Thread: Stropping

Stokes63,The leather of the strop should not be hard at all. I have no idea what brand you have bought, how about a description and/or a pic. Neatsfoot oil may help.

the strop is advertised as scalpmaster barber strop.

I was looking over some old barber literature a few days ago and read that horse hide was considered an inferior strop product to cow hide. I've never used a horse hide strop so what do I know.

Regardless, your strop could probably benefit from a breaking in process. In your post you say that the strop is hard. Hard is OK, but how is the surface texture? To get the best out of a strop, it should be very smooth. Run your palm over the strop. Do you detect a texture? Or does it feel smooth like glass? Smooth like glass is the condition you want to achieve.

Breaking in a strop can be done several ways. One is to just strop with your razor. Over time the strop will become smoother. Another way that will speed up the process is to employ the use of a pumice stone. Not just any pumice, but one that is meant to be used to smooth skin (soles of the feet for instance) and has at least one flat side. Usually available in beauty supply stores.

There is some art to the process, and I have gone into some detail in the past via posts on this forum. If you are interested those posts are easy to find.

As far as the hardness goes, consider that some types of strops are very "hard." Consider, for instance, bench strops, paddle strops, even loom strops. All relatively stiff, or at least under tension. The key, I think, is the smoothness of the surface.

ok I will take that into consideration. the strop is very smooth I was actually impressed with the smoothness of it but I had just always thought that the leather used should be soft enough to form to the edge of the blade. if that is the case then the strop I have will not work. if the forming to the blade is not desired than it seems I would be fine. thanks for the help!

I should have written flat and smooth. If the surface of the strop is somehow warped or otherwise deformed, it may cause problems. I meant that the leather didn't need to be exceptionally pliable. I've even seen paddle strops that were slightly convexly curved and the stropping stroke had to conform to the shape of the strop.

Originally Posted by stokes63

the strop is advertised as scalpmaster barber strop.

Never heard of it!

Originally Posted by honedright

I should have written flat and smooth.

yeah the problem I have been having is that it is so hard that it does not like to flatten back out and lay flat on a table or when attached to a fixed point it can not be pulled flat enough. it looks to me like a bad investment that I should do more homework before trying again. I will just have to temporarily have to go back to using my belt until I get another one that works. (my belt actually seems to do a rather good job believe it or not!)

Yeah, sorry if I misunderstood. Sounds like you may have a lemon. It's frustrating because there are a lot of inferior products out there amongst the good, and for newbies it's difficult to know which is which.

yeah I absolutly agree. it was advertised as being superior quality, and although my girlfriend was the one that purchased it for me as a gift, I am not sure that I would have known any better either. I will just have to do more homework next time. thanks for the help!

Hey, if you are liking your belt - I'd suggest an Illinois Razor Company #361. It's made by the oldest strop manufacturer in the U.S and is, in my opinion, a very under-rated razor strop. Probably because it doesn't work that well right out of the box. Just like barber strops ages ago, the #361 benefits from a breaking in process. But once broken in, probably one of the best strops out there. Even better when paired with a vintage linen hose strop, but the supplied "barbers' best" canvas strop is OK. Just a little odd to use at first.

Something to consider, and the #361 can be found online for about $36.00. If you get the #361, get the Fromm strop dressing too.