Thread: TM Practice Strop

Hello again gents,

I got my first strop, from Tony Miller's shop, today. I ordered the inexpensive practice strop along with the heirloom Artisan strop. The moment I unpacked it I knew I made the right decision, the Artisan strop is perfect, beautiful and feels great. I cannot wait to start shaving.

My question is about the practice strop:

Is it "good enough" for a newbie to use every day on my main razor, or is it designed for practice on an old or non-shaving razor?

What are the downsides to using the practice strop? I'm guessing it won't damage the blade and will put a good edge on each morning, although may not be as fast or good as the Artisan strop.

I'm guessing it doesn't take folks long to move off the practice strop, on average.

Thanks!
tome

even the practice strops are quality. I would have no qualms using it on any razor

Tome,
The practice strop ought to be fine for daily use on a good razor until you become proficient with stropping. When I buy leather, even the best hides I can purchase yield me only 50% of what I feel is "perfect" or "near perfect" leather. Being a natural product every piece will have slight grain, discoloration or tiny scars on it.
The 50% waste becomes second quality practice strops or end caps and handles for my fancy strops depending on thickness.
Most of the "seconds" will have a dip in it, or maybe a healed scar that can just be felt when stropping or a scratch, etc..... None of these will hurt a good razor. These do vary from strop to strop but anything I think would be harmful is thrown away. Now, these seconds could benefit from a little smoothing of the edges with your hands, a slight flattening by stretching, etc... There is only so much I can do for $5.00 and you do get a 2 1/2" x 24" piece of latigo, a hanging thong and bead and I punch the hole.

So, no worries, use it in good health !

Thanks,
Tony

tome,

The practice strop will work just fine. It shouldn't be thought of as a couldn't run; its more of an also ran simply suffering from some minor cosmetic issue. Its purpose is intended to allow you to practice your strop stroke. If you haven't done much stroking of strop, there is always the remote chance that you could, at some point, lead with the edge. Razors being what they are - sharp - this will leave one or more lasting impressions on the strop that you wish were more temporary than they actually are. Having the practice strop suffer these ministrations will enable the first line strop to save face, as it were.

good luck, good stropping, good shaving, Bruce

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

There is only so much I can do for $5.00

You could have fooled me.. only so much you can do? That's not what I feel when I hold these strops. It's a rush to get tools that are both function and traditional art from clearly masterful hands.

Thanks for the very quick answer.

tome