Thread: Leather Strops - are they a sham?

If you shave without stropping for a week or so with the same razor you will notice the deterioration of the edge smoothness on your face. Regular stropping keeps the edge aligned and smooth.

Sham? Not when it comes to straight razors.

Like BobH said, There should be no "Burr" on a SR. Leather is the best final step to a good aligned edge.


Also, IMO, leather is not the best way to remove the burr on a knife, either. IMO and experience, a slight stroke on clean wood removes a knife burr, followed by a couple passes on a 8K, then to leather. I don't strop on leather no ways near as many laps for a knife as I do a SR.

Definitely not a sham in the way of SR's.

People use all types of materials with success for stropping. Leather is the original and classic material. It was used by barbers for a very long time and they seemed to like it.

The simplest thing to do for the OP is to forget about knives and how they are sharpened and just ask about how straight razors are honed. If you want to know about straight razors, this is where to ask and not on a knife forum.

Leather strops are not used to remove burrs when honing straight razors. The last thing you want to have happen is scratching your leather strop up with an edge that has a burr that should not be there at that point.

Strops, leather and linen/canvas are used to align and smooth/burnish the tinfoil thin edge on a straight razor. So strops are not a shame when used in connection with straight razors.

Bob

No question that stropping improves a razor edge, but knives and razor edges are different with very different goals.

Yes, in the last few years, knife guys have discovered high grit finishing stones and stropping bevels, mostly for looks. Very rarely does a knife edge need or work better with a smooth, super straight edge. Most “work” better with a bit of tooth.

Proper stropping can keep a razor shaving at a very high level, for a very long time, theoretically indefinitely.

I ask because I find I get a significantly sharper straight razor edge off of Chromium Oxide on my rough suede paddle strop than I do off of the flawless leather side of the same strop. Sometimes I find if I go to leather after the CrOx on suede, the edge gets duller.

No one else has experienced this?

Sounds like you've got honing issues. The chromium oxide on your paddle strop is removing metal and sharpening the edge, the plain leather straightens the existing edge without removing metal. You do not need chromium oxide to strop a properly honed edge. Apples and oranges.

Originally Posted by Bang0Bang00

I ask because I find I get a significantly sharper straight razor edge off of Chromium Oxide on my rough suede paddle strop than I do off of the flawless leather side of the same strop. Sometimes I find if I go to leather after the CrOx on suede, the edge gets duller.

No one else has experienced this?

If you are stropping with proper technique, the edge of your razor should not be dulling whatsoever. However, using a CrOx strop will definitely impart a level of sharpening to a somewhat dull blade. Many here use them instead of finishing hones to bring back an edge to shave ready condition.

If you get a better shave from your CrOx stropped razor that you do your plain leather stropped razor, I have to wonder about the apex of your edge. A well honed straight razor has a perfect apex, and a plain leather strop will condition the edge and leave it feeling smooth, a CrOx strop will make it toothy and leave it feeling prickly. I have no personal experience repeatedly stropping an incomplete apex with CrOx and leather. For reference a perfect apex is a 'V' and an incomplete apex is a 'U' either in full length or in sections. People around here can be a little obsessive about honing and stropping, but they are the foundations of a great shave.

Originally Posted by Bang0Bang00

I ask because I find I get a significantly sharper straight razor edge off of Chromium Oxide on my rough suede paddle strop than I do off of the flawless leather side of the same strop. Sometimes I find if I go to leather after the CrOx on suede, the edge gets duller.

No one else has experienced this?

It could be your leather strop. You didn't say what your using as a strop.
$19 eBay strops or some scrap leather do no not make a razor strop.
However my crystal ball says you're doing something wrong between bevel set & final strop.