Thread: What's your favorite strop material?

I voted Cordovan, but I have 2 strops that I favor. The first is a Neil Miller Horween Cordovan w/real linen. 2nd is the SRD Premium I Leather with webbed material, and I'm not sure what leather it is, it's only described as shoulder leather. What ever razor I'm stropping determines which strop I use.

Regards
Howard

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

What ever razor I'm stropping determines which strop I use.

How do you determine which razor needs which sort of strop? Do hollow grinds need less draw and a heavier wedge work better with more? I'm curious as to how these things affect the blade...

Thanks!

Originally Posted by fchan

How do you determine which razor needs which sort of strop? Do hollow grinds need less draw and a heavier wedge work better with more? I'm curious as to how these things affect the blade...

Thanks!

Hi fchan,
What I was referring to, for me, is mostly preference. I think you'll hear and read this a lot with straight shaving. Shaving, the razor on your face, Feel. Honing, blade on the stone, Feel. Stropping, blade on the linen or leather, but mostly leather, Feel. Sometimes feel is preference, how much draw one prefers, etc.. Honing, especially on Shaptons, you can feel a change in the stroke that tells you it's at or right at finished on that stone. That's not preference, but real feedback. Some can get that same feedback from their strops. Not so much for me.

What I was referring to was more utilitarian. I like to strop square/spike points on the Premium I strop because it's a thicker and sturdier (stiff) leather and I'm less likely to get the occasional scratch on it with the tip than on my shell cordovan which is a much thinner leather, and softer. I also like to hone blades with a bigger smile, like a Charlie Lewis razor, on the Premium I because it has less draw and I can more easily work the angle of the blade to get the whole edge evenly stropped. Hollow and extra hollow I like the cordovan. Like I said, some of it is feel, preference, and some of it is feel, feedback.

For lots of posts on sharpness due to draw, and draw in general, search (sharp draw) There are no end to ideas, opinions and theories on what and how a strop does what it does. Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Howard

Howard, years ago, when I first cut into (no pun intended) the razor forums I read a thread on one of them where guys were talking about their favorite strop material. At that time they seemed to think that little or no draw equaled ineffectiveness. Latigo was the consensus at that time. I liked horse right from the git go. Anyway, it is interesting, looking at the poll results so far, that cordovan/horse is leading the pack.

Yeah, I went back and read a lot of the old posts and draw was magical. I still prefer a light draw, I think it's easier to use, easier to learn on, and I can't tell any discernible difference in the results from my Premium I with light draw and my Buffalo with lots of draw.

I got a SRD Premium IV English Bridle a couple weeks ago and I'm still breaking it in but I really like it. The draw is getting better and better but it's showing signs of wear already. I think it's from my smiling razors which all have barber notches. I like to use a regular stroke and a x stroke to make sure I get the whole edge. The x stroke might be doing it. So I use my SRD Premium I for my smiling razors cause it's softer, less draw and hasn't shown any sign of wear. I use the English Bridle on only my "straight" straight razors now but it's my favorite, for now.

Originally Posted by SirStropalot

... I'm not sure what leather it is, it's only described as shoulder leather...

Regards
Howard

Howard, 'shoulder refers to the cut - where the leather came from. Heres a diagram of the cuts obtainable from a cow:



You can buy the 'whole hide' or a 'side' as well - the side is simply the whole hide cut in half from tail to head. The belly area is soft and fibrous and not that suitable for strops. The shoulder is thick and strong, but tens to have wrinkles so the surface is usually mechanically milled-off (regularised) and a fake pore pattern imprinted into it.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Howard, 'shoulder refers to the cut - where the leather came from. Heres a diagram of the cuts obtainable from a cow:

Thanks Neil! It's something I haven't read up on to the degree I need to. Mostly i was unsure of which animal it was from, but with the diagram I see that the butt is a much larger than i had envisioned as far as it incorporates a lot of the back. Good info!!!
Thanks again!!
Howard