Thread: Buying first stop...help me on my quest.

Avoid eBay like the plague. Its just far too easy to pick up something rubbish and chuck the money away on something you cant use. Once you've spent a bit more time here and got some good kit you'll know what to look out for and the markers of rubbish kit. As a rule "shaving" kits (apostrophes deliberate because you cant actually shave with them) from eBay like Zeepk, B&B and so on are useless and poorly made.

I'd recommend one of the SRD strops, whether one of the Premium line or something like the red or black latigo. I have the black latigo with webbed fabric and its fantastic. Not too pricey to buy, does a great job and has the benefit of being modular so if you do nick the leather you can replace it for a pretty small outlay. That would be my pick.

Since the strop is a vital part of the straight shave, I think I will just invest in the Premium line from SRD. Now that you said you can easily replace it if it is damaged, I don't have to worry about buying another strop later on. If I buy a good strop now I should be set for life right? Especially if the quality of SRD is as good as everyone says it is.

I just put in an order for a SRD Premium IV. Can't wait to use it! I will let you all know how it works.

You don't have to tell us. The SRD Premium IV is easily the best strop value on the market

Congratulations on a good decision

Good decision, indeed. You won't be disappointed.

Paddle strop is easier to start on considering you don't have to worry about how much pressure you need for a hanging one. Paddle strop just a small amount of pressure, you know it will be flat and straight cause its a paddle strop. I just like them more now too.

That is true, and I may buy a paddle strop later on. But, I wanted to learn on a hanging strop because if I can master that, I can surely use a paddle strop correctly later on.

I'm in the same boat as your are. I decided to find a couple of used quality horse leather strops on ebay to practice with. I paid about $65.00 for both of them combined.

I have read too many stories about guys new to stropping buying brand new strops only to end up cutting them. I consider myself a very careful guy when it comes to taking care of my stuff. I start stropping last night and sure as can be, I noticed shallow cuts on my strop. I think I was slightly pulling the blade across the strop as I was flipping the blade over to pull toward me. After making such a slight error, I'm glad I didn't purchase a brand new SRD strop just yet. I'll let my two used strops from ebay take the majority of battle scars. Once I'm really confident in my stropping abilities, I'll be getting a nice SRD strop.

I really like the SRD Premium IV that I bought. I am also new to stropping but I have yet to knick the leather....I have done at least 500 passes so far without a problem. I like the fact that if I do cut it on accident, I can replace the leather for about $30 without replacing the whole strop. So, this strop could very well last me my whole life. For me this strop is easier to use than my previous beginner strop because it is the width of the blade. This eliminates alot of the side to side motion that could cause destruction...

Originally Posted by ladavis89

I really like the SRD Premium IV that I bought. I am also new to stropping but I have yet to knick the leather....I have done at least 500 passes so far without a problem. I like the fact that if I do cut it on accident, I can replace the leather for about $30 without replacing the whole strop. So, this strop could very well last me my whole life. For me this strop is easier to use than my previous beginner strop because it is the width of the blade. This eliminates alot of the side to side motion that could cause destruction...

I love posts that make a whole lot of sense... *bold is mine