Thread: 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

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

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

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

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.

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!

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..

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

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!

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

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

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!