Thread: First Strop

Hey guys I am completely new to SR shaving and just got my first shave ready razor in the mail last night now I need to start my search for a strop. I have been reading all of these treads and my head is starting to spin. I do not plan to hone my self I will be sending my razors out for that. Do I need a paddle strop, hanging stop, I am lost here. Appreciate your help

There are several options out there that will fill your needs.
Both paddle and hanging will be good, it is more a matter of personal preference.
Personally I prefer the hanging strops, and will recommend you what I have tried myself.
I started out with the Straigrazordesigns.com's Premium IV hanging strop.
Admittedly, I cut that up pretty bad in the beginning.
I will still recommend it, because you can, quite reasonably, buy replacement leather for it. It is modular, and that made the choice easy for me. This way you can start out on a quality strop, and get away with the odd nick quite easily.
Another way to go would be to buy a cheap one, like the Filly or the poor mans strop.

The one place I'd avoid is eBay. Unless you really know what you are looking at, and have total confidence in your abilities, the "bargain" you think you are getting will be a waste of money and time. You need one ASAP because you should strop each and everytime you shave. Our vendors have some really nice strops at an attractive price. I bought mine from SRD and love it. I'd get one of the less expensive ones first to develop your stropping skills. It's not a question of "if" you will cut your strop, it's a question of "when" you will do so. Once your skills have developed you can buy one of the more expensive models.

The important thing is to _get a strop_ -- any decent strop -- before your edge gets really dull.

Another way to go would be to buy a cheap one, like the Filly or the poor mans strop.

The Poor Man's Strop Kit (from Whipped Dog) comes with a balsa pasted strop, with CrOxide and FeOxide pastes. The combination should keep your blade sharp for a long time.

I have an Illinois 206 (first strop, with lots of nicks) and the PMSK. The Illinois is my daily strop, the PMSK strop (smaller and more flexible) travels well. I probably should have bought the PMSK first, and put my early nicks into it.

You'll find lots of recommendations here; the SRD strops are quite popular.

Charles

One of the best strops to learn off of is a filly from Ken @ www.ruprazor.com I do believe he is a vendor here as well. A good way to develop the muscle memory is to strop a butterknife (one without teeth of course) on your new strop.

Why don't you just contact one of our vendors and ask for advice?

I love the SRD premium II strop. That being said I picked up a little 2" latigo from star shaving to travel with this week and try out.