Thread: Poor strop experience

Hello friends,
I am new to this forum and the straight razor world. I bought a razor and strop from The Art of Shaving and after many attempts on the strop I took my razor to a knife house and they used a bench strop for 45 seconds and got the edge I tried for for weeks! Shortly after my cheaply made but rather expensive strop tore at the seems, so i took it back. So in my experience bench strops are alot better than regular because you can apply even and alot of pressure. Is this true? what strop should i buy next?

Thanks

All strops do the same thing. One is not better than another.(As long as they are quality pieces that is.)

One type might be easier to use under some circumstances like a small paddle for travel or might be easier to learn on but in the end it's you that's the factor more than the strop.

Yup...It's really personal preference, paddles vs hanging, like "draw" you'll hear that a lot when folks talk about strops. Draw is the amount of resistance you feel while your blade passes over the leather. Some people like a lot, and some like less. The end result is usually the same.

You don't want "a lot" of pressure when you're stropping. That might be part of your problem?

I use Paddle Strops exclusively although I have others. I love sitting down, stropping away and not having to listen to my knees creaking.

Originally Posted by djhonea

Hello friends,
I am new to this forum and the straight razor world. I bought a razor and strop from The Art of Shaving and after many attempts on the strop I took my razor to a knife house and they used a bench strop for 45 seconds and got the edge I tried for for weeks! Shortly after my cheaply made but rather expensive strop tore at the seems, so i took it back. So in my experience bench strops are alot better than regular because you can apply even and alot of pressure. Is this true? what strop should i buy next?

Thanks

I have a couple of problems with this.

First, I should let you know that razors from Art of Shaving to not come shave ready. Stropping will not fix this and the razor most likely needs to be honed before use.

My guess is that the knife shop keeps the bench strop loaded with some type of abrasive compound, and that is what improved your edge. It's the abrasive and not that they applied lot's of pressure. That's just a guess. Also, Knife Shops aren't known for sharpening razors.

AOS sells DOVO strops. They aren't my favorite strops, but I wouldn't call them cheaply made. Maybe your strop was a fluke. I've never before read any complaints about any DOVO strop being poorly stitched.

I would refute that you have enough experience to say that one type of strop is better than another. I would only make that claim after using both types many times on many different razors.

I regularly use both a paddle and a hanging strop, with and without abrasive compound. I prefer to use the paddle for different things than the hanging strop, but I wouldn't say that one is better than the other.

My advice is to look under member services and get your razor properly honed by a pro from this site. Then use whatever strop you are comfortable with before every shave. I prefer high quality, american made strops. With time and experience you will get to know your preferences for strops and other things.

Michael