Thread: Is this normal?

Just a small point, but even the makers call the material side 'canvas', which is an entirely different beast to real linen.

Fromm (current owner of the Illinois brand name) states that canvas side of the 127 model is impregnated zinc oxide as an abrasive. This is a snow white powder, but its hardness rating on the MOHS scale is only 4.5.

Regards,
Neil

Neil, are you of the mind that the canvas side is to get the "gunk" off? Or does it serve a different purpose?
Thanks for your thoughts!

Originally Posted by Pringr

Neil, are you of the mind that the canvas side is to get the "gunk" off? Or does it serve a different purpose?
Thanks for your thoughts!

There are a lot of reasons as to why the cotton/canvas/linen component is used. Some say it is to heat the blade to prepare it for the leather, some say that it is like a micro-micro hone because it can remove minute deposits of metal by itself and cure a rolled edge (if it is a very minor roll), some say it is to remove gunk like dried soap and damaged bits of the edge formed during shaving and partial oxidation of the bevel if it has not been dried properly, others say it is to protect the strop by stopping nasty deposits from getting on to it, etc, etc.

Some of the reasons appear to be sensible, others owe more to hocus-pocus. Is it necessary at all? Some people get away with never having a second material component to strop on and seem to get along well-enough. Others can not do without it. Old barbers manuals recommend that you only need to use the material side after honing (to remove metal deposits and gunk) while other old barbers manuals say do not use it after honing.

Confusing, isn't it?!

I have tried various material components out over the years as well as not using a material component at all (some paddles have no linen side - when travelling with a paddle you are confined to using clean leather as the other side is generally given over to some sharpening paste or other and these are not recommended for use at every stropping session), and have come to settle on genuine linen. It has an edge - albeit a small one - over canvas or cotton or poly - it appears to be more 'abrasive' and a blade always feels sharper to me after stropping with linen (about 40 laps) then clean leather (about 60 laps) than when just using plain leather alone.

My feeling is that it cleans the edge of gunk and metal deposits, repairs minor faults at the bevel and thus protects the leather component (though if you leave your strop where dust can accumulate on it and do not hand-rub before stropping or wipe it down with a cloth the you might as well forego the material side.

I do not believe that I am 100% correct in this, of course - my findings are just based on my my razors, my strops and my face. I also use it after shaving to help properly dry the blade.

Regards,
Neil