Thread: newbie strop questions

Hey all,
I've been looking around the site and everyone has a very good idea of the purpose of certain types of strops but I was a little confused and wasn't sure where to start.

Soon I'm going to be getting a straight razor but when it comes to strops I had a few questions , like what purpose does a linen strop serve, whats with the different grades of leather (cowhide vs latigo vs boar?).

I think they're called linen strops? Are they the same as Canvas strops and what are they used for

Finally whats the story with paste, does it just make the strop more abrasive so it lightly hones the blade?

Thanks!

Also if anyone could make any strop suggestions for a first timer I'd appreciate it. I saw a 20 dollar strop on some site a while ago, forgot where I saw it but its got a leather string at one end as opposed to a handle

Right. This article (Razor Strops - Straight Razor Place Wiki) is a stub - for whichever reason. After all, strops are the second most used piece of equipment here. I am not even sure I entirely agree with the explanation for the linen side. Either way, linen, cotton, webbing or some other non-leather material is generally used be leather in order to prepare the edge for the leather stropping; and after the shave to clean the edge from lather residue.

As far as pastes go, please take a look at this article: What hone(s), paste(s), or spray(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki.

Different people like different leathers. I am a great fan of the leathers used on the Old Traditional and SRD Premium IV strops. The provide just the right amount of feedback for me to feel good, and bring the edges of most of my razors (Coticule edges are notorious for being in need of stropping) into top shape.

That said, I would go through the strop reviews and read up on what other members have to say about different strops. There are quite a few in the market, most of them good or even excellent.

As far as so called beginners strops are concerned: Get a real strop direct, but get one with replaceable parts. The ones sold by SRD would be my personal recommendation. They are moderately priced for what they deliver, the spare parts are also affordable, and you can start with a cheap one, and upgrade to even better leather, or different backing materials, later. Or, get the modular paddle, which is the most sensible route if you want to keep your number of equipment items down to a minimum, but still use diamond spray or CrO at a later stage.

Happy shopping,
Robin

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Right.

What Robin said.

The $20 strop is probably the Fillie (or s it Filly?) on Ken's site. A lot of folks have used that as a starter strop. For probably the first year I was doing this, I only used leather, and had no complaints. The important thing is to get your stropping technique down pat.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Right.
As far as so called beginners strops are concerned: Get a real strop direct, but get one with replaceable parts. The ones sold by SRD would be my personal recommendation. They are moderately priced for what they deliver, the spare parts are also affordable, and you can start with a cheap one, and upgrade to even better leather, or different backing materials, later. Or, get the modular paddle, which is the most sensible route if you want to keep your number of equipment items down to a minimum, but still use diamond spray or CrO at a later stage.

Happy shopping,
Robin

Where can you get parts?

i like linen and also prefer horshide . i have tryed and have latigo also kanayama strop . liotigo has to much draw for me kanayams just enough draw and horshide is even slicker but just seems to feel better with use , if i had a choice it would be tm linen horshide.

SRD has great strops. Go for the 3".

Originally Posted by ShoreBird

Where can you get parts?

If you have the basic stop you can get replacement components from SRD.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If you have the basic stop you can get replacement components from SRD.

What if you want to make one, I have the leather strap i just need the hardware.