Thread: General strop questions?

Good morning,
I recently started straight razor shaving and have five shaves down now. I am shaving with a new DOVO classic 5/8 razor. I have a Bismarck #1067 hanging strop, I also have a 4k/8k and a 12k stone. I practiced on all of the sharpening apparatus with a cheap razor and I feel that after watching Lynn's video and with my practice, my technique is good for a newbie. So the first thing I did with the DOVO out of the box was strop it up. Slow even passes, rotating on the spine with light even pressure. I think i did 40 laps + or - and much to my surprise, it snapped a hanging hair. I lathered my left cheek and gave it a test. It did shave but it felt like it pulled a bit and I also got a little nick, not a bleeder but enough to end the first test. I decided to go to the hones and followed Lynn's advise and did a short pyramid as the razor was in good shape to start with. Back to the strop and then the face. Over the course of the next four shaves my technique is getting better but I know the blade could be sharper.

OK, the strop questions. I noticed that the blade does not always make contact with the strop in the middle, only on the heel and toe. I know this also because the blade shaves much cleaner with the heel and toe than the middle. The strop was fairly stiff new and I didn't get any dressing so I started rubbing it with a smooth glass bottle as per suggestions I have read here and that seemed to help a bit. I got some neats foot oil yesterday and have done a few applications followed by the bottle treatment. It is softening up a bit but I can still feel that it is not even across the width of the strop. Is this a defective piece of leather or is this a common problem in mid to low level strops? Should I continue to oil and rub? I can't afford the heirloom right now but I thought about getting the TM apprentice strop and making my current one a pasted strop. I assume I will not have these issues with one of Tony's. Any advise will be appreciated!

Thanks,

If you have any way to wrap the strap over and across a flat board, that might solve your problem or at least help. I previously used a low quality black leather strap that I had to stretch quite a bit to get it flat down the middle.

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

If you have any way to wrap the strap over and across a flat board, that might solve your problem or at least help. I previously used a low quality black leather strap that I had to stretch quite a bit to get it flat down the middle.

I'm not sure if I understand exactly what you mean but I've been working the strop with the oil and the bottle every day and it seems to be flattening out a little each day. I think it will be ok for the time being.

Originally Posted by ttngya

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WTF ????????

dat be the post of a pirate,spammin the tubes here. no more talk about wigs and whatnot. back to the thread.

Try ironing it at low temperature, works a treat. Take the temperature range recommended for artifical fibers, just below the cotton ironing temperature. As the oils in the leather will become a bit more runny you will need to put something underneath the strop to protect the ironing board cover.

Originally Posted by davisbonanza

I'm not sure if I understand exactly what you mean but I've been working the strop with the oil and the bottle every day and it seems to be flattening out a little each day. I think it will be ok for the time being.

I'm glad it is flattening out for you

Originally Posted by Kees

Try ironing it at low temperature, works a treat. Take the temperature range recommended for artifical fibers, just below the cotton ironing temperature. As the oils in the leather will become a bit more runny you will need to put something underneath the strop to protect the ironing board cover.

So I'm not alone in the strop ironing....thank %$£%&
I have even steamed a strop under the steamer nozzle on the coffee maker prior to ironing to salvage a Ebay buy once.

PuFF

Yar! Try rubbing your strop with a wig matey! Back in aught 5 I were marooned upon a isle ninety leagues off the coast of Singapore. Me strop were warped from the sea water, so I rubbed it with the wig what I took from some scurvy bloke what thought he's be poking about me treasure chest. Straitened right up she did.

That was a good one man!!