Thread: My first strop

Can anyone recommend a type of strop for my first purchase...I always have a friend strop for me but I figure if I'm committed to straight razors I have to take the plunge and learn how to hone and strop myself.....As always thanks guys

Hello Sean,
The same advice I just gave you in the hone thread, you started.
Enjoy the journey.

You should be stropping every shave..it helps maintain the edge. I'm going to assume your friend doesn't strop for you every shave. When it comes to strops there's really no perfect strop to recommend, it comes down to feel and preference of draw etc. I do recommend the strops at SRD however, I have 2, a Latigo and a Natural. The Latigo has lots of draw and the natural is quite slick. The nice thing about thier strops is you can replace the leather without buying everything new should you by chance nick or cut it.

Start with the basic 3" latigo, you can get one for about $70, don't go and buy the higher english bridle, cordovan, or kangaroo, or buffalo, or whatever; you're going to put some marks on it as you are learning to strop correctly. Also, the 3" gives you plenty of surface area to work with, and one less variable to worry about.

I would suggest something cheaper for your first go around. Most newbies...myself included nick or cut their first strop quite a bit. Do a search for beginner strops and i think you may find some.

I would go with a cheap first strop because most (including me) destroy the first strop. Go with a whipped dog or a Tony Miller travel strop first ans then move on to a really nice one. Then again in a pinch you can use newspaper as a temp solution.

$100.00 for strop and honed maybe 150.00

100.00 150.00

Sean,
Not sure what you mean. Sure a strop can cost $100 and then some...but you can get them more affordable too. What's the "honed maybe $150" for? New razor? Thing about this sport is that you can make it as expensive or affordable as you wish.