Thread: Stopping with a untaught strop

Originally Posted by vladsch

If you are turning it over its spine then most likely as you are about to turn the blade over you pull on it against the stroke just a little so the edge digs into the leather, does not take much the edge is razor sharp. As you turn it over, the edge now dug into the leather breaks off or bends. The shaving edge is extremely delicate.

I did that a few times when I started and nicked the strop but luckily at the very top and bottom so the rest is still good.

I now start turn over the blade a little before I stop the stropping stroke so the blade is still moving with the spine leading while being turned over the spine. No chance of catching the edge on the leather.

Thats about an exact description as to whats happening even down to the nicks in the strop .. whatsmore it only seems to happen with nice sharp razors -- I'll try again this evening

If the nicks are deep but the nicked leather piece is still attached at one end to the strop you can get some contact cement and cement the nicked piece back. I used contact cement bought in office supply store. Strength of cement is not a major issue. The nick is very thin and will not exhert much force to pull the cement off.

Bend the strop over to open the nick. Apply very little cement to both surfaces to be glued. Make sure not to get any on the strop surface or wipe off immediately if you do. Let the cement dry a bit and close up. Apply pressure to the glued area by running the back of a smooth table spoon over it or the side of a smooth drinking glass.

You want to use very little glue so that there is no bump after gluing. If after gluing the glued edge feels a little rough (run you finger on it) then very light sanding with fine sandpaper (600 grit is good) will smooth it out. Only sand as little area as you can to smooth out the rough spot.

What you are trying to do with the sanding is eliminate a sudden rise of the strop surface which would apply a side pressure on edge, in a very small area (hence magnified pressure per unit area), as the edge glides over the rough spot.

I saved my strop that way. Did not want to write off the $80 new strop as a casualty of inexperience.