Thread: Stiff strop?

I was always under the impression that razor strops had to be supple and flexible. I ordered some leather from Handamerican today. I'm going to make some more strops, since I was finally able to find a source for the hardware. Talking to Keith at HA, he said he leaves his hanging strops relatively stiff. Will they work right like that, or do I need to dress them and get them soft. I already have a couple latigo leather ones I made, and they're very soft 10oz. leather.

Joe,
My strops are Hand American red leather. Quite stiff. I love em and they work fine.
Ed

Thanks, Prof. I ordered enough to make 4 strops...2 red conditioned and 2 red diamond. I'll probably make 2, and make some extra honing pads for my flatbed. I guess it sorta makes sense, though...if you leave the leather stiff, it'd be easier to not round the edge while stropping, while still having plenty of draw. Have you put any strop dressing on yours yet, or do you leave them 'as-is' for a while?

I have bunches of strops, several vintage of all types horse, seal, cow and some other critters and all of them are pretty supple. My only new ones are a Dovo which is pretty stiff and Tony Miller's #1 which is inbetween. I don't find any real difference in the final result no matter the type of leather or the stiffness of the leather.

Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

Thanks, Prof. I ordered enough to make 4 strops...2 red conditioned and 2 red diamond. I'll probably make 2, and make some extra honing pads for my flatbed. I guess it sorta makes sense, though...if you leave the leather stiff, it'd be easier to not round the edge while stropping, while still having plenty of draw. Have you put any strop dressing on yours yet, or do you leave them 'as-is' for a while?

The only conditioning I've ever done to them is to wipe them down with GOOP every month or so. If you're not familiar with it, GOOP is one of the many waterless hand cleansers (looks like and has the consistency of mayonaise).
Ed