Service properties of a strop.

Hello,

I live in a remote area when it comes to straight razor shaving, i try to order as few things as possible due to living in the northern peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. i have had to order my hones and razor. But i will attempt to make my own strop. As of right now i have been using news print, which i make about 200 laps on every few days and a narrow leather belt before shaving. But i NEED a proper strop. I've read through most of the material on making your own strop you have on the forum, but left with a question on the exact properties of the strop service? is it hard, but yet smooth?, silky?, kinda like a micro fiber sofa? or just a softened leather feel? the texture of the strop seems important to me so high detail would be appreciated.

Thank-you very much,
Nathaniel.

IME top grain, smooth leather is best. It can be cow or horsehide. The characteristics of the strop, draw (resistance) will be more from the way the strop is processed than from the material. OTOH, horsehide is generally faster with less resistance than bovine. Some strops are roughout but they are generally reserved for special applications while the smooth top grain would be the daily driver.

Generally pro barber strops were 2 1/2" by 24". In recent years many favor a 3" wide strop. Either is fine depending on your preferences. I have no experience with narrower strops.

Thanks for your input, i see, i have cow hide but i dont mind putting the time into conditioning it as long as i know what kind of service i'm aiming for. the belt i'm using is about an inch and a quarter, i would imagine a wider strop would be easier to use and more consistent for the blade. thats mostly why i'm trying to upgrade.

A wider strop will definitely be easier to use and more efficient AFAIC. As for the treatment, other than neatsfoot oil I don't know. I do know that neatsfoot increases the draw and a very little goes a long way. The strop makers have their secrets. You could send Neil Miller a PM and he might give you something to go with.