Thread: So...my strop came in.

My strop and barber hone came in. I grant you its a cheaper one from Scalpmaster 23-1/2" horsehide 'barber strop' with some sort of white fabric on the back. Just pulled it out of the package. Will this do the job? I'm going to rewatch some stropping videos to make sure I do it right the first time. Comments?

A strop does not need to be anything particularly special to work well as a strop. The largest factor is going to be that the leather surface needs to be ultra smooth. To over simplify the process they take a piece of tanned leather and mill the surface to make it smooth without take off the epidermis completely, just thinning it. If it is smooth and free of wrinkle it will do the job. Some need a little time on them to get the surface as smooth as they can be. It will likely be ok.

That's good. I bought a barber hone and it's my first time attempting to hone. I tried it a bit and its sharp enough to cut hairs off my arm but, its not sharp enough to cut whiskers yet. Its been a long day and I don't want to screw the pooch (tired, long day) so, I put the hone down for the night and am gonna make dinner and enjoy some whiskey.

Barber hones are not for resharpening a razor but maintaining a sharp razor. You should start with a pro hone job.

Does the barber hone have a stamp, label, or imprint? If so, what is the name on it?

Barber hones are for maintenance, but some can be used even for bevel setting. However, this would be not be as easy for a beginner.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Does the barber hone have a stamp, label, or imprint? If so, what is the name on it?

Barber hones are for maintenance, but some can be used even for bevel setting. However, this would be not be as easy for a beginner.

It's an Arkansas hard stone. I was told it's for maintaining the blade. Now, I just need someone to hone my blade to be shave ready. I'm still looking around in town for a person to home my straight.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...or-hone-2.html
just to save confusion, here is a link to glory's thread about his hone.

For all the time you have been looking for someone local to hone it you could have had it back from someone who knows how to hone , most of the so called knife sharpeners don't do,very well with a razor , locally good luck

Smooth out the crease. If it won't smooth out, then I'd go to ebay and find some smooth veg tanned cowhide to replace the leather (supposing you have a level and something sharp to cut it).

I've found most strops that have that appearance or that have a crease like that to be fairly coarse feeling leather, and the strop is the last thing that touches your razor. If it's not smooth on the surface, it's not going to yield a good result.

I know we seem to be discussing two topics on one thread, but I'd like to add on the creased strop.

In my case, I was eventually able to secure a full refund on my strop after taking careful pictures of the crease. I promptly bought a board strop from gssixgun. I haven't moved on since.

Because the company didn't even want the old strop back, I "repurposed" it. Cr0x pasted (.3) the strop and the felt.

A good vendor will probably be able to help you with a similar arrangement, I'd imagine.

Cheers,

Simon