Thread: I knicked my strop...

This may sound really naive, but how exactly do you nick the strop, and how do you avoid it? Is it a result of turning the blade the wrong way?

Originally Posted by RayG

Is it a result of turning the blade the wrong way?

Essentially, yes. Before developing the technique, sometimes it's all too easy to turn the blade a bit prematurely at the end of a stroke, or accidentally start with the edge facing the wrong direction.

I sliced my thumb restoring a razor the night before and tried stropping wrong handed. I shaved a very clean piece of the edge of the strop. No impact to stropping just cosmetic.

Still I clearly need to spend a few months with my starter strop before I get all excited about a more pretty finish.

-Bob

I'm a little worried that I'm going to slice mine when I get it, but...you gotta start somewhere. I'm glad to hear that you can sand them down if it isn't to bad.

I too knicked mine up the first time. And I too was recommended a piece of pumice and it worked very well. Also, I found a superfine grit metal nail file to work wonders as well. I also used some Dovo leather conditioner over the cuts immediately after sanding them to hydrate the leather a bit.

You may knick a strop the first few times you strop but eventually you will get the motion down.

I now use my first strop as a travel strop and haven't managed to knick my Tony Miller.
Good luck!

-Kyle-

You've got to project your problems! The strop attacked your razor in a completely unprovoked fashion.