Thread: Loom Strop

Hey all, along with my new Revisor, I got a loom strop, just for the heck of it. Now that I've got it, I have a couple of questions...

This thing is small. Like, really small.


So...how do you use this thing? For daily stropping? If so, do you need tons of passes, or what? Also, how should I adjust the tension? Meaning, how does tension effect the stropping outcome? I know I should probably just experiment but...yeah, I like questions.

Also, it's pasted on one side with a green paste. Am I safe to assume this is CrOx? Or might it be more like the DOVO green, which is much coarser?

Anyway, it's very cool--well made, and the leather has excellent draw (I believe "Juchten" leather is something like Russian...Olivia? Am I right?) and I like the tension adjustment a lot.

Jim yes, Juchten is oil tanned, russian leather.
I've got one of those loom strops as well.
The green side is ChrOx.
When I use it, I put a bit more tension on the strop than when I use the leather side. Don't know why but I feel its ok this way unless somebody tells me the opposite.
I'd also love to have a bigger one.

JimR;

I also use a loom strop and I love the things. I have an older one I found at the flea market. It, too, has one leather side with some sort of paste on it (in this case red).

By your description, it sounds like one of the loom strops made by/for the Dovo company. Sadly, these new ones a little small for my liking, but otherwise the construction is pretty much OK.

Regarding use: You will want to tighten up the leather for each use, but not so much so that you start to bend the support bars. You don't want the leather to 'sag' much, since that will contribute to edge rounding, although some people actually DO use a loom strop slightly looser in order to properly strop off the edge of a razor that has begun to wear a bit. Don't forget to slightly back off on the tension of the strop after each use so that the leather doesn't stretch.

You won't really need any more passes than you might have had on a regular hanging strop... but then again, perhaps a few more to compensate for the fact that your loom strop is a bit on short side.

- Ignatz

Congrats on the loom strop and the Revisor!! I've been looking at them for a while but other thing keep getting in the way. I would use it as a substitute or replacement for a hanging strop. Not sure what the green stuff is but I would guess Chromium Oxide. For tension I would start with more and loosen it up to get the edge you prefer, like the tension yo would put on a hanging strop. With the loom strop the tension would be consistent and repeatable accounting for leather stretching. There is a video some where here on SRP with Livi using a large loom strop and while he is using it he pauses to adjust the tension after testing the edge. Enjoy your new purchases!!

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'll try it out for a while and see how it works for me...

Ignatz, I've no idea who made the strop but it is certainly not Revisor--the label is clearly printed out on an inkjet and pasted on the box. But it's well built, not cheaply made, and should last a while.

JoeD, I can really recommend Revisor a lot. The razor is clearly made with concern, if not flawlessly, and they were immensely helpful in communicating with me. If the cash comes free, you should consider sending it their way.

I love using the Loom Strop, but the one you are talking about is YIDDLE!!!! Actually, I think the loom strop is a very viable alternative.



Lynn

Originally Posted by Lynn

I love using the Loom Strop, but the one you are talking about is YIDDLE!!!! Actually, I think the loom strop is a very viable alternative.



Lynn

Well, "wee" was the word I had in mind, but "yiddle" works too!
I like the gadgety aspect of it, which is actually why I bought it, and if it were bigger I might have fallen totally in love...

As it is, I keep looking with desire at those big Livi looms on SRP, but I keep spending all my money on razors!!

i made mine out of oak it is 18 inches long and 3 wide i have cerium oxide on one side and i love it ,when i put the strech on it it gets right at 20 inches long. it is like me ugley but works ,

I got lucky and bought one off of ebay at a fair price. It is one of Mastro Livi's and it is great. The chrome ox on one side and the most luxurious leather I've seen on the other. Like everything else the Mastro does it is a work of art as much as an object of utility.

I don't know if it matters but in between uses I take the tension off. When I use it I tighten it as tight as I would pull a hanging strop. I really like the way it works.

That Revisor is a good razor. The fellow that runs the company is Thomas something or other. I had some correspondence with him shortly after they got started and he is a very nice fellow.

He told me that he has a group of men in their seventies as the foundation for his razor mfg. They are no doubt breaking in younger fellows if they can find any willing to learn the trade.

Ronny, I'd love to see a picture of that. I wouldn't mind trying to make a bigger one myself some day...

Jimmy, that Livi strop is the stag-horn handled one, right? You mentioned it in another thread and that's what got me thinking about picking one up. You're a trendsetter!

Thomas Kronenberg is the guy at Revisor, but the razors are all stamped C. Friedrich Schmidt--maybe the head maker? Anyway, Thomas is a very friendly guy, and he definitely went out of his way to help me--I asked a LOT of questions, and he answered them all very very promptly and courteously.