Thread: Linen, Canvas, Webbing and other Fabrics. Are they necessary?

Look at your razor with magnification, the day after you have shaved with it. No matter how well you have rinsed and wiped the blade, you will find bits of soap, skin, blood and rust on the bevel and rust. The skin holds moisture and will rust/eat the edge.

If you do not strop on linen and remove all the smutz, it ends up on you finishing leather. Rust, active red/orange rust, Ferric Oxide, (Fe2 O3) is harder than steel and will scratch a bevel and can lead to a chip.

Most folks do not clean their leather strop regularly and just wipe with the hand, further imbedding the grit into the leather. In addition, as said bit of steel are added to the above mix as parts of the fin are broken off.

There is no question that a good linen strop can straighten, polish and sharpen a bevel and edge. Some flax strops are very aggressive when looked at with magnification. A good Linen firehose strop is very aggressive as are many vintage true linen strops.

I strop on pasted Chrome Oxide, canvas between stones when honing after 1k and before the final finish stone. I then strop on plain leather after the finish stone.

Stropping on linen after 1k will straighten and make a cleaner edge. Before stropping I always first strop on washed, vintage true linen before stropping on leather or a pasted strop.

At the very least, linen will keep your leather cleaner, at best it will straighten and polish the edge. Leather is the last thing to polish and straighten the edge, before it touches your face, it should be in the most pristine condition.