Thread: managed to nick the strop!!!

Hey men, Ok, I was stropping away last night, got overconfident and on a flip, nailed the strop, and left a nice little line in my brand new leather.

Does this affect the strop, or the blade if I continue to use it? What is the damage, do I have to sand it out?

Any info, etc...

Thanks mates!

Photo's please...So that we may all laugh...I mean...So that it can be better assessed.


Mick

That depends on where and how deep the nick is.

If the nick is not too deep, that is a large gash in the strop, you can probably use some fine sandpaper to smooth it out.

If you flipped high up on your strop, or very near to the handle, you have the option of shortening your stroke. Otherwise, I suggest some 1000 or 1500 grit sandpaper. After you've lightly sanded, wipe it off with a damp clean cloth, and then rub it a bit. The oils from your hand will help smooth that little bit of leather out.

Nicking sucks. It's never any fun.

Amen for SRD and replacement leathers!!

Step one...
Build a time machine.

Step two...
DON'T KNICK YOUR STROP!

Since it was done on a flip, it was relatively near one end or the other. The means no matter how bad it is, at worst you could always just shorten your stroke and avoid the area. Now, to fix it, you can try gluing it back in place and then sanding it down. This can make the strop perfectly functional again. Good luck!

Originally Posted by mjhammer

Does this affect the strop, or the blade if I continue to use it? What is the damage, do I have to sand it out?

Any info, etc...

Thanks mates!

If you have a magnifier of some kind , take a look at the edge where you contacted the strop. It is possibly folded if there was any torque on it.

Glen posted pictures of his strop Straight Razor Place - Beginners Tips: March 2011 After seeing that I don't feel too bad about my nicks. If the nick is not huge or towards an end I would not worry just fix it or work around it. I'm still learning but have found that I can fix the nicks and don't seem to have that trouble anymore. I'm probably cursing myself and will do something horrible to my strop tomorrow.

By what Maxi say's, I take it that running the blade over the cut is a bad thing for the razor?

I was able to smooth it down a ton tonite after letting the strop dressing sit for 24hrs. It 'feels' smooth. Once I dressed the strop, it was evident that there were more than one tiny cut in the strop. So tonite I smoothed them with cloth, as there were no pieces actually 'missing', just some the tiny slices. I rubbed it until a dry wash cloth slides over it without a catch. Is that enough? I was kinda freaked out after I did it. It's not really horribly bad or anything, just a clean cut.

I don't even know how I did the others. I knew what I did last night the moment I did it. Had to get mad at myself for being such a dumb sh*t. I know better, but for some reason I thought I knew what I was doing now, and 'SLICE' there goes a cut in my strop, and probably a curled blade.

I stropped it on my felt for 50 passes, then finished on the leather for 50 laps, so I hope it is ok to shave with tomorrow.

I'll strop it another 50 on each before I use it again, so I'm crossing my fingers it's ok. I don't have a way to look at it.

Thanks for the help all!

Originally Posted by mjhammer

I don't even know how I did the others.

Usually those mystery cuts come from stopping before the flip or having flipped before changing direction. Just be purposeful & focused. An easy ask, right ?

Mj,

Sorry, I should have clarified. If you didn't want to sand your strop or didn't have the correct equipment, then you could shorten your stroke.

Essentially, you want a smooth leather surface for the razor blade. A little divot and the razor glides right over, but with a loose flap of leather the razor will bump and maybe catch, causing some bad stuff to happen to either your razor or again to your strop. Better to be safe than sorry.

Glad to hear that things worked out for you, and yes, your smoothing with a cloth should have worked. The test will be to gentle place a razor on that area and lightly run it back and forth. If you feel a divot or nothing, you're good to go. If there's a bump, I'd rub a little bit more.

Hope this helps,