Thread: Why Strop On Fabric Before Leather?

If you look at the SEM pictures on the "Science of Sharp" blog, you'll see that stropping on linen and stropping on leather can indeed do different things to the metal, especially when there is a foil edge or a rolled edge present. Specifically, the What does Stropping do? post tells a story with pictures.

Whoa, this is a necro post that has risen from the dead. The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) pics on the link above while not quite as interesting as images of an unseen bug that lives in your armpit, are fascinating in themselves. The pics make me want to see some SEM pics of before and after beard/skin done by a straight razor. Somehow I think that the legendary BBS shave might in fact look like a hellish forest of stumps and holes.

I saw these pictures before, very interesting to look at the details of sharpening. You begin to understand more the process.

After two years of shaving with two razors about 3x a week, I just bought a canvas/leather strop at a place in West Edmonton Mall. I was thinking that both needed to be rehoned but the canvas restored both edges phenomenally. The both went from grabbing to oh so smooth. Both are antiques turn of the century razors.

I had a similar revelation to Theiggy above. To me, it seems that the canvas is absolutely necessary to get the best edge.