Thread: strop is not flat

my strop, a 20" Dovo, which is relatively new is just not flat enough to strop on. when pulled taught, only the heel and the tip of the blade make contact with the leather side, and the middle of the blade doesn't even touch the leather at all. curiously, this doesn't happen on the linen side.

I tried to flatten it with heavy books and all that, but the same problem just keeps happening. Any advice on what to do? I’m thinking of getting a tony miller strop which is definitely more quality than the dovo that I have.

In the meanwhile, should I just strop on the linen side only?

The old barbers used to break in a strop by coating it with lather and rolling a bottle on it with their shoulder into it. In the barber manual honing/stropping download in the help files they describe the method. I've never tried it personally but it might be worth a shot. Getting one of Tony Miller's strops would be the way to go if you cannot correct your Dove. They are as good as it gets.

EDIT just double checked and that link is not where I read about rubbing the strop with the lather and the bottle. It is somewhere in the help files, the Wiki or the forums though.

I also got a DOVO strop that was concave on the leather side and didn't get in contact with the edge correctly, and being a newb I didn't pick up on how totally wrong that was until a week or two of poor stropping had gone by.

Anyway, what I did was first to treat it with oil (I used linseed oil, and boy was that strop dry/thirsty ("a little goes a long way" did not work for my strop), but you can probably use something more dedicated - I've seen mink oil suggested a lot of times) and then bend it by squeezing it slightly together while making sure the middle bent outwards, working my way over the whole length of the strop. Not much bending though, just maybe 5+ millimeters outwards. Doing a round of that every time I was in the bathroom for a couple of days, and the concaveness was gone, and it has stayed that way since.

How long have you had it? Is it still possible to send it back? That's what I'd do. I have several different ones, I do have a Dovo-Solingen that's absolutely spectacular. It's my everyday go to strop. I have several of Tony Miller's too which I love.
I use two of his superwide paddle strops for pastes. You can call him, he's a true Gentleman, and would be glad to help you and answer any questions you have. You won't be disappointed with his products...Rich

i would definetly recommend tonys strops they are top notch strops in fit and finish and function as well, i have a 3 inch dovo i use as a finish strop and you can rub in some shaving soap really rubbing it in them use either a bottle or a roller from the kitchen to pressure the soap into it too i have to bend mine like the other guy said it stays flat for a while but i think its too thin to stay flat for long

Send it back if you can. Or attempt to break it in as detailed above or do a search for alternative methods. Beware of linseed oil though - some types become hard after time. I'd suggest neatsfoot oil if you are going to go that way. Another oldtime choice was tallow (animal in origin, as is neatsfoot, and the basis of the Dovo yellow strop paste I think). I guess that breaking in a strop used to be a fact of life - the leather if it dries out must change dimensionally plus the only rectilinear animals I've seen are made of Lego, so soft and supple must be good!

Regards,
Neil.