Quote Originally Posted by Knife View Post
Hey guys, I'm looking for a little help with getting a strop.

Now as far as the leather goes, I figure leathers, leather and it'll all do the same thing, getting a leather strop is a matter of getting good quality stuff with a good size. If I'm wrong let me know.

What I'm really perplexed about is the linen/nylon/cotton....whatever. First off, if the leather is to realign the metal particles, what does the linen do? I've heard you only use the linen right after honing, but I've also heard people use it every day? Which is right?

Lastly, I both visually and practically like the D-rings for holding the strop, but it doesn't seem to be popular. And due to that fact I feel that maybe the D-ring can possibly get bothersome holding maybe? But having to grip the more popular handle style end, requires actual gripping which I imagine can also be bothersome? Any advice?
You know, I really don't have much of a clue other than I've been able to keep a razor servicable longer with using the cloth strop first, in my case it's linen, versus just leather alone. And this is not much of a scientific test.

The many of the old barber strops didn't have handles at all; they just had square cut ends that were grasped between thumb and forefinger. The newer strops which have the D rings attached with Chicago screws are made by those who don't have harness stitchers and can't sew the handle on. The handles, regardless of construction, are easiest to use for pulling the strop taut. The only concern is running the laps up and down too long and flipping the edge against the Chicago screws if you have one of the modern, non-stitched varieties. Other than that, leather is pretty much leather on a good quality strop. I prefer horsehide for its gentle draw.