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

Have been stropping exclusively​ on leather and I get nice comfortable 2 pass shaves from my straights. Will I benefit from adding fabric to my stropping routine? I've read here that stropping on fabric after washing the razor will remove water particles from the edge but I can't see why leather can't do the same. I also read that fabric will speed up the process of stropping, is this a valid statement?

Thanks in advance for your answers

Elias

I have two old strops. One Red Imp and one Hoffritz both have leather and canvas. I use Theirs Issard strop paste from The Art of Shaving on the canvas and then finish on leather. Only touch up my razors once a year. So I guess I am saying it is beneficial to include canvas or linen in your stropping.

As soon as I come off a stone, I go to canvas before I touch the leather. I want to remove anything from the edge that might blemish my leather.

Try it and see

but here is more reading from YEARS ago


WONDER PHOTOS REVEAL UNSUSPECTED FACTS ABOUT Razor Blades and Shaving (Oct, 1931) | Modern Mechanix

Very informative (for me) answers! Never thought about fabric removing hone particles that may damage a strop but I also never honned anything yet.

Originally Posted by captainhx

Very informative (for me) answers! Never thought about fabric removing hone particles that may damage a strop but I also never honned anything yet.

Proof

Used Linen vs New Linen

It also takes off dirt particles and bits of metal. I don't hone nearly as much as Gssixgun up there, but the spot where I strop the most on my linen has at times looked just as dark as what I'm assuming is his rather well trafficked strop up there. I'm still patiently waiting for my current strop to take on that much metal particulate so I can play with it and see if it has the abrasive quality hinted at in I want to say Iwasaki's text if memory serves well. Maybe I need to start honing more often just to speed up the process...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Try it and see

but here is more reading from YEARS ago


WONDER PHOTOS REVEAL UNSUSPECTED FACTS ABOUT Razor Blades and Shaving (Oct, 1931) | Modern Mechanix

Great read! Especially the part about using oil to cover the blade between shaves which has a positive effect on maintaining a straight edge. I never oiled my razors as I only have two and they are in constant use. Each razor is used and stropped at least once a week so I figured they didn't need oil.

Certainly I am by no means knowledgebale in this area, but when it came up in discussion before, I was prompted to try just using the leather. That was around five years ago and I'm still doing just that. Seems to work just fine.

My understanding from the answers above is that a fabric strop is good for pastes and for removing metal and hone debris after honning/restoration work that could damage a strop. But I'm sure that the back side of a leather strop could cope with removing debris as good as any fabric, right?