Thread: Different strops for stainless versus carbon steel?

Should you use a different strop for stainless steel razors versus carbon steel? And what about damascus?

In particular, I'm asking about my little Dovo Inox 2/8 and 3/8, which are WONDERFUL for moustache and neck.

And I assume you can strop a Zowada damascus on any strop you'd normally use for carbon steel, right? I'm mainly using a nice, fat 3" red latigo right now, but do have a linen strop and another whole strop, plus a 4-sided paddle strop and a 2-sided one...and a few other strop toys.

Thanks, y'all!

I have not found it necessary to use different strops for carbon vs. stainless. I use the same linen, leather and pasted strops on all my razors and have never had a problem... I will note that I have to strop the stainless razors markedly more (about 50% more) than the carbon ones to get them where I like them.

+1 on Jockeys. Use the linen or cotton after honing then move onto the leather. You only need leather before each shave although there are people here that use the canvas then leather before each shave. The four sided and two sided have been used for pastes to refine the edge and not the final strop unless it is a loom strop. The slight sag in the hanging/loom strop refines the edge. Stainless may require more strokes on the strop. You need a good honed edge to get a good edge off the strop. The finer the grit of the last honing the smoother the shave. Diamond pastes have a reputation of providing a harsher shave. If going to paste chromium oxide has been reported to do a good job on a paddle strop (4 sided or two sided) as well as on the canvas.

Thank you, Jockeys, that is very helpful info to know about having to strop the SS twice as much!

I can notice no difference when stropping either carbon or stainless on my strops. One caution with stropping a Zowada damascus is that Tim tapes his spines to prevent wearing away the etch on the blade. This etch is somewhat rough and when you strop, the spine may scratch your strop. A little tape will prevent this (I find this a hassle) or one could take a hone to the spine to shine up and soften that edge. Pristine appearance or practical polish?

choices abound,

I strop all my razors on my three strop rotation and I do equal strokes on linen and canvas for all of them whether they are stainless or HCS and it works for me.

i think that if you use a good strop in good condition properly you should have a great edge to shave with, improper stropping probably accounts for more dulled edges than anything else you could do wrong to your razor, time for a cheap plug, i really like tony millers strops first rate in quality, fit, and finish, also very fast shipping