Thread: How "they" made a razor strop in 1916

I was wandering about the comment that you can't hold a flexible strop tight enough to not round the edge. Is that true? Is there really that much of an advantage to a paddle type strop?

Not that I've seen. I think someone here maintained a razor without stones, etc, and on a hanging strop to prove otherwise. That and there have definitely been folks who maintained their razors only on strops - all you have to do is go look at used razors to see plenty that have been maintained only with abrasive pastes on strops.

I talked to the former toolmaker at colonial Williamsburg, and he said he'd used a lot of crocus cloth an what they had was mostly very fine iron oxide, very messy, and very slow cutting.

Which makes it sound like mostly iron oxide and not much else. This same guy had been ordering a lot of American hone co products and said they were about $6 each when he got them in the 70s.

They still had a couple super punjabs in stock there for $20 for the trade employees until recently.

Anyway, he didn't tell me which trades used the crocus yet.

Yes but many of the folks inhabiting this site are crazy people anyway.

I've often wondered if a true honemeister honed up a bunch of razors using an assortment of high end hones could a blindfolded straight shaver tell the difference if a pro barber used them on him?

Originally Posted by mike1011

I found this in ref to crocus:

"Crocus
A ferrous oxide abrasive material consisting of coarse grains of ferrous or iron oxide that is used for grinding metal before polishing. Finer grains are called rouge"

Thank you for the research. I found that informative:

About 20-25 years ago I purchased 'Salt Peter' at a drugstore to help my father try to recreate the cured bacon's' that he knew growing up on the homestead.

It's technical name is Potassium Nitrate. Would have thunk?

I have used horse hide on a paddle for all most 2 years. Most of my razors are still honed at 8k and yet to need more. I just used a 7/8 Goldedge this a.m. that I bought a year and a half ago. Now I haven't used it in 6 months but I put it to the paddle this morning to see if I have spoiled myself with the new hones I have now. It shaved just fine although it is going to see more hone soon :<0) And this post reminds me that I may have a strop just as described in the OP's post.

Horse hide Start


Black leather Finish


I have some crocus cloth and I am now wondering if I could get some off and into the leather ?

This might be a cool restore if I could put some new horse on it and get the crocus imbedded. I was just going to leave it in the collection untouced and maybe I should and just make a new one like it. Like I need 1 more thing to do LOL.

Thanks for the info Bongo :<0)

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I have used horse hide on a paddle for all most 2 years. Most of my razors are still honed at 8k and yet to need more. I just used a 7/8 Goldedge this a.m. that I bought a year and a half ago. Now I haven't used it in 6 months but I put it to the paddle this morning to see if I have spoiled myself with the new hones I have now. It shaved just fine although it is going to see more hone soon :<0) And this post reminds me that I may have a strop just as described in the OP's post.

Horse hide Start


Black leather Finish


I have some crocus cloth and I am now wondering if I could get some off and into the leather ?

This might be a cool restore if I could put some new horse on it and get the crocus imbedded. I was just going to leave it in the collection untouced and maybe I should and just make a new one like it. Like I need 1 more thing to do LOL.

Thanks for the info Bongo :<0)

Go for it, let us know how it turns out. I'm sure you're probably aware, but I'd separate it from the paper outside. It's going to look like someone left a rusty barrel wherever you do it.

The craftsman I mentioned sent me a message just now saying that he doesn't use crocus cloth now that he's not a toolmaker/instrument maker/jeweler/gun maker/machinist (he's retired, but wore a lot of hats - though unfortunately only ever made two razors) because it's so messy and the iron oxide gets everywhere and is a mess. He's using more modern polishes that make less of a mess.

I've got some pigment on the floor of my basement bathroom that refuses to come off, too. If it gets in or on unfinished wood, it quickly goes right into the grain and stains bigtime.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yes but many of the folks inhabiting this site are crazy people anyway.

I've often wondered if a true honemeister honed up a bunch of razors using an assortment of high end hones could a blindfolded straight shaver tell the difference if a pro barber used them on him?

Probably not if they were all done well, though some of the coticules I've had were incapable of really getting an edge sharp - I think they could be differentiated. I couldn't differentiate the hard natural stones honed well from chromium oxide finished edges.

Originally Posted by tintin

I was wandering about the comment that you can't hold a flexible strop tight enough to not round the edge. Is that true? Is there really that much of an advantage to a paddle type strop?

Millions ? Not sure how many ........ but myriads of professional barbers have used hanging strops to 'straighten the edge' on their razors for over a hundred, or two, years. Not to mention the other millions of straight razor shavers who've also used a hanging strop. All the years I've been using straight razors I've used a hanger 99% of the time. I'm not knocking paddle or flatbed strops. I have one, use it when I feel like that is what the razor needs, and it is a good tool in the arsenal, but hanging strops are the dominant method historically, and currently AFAIK.

Concerning the mixture in question, crocus and kerosene, a modern day mixture equivalent would be valve lapping paste. It comes in different grits and the grit (silicon carbide, & etc.) is suspended in a light grease. I've used it several times to "lap in" the locking lugs of bolt action rifles. IMO we have much better products for straights as has been stated. The polishing rouges, crox, diamond spray, and etc. create much better results for our purposes.
Thanks for sharing the newspaper article! Great to see yesteryears technology.
What the article claims about not needing to hone a razor is false. The author does not understand cutting edge behavior and metallurgy.