Thread: Help Evaluate This Strop

This is a replacement strop I purchased probably in the early 1980s and used for a time. It originally came as rough leather and has smoothed some with use. I am picking up straight razor shaving again after learning a lot of what caused me to quit. (Al Gore hadn't invented the internet and informative forums yet)

My questions are:

Is there something that needs doing to make this an excellent strop or is it good as is?

The linen side is gone and I haven't found a place to purchase one without buying the entire strop set yet. Does anyone know where replacement linens are sold?

It looks OK from the pics, except the discoloration looks odd. As long as it's flat and supple it will work just fine. As far as linen, what does the back look like? I made a strop and use the back side instead of linen because it's rough enough to have the same effect.

Tony Miller might make you one when he gets back from vacation. You can email and ask here. If not from Tony there are always vintage strop coming up on ebay. Some of them have good linens and some don't. You have to look at the photos carefully and ask. A lot of them have been folded and have lumps and such that I haven't had any luck at removing.

It doesn't look bad to me - quite reasonable in fact! What's the draw like? Maybe it only needs dressing - if anything. How wide is it - I have some 2" wide cotton that's a dead ringer for the stuff used in old-style strops. Don't get wound-up on that linen-cotton-canvas-flax-hemp roundabout, though! The material side is there for one reason only, pre-leather prep / mild abrasion / warmer-upper - call it what you will! I'm in the UK, so you might find a local supplier cheaper - if you need any help, though, pm me.

Regards,
Neil

It doesn't look bad to me - quite reasonable in fact! What's the draw like? Maybe it only needs dressing - if anything. How wide is it

It is 2 1/2" wide. I haven't drawn it in a long time but as I recall it has some drag to it. The other side in in bad shape and is regular brown leather. It is very slick but uneven and has a couple of serious cuts from the previous owner. It might be able to be dressed though.

This strop is restore able. What I do is stretch the strop then rub in some Neats' Foot Oil. Just a few drops. Then I run strop over a rounded counter top to make more supple and this will also help to get out any lumps from folding. If there are still high spots, nicks or cuts that affect the level of the strop, I will sand it with 150 grit sand paper or an ordinary pumice stone. This level it out and it will dress it up and improve the draw. If you don't want a suede draw, you can oil it again and either run an old rolling pin over it or a bottle such as a wine bottle to put down the nap. Finding replacement linen is extremely difficult. I do have 2" canvas that I will add to my strops. I personally don't use linen or canvas. I have strops with both but I found I get better results with either .5 micron diamond paste or chromium oxide on the rough side. I warm up my strop with the flat of my hand before stropping. It is fun to restore strops to a useful state.