Thread: Illinois #827

I decided to pick one of these up to have a different stop to experiment with but I am unclear about a few things:

1) Will the gold writing on the front and back have any detrimental effect when stropping over it?
2) Do I potentially use all the surfaces and why would I choose one particular side/texture over another?
3) Is there any particular break in procedure that I should use for the leather? Both sides the same?

Thanks for your help.

#1 No
#2 Yes use the Linen first about 20 laps or so then the Leather about 40 laps or so
#3 Rub the Leather with the Heel of your hand every time you walk by it for a month or so The Linen just takes time to break in and it can be intimidating until it does


The back side of the Leather on that one is NOT used ever

Thanks for your help.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

#1 No
#2 Yes use the Linen first about 20 laps or so then the Leather about 40 laps or so
#3 Rub the Leather with the Heel of your hand every time you walk by it for a month or so The Linen just takes time to break in and it can be intimidating until it does


The back side of the Leather on that one is NOT used ever

Thank you for this information. I, too just bought one of these strops on Amazon and was a bit confused as to how to use it. I was under the impression that the back side of the leather could be used for honing with chromium oxide. I guess that I did not need to purchase the C.O. - I will return it to Amazon. Can I use either side of the linen part of the strop? Do I need to add any rouge to the linen?

Originally Posted by lemke

Thank you for this information. I, too just bought one of these strops on Amazon and was a bit confused as to how to use it. I was under the impression that the back side of the leather could be used for honing with chromium oxide. I guess that I did not need to purchase the C.O. - I will return it to Amazon. Can I use either side of the linen part of the strop? Do I need to add any rouge to the linen?

Go get a piece of balsa wood $5 in a hobby store. Put the crox on that and use it before you strop whenever you feel the razor starting to tug. Works wonders.

Thank you, Hacker. The crox was only about 7 bucks - I would like to be able to use it. I guess I will hold onto it.

The 827 is one of the best bangs for the buck as far as strops go. It really shines with wedges and kamisori for some reason.

You could always put the crox on the reverse side of the linen. Got the idea from a Lynn Abrams video and do that with my Illinois #127.

Originally Posted by Smattayu

You could always put the crox on the reverse side of the linen. Got the idea from a Lynn Abrams video and do that with my Illinois #127.

This is what I was going to suggest. When I was experimenting with CrOx paste I put it there. The strop still has some paste on it, but I no longer mess with it. I get the same results faster from a barber hone.