Thread: My first strop

Im new to straight razor shaving and trying hard to get it right. Maybe I'm being a bit obsessive but after my very first strop today I noticed the scrapes on the far left of my strop. Does is point to something Im doing incorrectly?

Assuming you're right handed, I would venture to say you are not laying the blade true to the strop. Meaning, you're lifting the heal.

Or there could be a burr on the front of your SR.

Just my $.02

I had that happen to me once and found a burr on the tip of my blade. Get a good look at it.

One way you can find out if you have a burr on the edge of the blade is to run the blade through a small piece of cotton or wool felt. I find that the cotton "makeup remover" pads work well. If there is a burr, the blade will snag the fibers. Of course, the fibers can do minor damage to the sharpness of the edge, so you may have to touch it up on a finishing hone or pasted strop.