Thread: Ruined Strop? New to wet shaving!

Well, first of all, I am new to wet shaving and new to the forum, so bare with me. I bought a Premier Strop Co. 3" Latigo Strop after my wife gave me a Dovo La Forme as a gift. Because the razor was not honed, and I could not find somebody to do it, I stored them for a while (around 10 months). Recently, I found someone to hone the razor, so I brought out the strop from a box my wife had put it in after moving to a new apartment. I realized, first, that the strop was pretty stiff, and second, that the strop had a crease or fold, which wont go away completely when pulling the strop while stropping because of the stiffness. Also, during my first attempts at stropping when I first got the razor and strop, I caused several nicks around the edges of the strop.

My concern is whether the stiffness and crease/fold affects stropping. The blade does not remain flat at all when running it up and down the leather, so I am not sure how even of a stropping it is getting. Also, how much do the nicks affect stropping? Do the nicks cause the strop to be too rough? And finally, there is a small ding in the middle of the strop.

At this point, is it recommended to get a new strop, or is this strop still functional? If so, what can I do to help the stropping go easier with the strop, skills aside (i.e., how to make it softer, etc.)?


Tried to get the best details as I could in these pictures to show the crease, the cuts and nicks, as well as sings in the strop.