livi loom strop

Whats your opinion on the livi loom strop? I got one a week ago but have not yet used it since my new Henckels 8/8ths 2/3rds hollow is out for honing. I like the feel of the leather and it looks really nice. I am not sure I understand why you have to tighten the tension of the leather and loosen it after use. What is the point of that? Do you give it different tension for different razors? How do you know how much tension to give? When I tried it out on my dull razor I just tightened it very snug, until the handle would not turn and then stropped. But I am not sure if I should be making adjustments or what. Also if you own a loom strop like this or others, how many passes do you like to use before a shave? And what is your technique? I just keep the toe leading and do a normal x pattern, but I have heard some people take the toe leading and do a diagonal stroke to the top left edge of the strop, and then come back down the same way to the other end of the strop.

Do you guys like these strops? I recently sold all of my shaving gear hones strops paddles razors all of it. But I decided I wanted to give it a try with a really nice razor and a really nice strop. So this strop will be my daily strop. I hope it can live up to the task. It was after all a 160 dollar strop.

Sorry for the long post.

matt,

The reason behind loosening the loom strop after use is that both the leather and the linen will stretch if kept under constant tension: the leather much more than the linen. Releasing the tension will keep the leather in good condition, in its nearly original condition, as in unripped, for years. You have to remember that with mechanical advantage of the screw thread adjustment handle, you can put a tremendous amount of tension on the strop material and over time that force, if not relieved, can do significant damage. Have you noticed your leather belts stretch over time? Picture taking your belt off every night when you retire and hanging it up in the closet with a concrete block, or two, fastened to the end.:td

I've never had a livi loom strop, but I have recently acquired a jemico loom strop. I can imagine that they probably have a similar design. If that is the case, then taking the tension off the strop would not only keep the leather from stretching too much, but also save some wear at the points where the leather is connected back onto itself. Another point on the stretching is that if there are any inconsistent angles or bumps in any of the hardware, it could translate to the leather. On mine, the leather looks to be attached with a series of staples and probably some glue. I'm sure over time that the thin staples could wear a bigger hole in the ends and eventually wear through. As far as stropping goes, I go by feel. It's noticable to me when I compare the feel from when I first started to strop to when I've completed a few passes. I think that by the time it's ready, the feel will be consistent for a few passes. I'm somewhat new to the process, so I could be wrong.

I have one which I like. But only really use it once in awhile and when I need to put a razor on some Chromium oxide. Reason being that its in that wooden box it came with whereas my hanging ones are at my bedroom door, making them easily accessible.
I have yet to loosen the tension on it.

I only use the Chrom Ox side on mine but I do loosen it after each use. As Ben Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". ;)

Speaking of which, I need to find a way to clean out the metal gunk that is left behind on the strop.

I have both the big Livi strop and the one like you have. Actually I have never loosened mine. Tightened a couple times....... Cut one and had to replace the leather and linen...... In any case, I do 20-30 normal X strokes when stropping before shaving. When I use the pasted linen side to refresh, I will do around 20 normal X strokes and then 30-40 strokes on the leather side.

Have fun,

Lynn