Thread: Twisty Strop

As I was stropping my razor for my shave this evening, I noticed that my strop had a slight twist to it. It's a 3" Latigo hanging strop, about a month old and I've never seen it do this before. All the hardware at either end is tight and centered. Will the slight twist effect my razor now or in the long run? I should say that after noticing it I finished my stropping passes as normal and shaved without incident. I tried taking a picture, but the twist doesn't come across on film. From one end to the other I would say the difference is less than 1cm. Should I try a strop dressing or maybe press it under a pile of books? Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

I would think when stropping you could be able to pull it taut enough that the little bit of swivel you mention less then 1cm would no longer be an issue.

How and where are you storing it, perhaps in a humid bathroom? while they look good in there if that is the case may want to move it to somewhere less humid, I have mine on back of my closet door no issues, you could also try as you mentioned putting it under a pile of books but 1cm of swivel is very small when you are talking a 28" or so strop.

No matter how tight I pull it, the twist remains. I don't leave it in the bathroom, instead it hangs on the back of my bedroom door. I guess my concern is that the twist is putting uneven pressure on the point and might end up warping or bending it. Is that even a possibility, or am I worrying too much?

Your worrying too much. As long as it works fine that's all that matters. Unless the strop is subjected to temperature or humidity extremes it shouldn't get worse. its not like wood that warps and gets worse. You can try the book thing to try and flatten it, it won't harm it but I have doubts it will do anything. I've found the only way to really straighten a strop is to soak it in water and let it slowly dry and the defects usually come out but you run the risk of staining the strop and the soaking part ain't the best thing for leather. That treatment is really if you have a strop that's so bad its unusable.

I'm a dumb@$$ ! Apparently I can take apart and put back together both humans and motorcycles with ease, but when it comes to installing an anchor under the lip of my bathroom counter to hook my strop to, I'm all thumbs.

I was cleaning up in the bathroom today and was scrubbing the base of the counter (where my cat loves to sleep), and while down there I noticed that the anchor had shifted position. After alot of cussin' and re-drilling a better mount, my strop once again is straight as an arrow. Why does it always have to be something so simple yet so out of mind?

Any-who, thanks for your suggestions...I'm gonna go bang my head against the wall for a while.

Mike