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Thread: The macgyver strop

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    Default The macgyver strop

    Well i had a macgyver moment, i could not find my filly strop and i had a date with my girlfriend, so i need a shave back, we are talking 9 days of growth. And way i tried to shave with out the stroping, it had been 10 shaves since last strop, and of coarse it could not shave right. So i got to thinking about how a strop works, its a piece of leather or over materiel and it removes metal, and gives the bevel some polish. Well i took a piece of balsa wood, i make model airplanes on my free time, and i grabed an old pair of jeans. I took the pant leg, and screeched it over a piece of flat wood. I made sure it would stay in place. So i made a few passes on the balsa wood, and i made sure it did not damage the blade, and then i did a lot of passes on the jeans. And it was not as good as a real strop but it was able to do WTG and XTH without problem.

    Now i want people to tell me if i should not have done that, but you have to admit for a last minute strop it was good

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    Trailing along the leading edge leadingedge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zargart View Post
    Now i want people to tell me if i should not have done that, but you have to admit for a last minute strop it was good

    It seems you have stumbled upon using jean material and balsa wood without even realising that they are both very good surfaces that can be used for stropping materials! Well done.

    The balsa wood is a good delivery method for pastes and sprays, and so are the jeans. Some guys use the jean material without anything on it, like you do, as a good finisher before stropping on smooth leather.

    Have a look at this and try to make one of these for yourself: http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ng-strops.html

    Very easy to make, and incredibly effective & versatile.
    PDobson likes this.

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    Zargart (05-06-2011)

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    wow for once i feel like i know what i am doing, i picked the materials cuz they reminded me the most of my filly strop
    soft, flexible- and i am interested in your strop and i would like to make that

  6. #4
    Trailing along the leading edge leadingedge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zargart View Post
    wow for once i feel like i know what i am doing, i picked the materials cuz they reminded me the most of my filly strop
    soft, flexible- and i am interested in your strop and i would like to make that
    Please make one of your own, they are really easy to make, and work very well.

    Let me know if you have any questions about it.

  7. #5
    Senior Member hcintineo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zargart View Post
    I took the pant leg, and screeched it over a piece of flat wood.
    SRP members do the darndest things.

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    Member tboyer's Avatar
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    I like using a newspaper, before I strop on leather.
    If there was now leather strop, then it would be newspaper, and my jeans, or my belt.

    Quote Originally Posted by Zargart View Post
    Well i had a macgyver moment, i could not find my filly strop and i had a date with my girlfriend, so i need a shave back, we are talking 9 days of growth. And way i tried to shave with out the stroping, it had been 10 shaves since last strop, and of coarse it could not shave right. So i got to thinking about how a strop works, its a piece of leather or over materiel and it removes metal, and gives the bevel some polish. Well i took a piece of balsa wood, i make model airplanes on my free time, and i grabed an old pair of jeans. I took the pant leg, and screeched it over a piece of flat wood. I made sure it would stay in place. So i made a few passes on the balsa wood, and i made sure it did not damage the blade, and then i did a lot of passes on the jeans. And it was not as good as a real strop but it was able to do WTG and XTH without problem.

    Now i want people to tell me if i should not have done that, but you have to admit for a last minute strop it was good

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    So now we can make strops out of denim?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shangas View Post
    So now we can make strops out of denim?
    Denim, Shamwow, Leather, Suede leather, Wool Fibre, Balsa wood, Cotton weave, Seatbelts, Newspaper, pasted glass....

    You name it, and just about anything has been used with a variety of results to get that perfect edge we all desire!

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    One of the things with newspaer is the paper they print it on is pretty cheap and coarse wood paper, and the ink has a lot of carbon it it. Between the two it gives a respectable surface to add polish to the edge. Old timers used it for a reason.... it worked. I have also heard/read that old firehose was used as well.
    ~~ Vern ~~
    I was born with nothing and managed to keep most of it.
    Former Nebraskan. Go Big Red

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    learning something new every day Deerhunter1995's Avatar
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    well at least you are smart enough to use what you have around. good for you.

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