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hi everyone, for the past 3 months ive been shaving with a shavette and have not needed a strop. I just won a bid containing a beautiful louper cabinet, needless to say i have no idea with what type of strops i should get. i need recommendations from you guys on what is a good quality strop. i understand the saying you get what you paid for. also i read that i need to "rub it down". no idea what that means.
Thank you.
Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment
This place sells good strops for a decent price. Starting out you don't want to spend a lot on items that will most likely get cut or torn while you learn. Some strops need to be treated with a leather balm that will help keep them supple enough for you to strop on, kinda like a lubricant so the razor flows. It also extends the life of the strop.
Thanks I will definitely check them out
Mistaoso,
Welcome to Straight Razor Place. Buy a three-inch quality strop to give you a good start. No, it does not have to be expensive, something in the $60 to $70 range, that will last you a long time. Remember, if you buy a cheapo, well, it will give you cheapo results. Visit some of the vendors listed here and you'll find what you want. Also, have that razor cleaned up and honed by a professional. Good luck.
The Star Shaving paddle strop with bridle, and latigo is a very good starter for around $40. The bridle has nice draw.
I just Checked the paddle out. It'd real nice and only 25 bucks. But I dont get what Balsa/Felt or Balsa/English bridle leather is
They are different mediums on which to strop and use pastes like Chromium oxide. You for sure need just plain leather so go with the Balsa/English if that is your only choice. I personally would skip out on the balsa and get a hanging strop. You can buy balsa at any hobby shop,glue it to a 2x4 and sand it. That's maybe a five dollar project. I would suggest the Big Daddy as a starter strop. I have one which I still use and its pretty cheap. Here is the link for strops in the wiki. Razor Strops - Straight Razor Place LibraryQuote:
Originally Posted by mistaoso
+1 on the Big Daddy from Star Shaving
Consider what your new strop will look like about 1 week after you get your inexperienced hands on it. The likelihood of nicks and cuts is in the upper 50 percentile.
On that basis, I would go along with guitstik above and get a Larry Andro [whipped dog] strop for cheap and if it happens to get cut up, you have a decent practice strop until you get the hang of things.
A top quality strop doesn't need a bunch of nicks and cuts along it edges. Time and experience will get you a top quality strop. Patience.
I have 4 nicks in my strop. None bother me because they are at the end of my laps. This is from not getting my fingers in the right position to start. Once I got the motor skill memorized I had no more problems. Now I never take the blade of the strop or the hone. I just roll it over on the spine. All that said I still use my first strop which was a chunk of horse butt on a stick. I am not one to change what works but I probably should. After 2 years I deserve another chunk of butt. Maybe this time I'll even glue it to the board.
A trick that I have found useful in getting the muscle memory needed for good stropping is to put tape on a sharp blade or better yet use a dull blade and practice strop and roll on your pant leg when you have idle time. I still do this when I am driving since I usually have hours of just sitting in the cab of a big truck. I have even thought about making a paddle strop that I can strap to my leg so that I can strop raz9rs as I drive down the road.
What about wearing leather chaps while driving... even if you cut off the unused leg or buy some cheap with defective/damaged leg that you don't need.Quote:
Originally Posted by guitstik
+1 to Big Daddy strops English bridle .I have a nick in mine at the same spot as all others. Its a rite of passage and a reminder to pay attention to details.Strop still works fine, so much so that I bought replacement from them. when I feel/proven to myself that I have improved then I will swap it out and be good to go. Out the door with replacements Around a $100. But that should be enough strop for a decade.$10 a year to keep up your gear...priceless
Does that fall under the heading of distracted driving? Or are we just going to call it really deep muscle memory?:dropjaw: Your brave man.Quote:
Originally Posted by guitstik
If the cheap route is a good suggestion, which ot is because you probably will nick it up, then maybe you could try making your own. I did it and I still use that strop. I went to tandy leather and bought a 3x50 piece of European cow hide (they don't use barbed wore as often so less nick on bumps in the leather). That will give you plenty of material for 2 long strops or 3 nice size strops. For the cloth strop you can go to any store that sells fabric and get denim, canvas, duckcloth, or so many other options with a price of maybe 5 dollars a yard. That's enough to make more strops then you'll ever need. Then you could go to a hardware store and get the necessary hardware to make it a hanging strop. All in all my project cost me maybe 60 dollars and I have three strops now. Then you could get some neets foot oil and condition the leather for a nice feel on the leather. Just a suggestion and obviously more involved then just buying a strop but it is definitely economical.
carefully select a good leather belt at walmart for under 20 dollars. Why cause you might just cut it up early on learning how to flip the blade.Quote:
Originally Posted by mistaoso
I went to a lot of stores looking for a nice looking leather belt and the last place I went was walmart and found a amazing belt made in India
it has a wonder price of leather and it's not too wide for a good x stroke for a best shaving edge.
The Illinois Razor strops are good quality at a reasonable price. The 827 is a common choice. Something form SRD where replacements are available is also a good option
Are you kidding? Have you seen what most people are doing while driving? :thinking: All I would be doing is strop and roll, I wouldn't even have to watch it just build on the action.Quote:
Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003