Is this normal for a strop?

My strop has a curve along it's width, such that the razor never sits flat on it without a lot of pressure to flatten out the curve in the strop. When I take my credit card and stand it up on it's edge across the width of the strop, I can see that the edges of the strop are the only thing the credit card sits on. So there's a curve in the strop which leaves a huge gap between the strop's surface and the credit card (or razor) in the middle. The crest of the gap is about 1/32 in some places, and 1/64 in others if I run the credit card down the length of the strop.

I have never stropped in an x pattern which I realize is likely the fatal flaw in methods. I will be from now on, but I still wonder if it is ok for a strop to be in this condition as long as you use an x stroke.

I haven't used the strop much. It's a black leather strop from Straight Razor Designs. Everytime I stropped (more like butchered) my razor, I would rub my hand pretty aggressively up and down the strop to get it warm. When I look at the light's reflection off the leather, I can see a lot of dullish wear in some spots where the razor was making contact, while it's still bright and reflective where is wasn't touching. There's also 1 or 2 small nicks in the edge of the strop I wish to somehow repair or get rid of.

I am going to guess that you have a 3" strop. This isn't to uncommon for 3" strops as there is a lot of material there.

What you can do is mix up a pretty dry batch of lather and spread it on the strop. You then take a smooth glass bottle and roll it up and down the strop till you get the strop even again. Then clean the strop off.

As to the nicks if there not deep the some 800 grit or higher wet dry sand paper will take care of them.

It's deep you probably will have to live with it for the time being.

If you have flaps of leather you can glue them back down. Then once the glue dries sand it down so everything is even and smooth.

Brand new leather is stored rolled up. Sounds like your strop has some memory of that left in it. Lots of ways to fix it and many may gasp at what I say but if you get it slightly wet and roll it the opposite way and work it a little you can get it out. Moisten it with a damp towel. Put it in a press it is another way ( clamp it between 2 flat boards. I hope you get the idea here. You just have to teach it to straighten out.

Didn't I read somewhere that this cupping can happen if the strop is stored around humidity (like in your bathroom)? It's for this reason I keep my strop in my clothes closet and bring it to the bathroom when I'm ready to strop.

I have that on a few of my strops, and I simply deal with it by holding the strop a little higher and forcing a "convex" into the leather while I strop. Of course, you still need to use the x pattern, but the results are a marked improvement over stropping on a concave surface. (and after a while, the strop starts getting flatter)

I used to get that with one of my strops when I stored it in the bathroom. As soon as I stored it in a room with constant (and lower) humidity, it stopped happening.

To get rid of the cupping, I laid my strop on a clean, flat table, and piled text books on top of it (this was during college) and let it sit for a while. The cupping went away, and the strop served me well.

It's been a while since I posted this, but I finally decided to do something with it. It is a 3 inch strop, and it's always been hanging in my bedroom, never the bathroom.

I tried spreading some dry lather on it, and rubbing it with a smooth flat bottle, but I didn't notice too much of a difference. It's definitely the 2 edges of the strop that cause the uneven surface. It's like they are swollen. It's the exact same thing that happens when you take your leather belt, bend it and look at the profile of the surface, the 2 edges are protruding out.

Anyway I took holli4pirating's idea and I have about 300 pounds sitting evenly on the 17" x 3" surface of the strop. I'm thinking I'll just leave it for a week and see how it looks after that.

My strops hang in the bathroom,never had that issue.When I handrub them I make a concerted effort to Cup my hand and force the strop into a slightly convex shape,better convex than concave, esp using X strokes

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

My strops hang in the bathroom,never had that issue.When I handrub them I make a concerted effort to Cup my hand and force the strop into a slightly convex shape,better convex than concave, esp using X strokes

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Likewise with the cupped hand when rubbing. Store my one 3 inch bridle leather strop in my hall closet. Just checked it with a straight edge and it is flat as a board.

Bob