Thread: How mny strops have you gone through?

Howdy,
I'm new to straight razor shaving, and I have been working on stropping my blade. I've already knicked it a few times and I was just curious,
how many strops did y'all go through when you first started?
what did you do to your strop?
how many strops have you gone through to date?
What's the longest amount of time you've had a certain strop?
what's the shortest amount of time you've had a certain strop?

Just wondering
Thanks & Gig 'Em
Chris

my 1st practice strop was a 2" ruprazor strop..had it for a year or so..put too much green paste and ruined oh well..$28..now for almost a year using my 2nd hand SRD 3" Red Latigo leather/linen strop..near mint condition..still works like a charm!

When I started a few years ago I of course nicked my first strop. Nothing major that couldn't be repaired. I still have it but rarely use it. To date I have four strops in my meager collection but seem always use the same one 83% of the time.

Lets see:

Destroyed a classic shaving 2" within a week
Nicked a SRD 2" about a month later, replaced the leather and fabric
Bought a 3" SRD red latigo, no issues. Replaced the fabric to thier Premium fabric
Bought a 3" SRD Premium IV, with the premium fabric. So far, so good.

*knocks on wood*

Originally Posted by smalltank

my 1st practice strop was a 2" ruprazor strop..had it for a year or so..put too much green paste and ruined oh well..$28..now for almost a year using my 2nd hand SRD 3" Red Latigo leather/linen strop..near mint condition..still works like a charm!

The one I have is from ruprazor, he lives not to far from me so he was the most conveient and least exspensive option for me. and the fact that he lives in the same city as me made everything quicker. I dropped off my razor to get restored on a friday picked it up saturday.

I killed my Illinois strop in the first month due to a bad nick and limped it along for awhile, I then got new replacement leather and it's been fine for the last few years. I also use vintage strops, so far so good. Once you get good at stropping, you rarely if ever nick a strop. You can feel when you are about to lose sync and stop before damage is done.

First strop was an old leather belt. It was about 1 1/2" wide. Worked gangbusters and I still use it for nostagia occasionally. Only about half its length isn't covered with tiny edge nicks. JRE Industries stropbat made me familiar with paddle strops and I still use it infrequently. I experimented with different pastes on it and have replaced 3 out of 4 of the sides. It remains with one emory side and one crox side. The replaced strips had more than a couple of nicks but overall I found it to be more narrow than is useful for a paddle strop. I would get an SRD paddle now knowing better.

I moved up to a JRE industries hanging strop about 1 1/2" wide and 14" long. Still use it no nicks.

SR4S HNSB's site sent me a 3" with a cotton second element which I had never used up to that point. I found I don't like 3" stops and I don't use second elements.

Now I use a 2 1/2" heavy veg tanned latigo I made myself. I am experimenting with the effects of different dressing and cleaning methods. This is likely the destination strop as it is inexpensive and I can make replaceable elements to suit my curiosity.

Along the way I have discovered I prefer no handle strops with about 17inches of stropping surface with a light to medium draw. IME if the draw is too light I get too little feedback and if the draw is too heavy I seem to lay more pressure on the razor. For this kind of leather I like to slather it with mineral oil and let it dry. Then do the hand rubbing and use it for a couple of weeks as the draw increases beyond my comfort zone. I then scrub down the leather with 91% alcohol let it dry and palm rub it before use. After a while the oil works its way to the surface again and I clean with the isopropyl again. This seems to keep lifting the dirt and metal to the surface allowing it to be removed and keeps the draw light. With use the thick stiff leather becomes softer and more supple.

I would love one day to get a Shell Cordovan strop. I believe I will find it too slick for my liking though.

Lately I have been palm stropping just before shaving and in a classic no double-blind placebo conflicted result (hereafter refered to as CNDBPCRit seems to be a smoother shave.

All of this is further steps in the journey of the "Ultimate Shaving Edge"(hereafter called USE) which has little to do with real shaving beyond having fun.
None of it is necessary to a good shave and as always YMMV.

It really does just keep getting better.

I have ONE strop: an Illinois #127 a former SWMBO bought for me 16 years ago. It has been nicked, punched, folded, spindled, stapled, mutilated, decapitated and duct-taped.

I've got quite a few but only use one or two most of the time. I've never worn one out and the one I nicked a bit when I started in '07 wasn't hurt bad. A good strop should last a couple of lifetimes with proper use and care. IMHO.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've got quite a few but only use one or two most of the time. I've never worn one out and the one I nicked a bit when I started in '07 wasn't hurt bad. A good strop should last a couple of lifetimes with proper use and care. IMHO.

I completely agree w/JimmyHAD! One strop can last over a century.