out now! :hmmm:

Iwan,
Thanks. The soap was a freebie for those guys who had orders delayed from my vacation.

Tony

Hi I was redaing this thread and you mentioned when the linen is soaped? Can you explain? I am also a newbie and I am going to order a new strop?

I am wary of giving details of the soap treatment when you are new to SR shaving etc. I wouldn't want to be blamed for a treatment to the linen of your new strop when you have not tried it as it comes yet. Like most treatments, once done, there is no going back. Try your new strop as it comes and decide if you want to try anything on it after a good period of use as is.
If you buy a dovo strop they come pre-soaped. TM strops come in natural finish, this gives you the choice.

PuFF

richard1...

I think the reference to soap was Iwan's thanking Tony for sending along a sample of Williams shaving soap with his strop order and Tony's "don't mention it." Soaping the fabric strop might be a fabulous thing to do: the secret to fine stropping, but then again, maybe not.:thinking: If you try it on yours, report back, won't you?:w Especially let us know what grit soap you use. I gotta stop now before I get into too much trouble.:nono:

Bruce

Bruce
Soaping a linen strop is normal practice on heavier linen canvas strops and it does improve the strops performance, I guarantee it. I did mention that TM's real linen comes up perfect with a soap dressing as does his courser linen strops. As a point of interest, beeswax soap or the old fashioned household soap works the best, imo.

PuFF

PuFFah,

Now I'm curious. Can you describe more thoroughly what the beeswax soap is and how it is applied to the fabric? I have some old strops which appear to have a treated fabric component, but as to how it has been treated, I have no clue. I also have one of Tony Miller's strops equipped with a very coarse fabric side which I use very little considering its coarseness. I would be inclined to try treating this with soap just to test the concept were fairly explicit directions given. If it's a total bust, I've sacrificed something I use very little. If it turns out to be God's gift to the stropper, won't that be dandy?

However, I don't think the old Illinois strop fabric element has been treated with soap as there is no reidue left on the blade after using that side.

Bruce

Bruce
wax/soap dressing on the linen will leave no residue if done correctly. You can tell if a linen strop has been dressed with wax/soap by the feel of the surface, have to say it, it feels waxy :).
Beeswax soap is made with beeswax and other things. It give a hard finish to the strop and doesn't "pickup" on the razor I found. Plain old Carbolic soap, I think it was called that, will do as well.

I will make up a set of instructions and PM them to you soon.

PuFF