Thread: 3" strop cupping :(

I've been reading a lot about stropping recently and how 3" strops might "cup". So I took my 3 week old English Bridle strop and like a rifle, I looked down the strop. It was still attached to the wall and was flat. I took a straight edge and ran it down the length of the strop without pressure. There was light showing underneath the straight edge towards the top of the strop and towards the end but none at the middle. When I used pressure it was gone but I'm wondering if it's going to get worse? The strop is only 3 weeks old. Does all English Bridle do that if it's over 2.5"? My other strop is a 3" SRD Premium I and it's flat as can be. Well that's all the excuse I need to buy a new strop! I'm going with a 2.5" next, I do a lot of x-strokes anyway.

Well, there's cupping and there's cupping. IMO what you describe going on at the moment is "non-problematic" cupping that doesn't impact on the effectiveness of the stropping.

As for whether this is a trait of wider English bridle, I don't know. Soft and supple leathers do have a tendency to cup if the attachment points are not carefully designed to "spread the load", but as far as whether they naturally "curl", that would surely depend on how the leather was cut in the first place, along with certain other things I'd imagine. If what you describe is all that is happening, and the curl does not worsen when you pull the strop taut, I would hazard that it will be OK and not get worse. However, if it does get worse there are things you can do to flatten it - the worst scenario is when the leather bows in the middle due to the attachment points of the hardware because the only solution there is reattachment, which may or may not be an easy thing to do.

Personally, I have always wondered at the propensity toward 3 inch strops. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but they are so unnecessary in my opinion. Why does the entire razor's edge need to be in contact with a strop? Why can't you strop half the edge for a while, then move the razor across and strop the other half?

Anyway, good luck with the strop!

James.

I think you will get a bit of cupping with any 3" strop. A minimum curve at best. The blade will form the leather to the proper shape anyway,so it wouldnt make much difference. Unless the strop is cupped so bad like it had Scoliosis. Dont fret.
So the only reason to go a narrower width would be taste.
When I started straight razor shaving my first strop was a 3" like most newbies. The more I got to understand my stropping technique. The width of my strop decreased to 2-1/2" and sometimes even 2". I feel I have more control with a narrower strop. I cant go back to a 3" because it just doesnt feel right to me anymore.
J.M.H.O.

I prefer 2.5 inch strops. I also prefer strops with no "handle" so that I can CAUSE a reverse cup, or to be more accurate, a slight convex of the leather, which in my opinion can only decrease the likelihood of the razor not receiving a full strop

The 3 axioms of strops are thin, wide and soft. That's the recipe for cupping. You can compensate to a point by holding the strop tightly and by making sure the hardware is proper but if it gets bad there aren't too many options.

Looks like the guys with experience prefer the "skinnier" strops? The strop isn't bad but I'm afraid it will get worse. Anyway I was looking for an excuse to buy a Tony Miller strop. 2.5" English Bridle.

It is actually pretty rare for a 3 inch strop left hanging to cup. When this happens it normally is from a drastic change in humidity or something like that, but it can happen occasionally. It's funny to me that the guy who pushed 3 inch strops into the market is now making 2 1/2 inch strops primarily. The 3 inch strop is simply an easy strop to use as it is the width of most razors blade length. I was a 2 1/2 inch strop fanatic (I swore I would never use one into the face of the reverse hype I am seeing now) for years and still have over 20 of them but I have found myself going to the 3 inch strops in both hanging and in the paddles for the last few years without regret. Every time I have any doubts, I simply pull out an old one and I am reminded why I like the 3 inch better. It did take me a couple weeks though to make the transition at first. In any case what works better for you is what it's all about.

Have fun.

I didn't even think about humidity. I do leave my strops hanging next to a window that is always open and the weather is changing.

I know this thread is older but it is concerning my recent connundrum and I cannot find any answers. I have a SRD latigo 3" strop that it only about 2 months old. It has been hanging since I first got it. The other day when I went to strop I noticed that the sound had changed quite a bit. I stopped stropping my razor and grabbed my butter knife to practice technique before continuing. I found that with the small amount of pressure used it was cupping so bad that only the outside edges of the strop contacted the knife. with a fair amount of pressure (more than I have ever used with my razor) I could get it to completely contact the edge. What should I do to reflatten the strop? I have read about using some Williams Mug Soap and conditioning it on a flat surface with a beer bottle. Is that the appropriate action?