Thread: first strop?

I'm new to SR shaving (a little less than a week in) and have been using a replaceable blade type of shaving tool. I plan to move on to a regular blade type and currently have an "ebay special" in for honing with Lynn.

I'm thinking now that when I get my razor back from honing I'll be ready to dive in but won't I need a strop after I use it a few times?

I've read on SRP forums that there is a learning curve for stropping wherein you can expect to beat up your first strop so I'm thinking I'd probably get a decent strop first time out and upgrade to a better one once I've got my more gross mistakes out of the way.

I've also read that you can "repair" your strop after you beat it up but opinions seem to vary on whether the repair leaves you with battle scars or not. I'll just assume that in my initial weeks and months I'll probably do something bad enough that it'll leave a bad enough scar on the strop that I'd be bummed out after doing that to a really good one.

Any recommendations for a fair quality strop that I can use for learning?

I suppose that for mid-grade stuff my leather choices would be limited (which is probably actually helpful at this stage) but I'm unsure about pros and cons for different backing materials.

I should mention that I travel a fair bit. Would it make sense for my learner to be a travel strop? That way once I upgrade later I'll automatically have the travel base covered. I probably wouldn't mind a few scars on my traveler. It should be spending most of its time in the suitcase anyway.


Thanks.

Charlie

Yes you will need a strop and should use it before the second use of your razor. It is a good idea to get an inexpensive strop for your first strop. You probably will nick and or cut it as you learn. You can repair many abuses to a strop but repairing an expensive strop isn't something you really want to do. The Filly strop is an inexpensive starter strop that is often recommended here.

RupRazor - The Filly

A helpful text on stropping can be found here.

File:Help Files Permanent Archive Barbering Textbooks 1961 Barbering Text - Honing.pdf - Straight Razor Place Wiki

You might want to take a look and follow the practice recommendations before your strop arrives.

Good luck.

Thanks for the recommendation and info. I ordered a filly and have read the article. Looking forward to giving it a try!

Charlie

Regarding the barber manual on stropping.... the suggestion to practice flipping the razor without doing the stroke until you have that movement learned is a good one. Also holding the razor's tang between the tips of the thumb and forefinger and not bending the wrist when you make your stroke. As the manual says it makes using a light touch easier to do and to feel.

Just to follow up on this, I've been using the Filly and really like it. No experience to compare it to but I have to say that it's doing a good job of keeping an edge on my razor.

I don't know what the "draw" is supposed to feel like, but I find using this strop a very pleasurable part of the whole experience. Shipped very fast and it was very reasonably priced. Thanks again for the suggestion and also for the tip on flipping the blade.

Charlie