Thread: Beginner Strop Help

Originally Posted by Havachat45

I agree.
I have never used pastes, however, given what I have read here, they are for touching up and are somewhat abrasive.
I usually do 80/100 linen/leather after honing and 40/60 before shaving with 20 laps on the linen afterwards.
I like the look of the strops you have linked to and IMHO any of them would be good for a first strop.
I would be inclined towards the one with felt and leather, if I was looking to buy one.
Hope this helps

I have paste on a balsa strop to clean up the debris after honing for a less irritating first shave. It's not an everyday thing.

Generally I do 30 strokes on the linen and 50 on the leather before a typical shave.

Originally Posted by eneyman

Hey guys I recently got my first straight, a Dovo 5/8 Special tortoise and the only strop I currently have is a knives ship free/bark river double sided paddle with green/black compound loaded. I have yet to strop with the green side on my new razor but plan to see if that will bring the edge to life before each shave. If not, do you think any of these strops sold by star shaving supplies will be a good start because I need the cheapest option that works well:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Stro...item19ca2eaf42
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Stro...item19ca2e4818
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Stra...item19ca2e5e7c

Will one of the basic models without the white linen surface be okay? If I go with one of those, would I need to strop on the fuzzy side first before the leather?

Thanks for any help

I have the 3" "Big Daddy" version of the second strop, and like it a lot. The felt really seems to clean up the edge well (you can see residue accumulating after only a few weeks of use), but it does have a minor drawback in that the blade must be dry before stropping on it-the felt will swell up and become lumpy if it gets wet. This is spelled out in the use and care letter the vendor includes with his strops. Neither linen nor webbing as found on my other strops seem to have the same issue with moisture.

Originally Posted by RoyceH

I have the 3" "Big Daddy" version of the second strop, and like it a lot. The felt really seems to clean up the edge well (you can see residue accumulating after only a few weeks of use), but it does have a minor drawback in that the blade must be dry before stropping on it-the felt will swell up and become lumpy if it gets wet. This is spelled out in the use and care letter the vendor includes with his strops. Neither linen nor webbing as found on my other strops seem to have the same issue with moisture.

I have the Big Daddy as well. I recommend the 3" so the new stropper doesn't have to learn the X pattern. Stropping is hard enough just going back and forth and I've been doing it for two years.