Thread: Strop width recommendation

I'm still fairly new, but with holidays coming up I'm going to be asking for a new strop. Currently I've got a filly and I'm thinking of going for a 3" wide strop so I won't necessarily have to do "x"s anymore. I haven't been nicking up the filly recently (improvement is slow but steady) but I'm a bit worried that a wider strop may be easier to nick for some reason. Any opinions?

Originally Posted by athair

I'm still fairly new, but with holidays coming up I'm going to be asking for a new strop. Currently I've got a filly and I'm thinking of going for a 3" wide strop so I won't necessarily have to do "x"s anymore. I haven't been nicking up the filly recently (improvement is slow but steady) but I'm a bit worried that a wider strop may be easier to nick for some reason. Any opinions?

Speed is not necessary with stropping. Take your time and it will pay off. I like a Tony Miller Strop. It is a wider one, just under 3" but not hard to strop on.

YMMV but I like the 2½" wide ones. Using an x stroke strops the whole blade. If you have a pointy razor be careful using any strop. The point or sharp heel may damage a strop.
Here is a thread all about stropping:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strops/
Also go to the Wiki to get some very good information about stropping
~Richard

If you get a wide strop make sure it's well made and stays flat when you pull it, there's a lot of bad constructions out there.

Edit: Don't worry if it's fire proof or not!

I'd go with a 3". You can still do x strokes with a 3" strop if you want. But you don't have to. 2 1/2 is fine but you pretty much have to do an x stroke to get the whole blade. Either way you can't go wrong but the 3" gives you more versatility. JMHO.

Started with a 3 inch strop and stayed with it not wanting to learn the X stroke on top of learning to strop. I bought a narrow vintage one and never use it because I do not like doing X strokes while stopping. So yea, I would go with a 3 inch strop.

Bob

Originally Posted by athair

I'm still fairly new, but with holidays coming up I'm going to be asking for a new strop. Currently I've got a filly and I'm thinking of going for a 3" wide strop so I won't necessarily have to do "x"s anymore. I haven't been nicking up the filly recently (improvement is slow but steady) but I'm a bit worried that a wider strop may be easier to nick for some reason. Any opinions?

There are several "Patterns" the X stroke is just the most popular it is easy to learn and allows the edge to touch equally and evenly across any strop..

To make the assumption the a 3" strop now allows the razor to go straight up and down the strop would be a mistake, to make the assumption that a 3" strop allows you more versatility in which pattern to use would be correct...

Hint: Making a "Flat" wide strop is a bit of a challenge so I would recommend a high quality product if you are going wide, as a cupped/bulged 3" strop creates more issues then it solves..

The way this works in my family is I put together a list and I will get something off it. If I just ask for one thing I MAY get it but I may not. So I'm going to be getting maybe three 3" strops (with links to specific strops) on a list. I was thinking an SRD, an american mountain, and whipped dog rich man.

Originally Posted by athair

The way this works in my family is I put together a list and I will get something off it. If I just ask for one thing I MAY get it but I may not. So I'm going to be getting maybe three 3" strops (with links to specific strops) on a list. I was thinking an SRD, an american mountain, and whipped dog rich man.

A mountain... I knew I'd forgot something on my list, got; a lemur, an old German submarine and a good wife on it so far!

Don't forget the Star Shaving 3" "Big Daddy" strop....
http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...big-daddy.html