Why do I cut the Strop?

Hello friends,

i'm a newbie and I attempted to strop my razor on a leather strop ( scotch shell) if anybody knows this brand...lol

I'm baffled, why do I sometimes it seems I get stuck on the strop and cut it ( U know what I mean,,,)

Any tips or suggestion in order to avoid that???

Thanks all of you guys!!

Sounds like you are turning the blade over before you are ending the initial pass on the strop..slow down..it is a marathon not a sprint.

Are you leading with the spine? Or the sharp part of the razor??

A mentor here told me to avoid this don't lay the blade down right away. Start the strop motion then gently lay the blade down. Otherwise your blade will involuntarily nick the strop.

Hello guys,

Thanks for the tip, yes I will definitely slow down.

Silly question now: is my strop still usable even if i nick it?

Also another silly one:( ... How would I know or test the razor if I stropped it properly?

Thank you to all of you for the tips and patience!!

The edge should not contact the strop until the direction of motion has already changed. That is, the spine stays on the strop while the blade is turned onto the opposite side, but that action doesn't complete until the blade is moving in the direction of the spine, not the edge. At first it should all be done slowly until one becomes competent at it. Speed will come eventually, but precision should be established first.

Using a nicked strop depends on where the Nick is and how bad it is..sometimes they can be sanded down or glued and sanded..depends on how bad it is.
And to test...you got to shave with it man.only true way to see if it is ready...nothing like jumping into the deep end of the pool.
Hope it helps
Anthony

Hello all,

the nicks seems very superficial on the strop.

Therefore still usable? Maybe I'm not cut for the straight razor stuff,,,:(

Don't get so down on it...it is not easy and even guys doing it all there lives still learn something new. Slow and steady. Don't give up and be patient. Focus on the technique first and then the speed will come.
Lay the strop on the table if you have to and go slow from there...heck practice on a belt with a butter knife..
It gets better.

Ok guys I will try again :)

My concern is if I can still use my strop even if with some superficial nicks?

Thanks all of you!!

if the knicks are small try no to sweat it. I have knicked mine as well...it happens

Hello guys,

ok then, I will try to go slower and paying more attention.

Agan,

thanks all

If you have had your razor professionally honed the first shave with it should be without stropping it first. You will then know what a good sharp blade feels and cuts like. The next shave stop the razor first and if it shaves worse than the first time you may have a problem and you are dulling the razor with your stropping.

You can do a search on the forum as I know there are threads on repairing strops that have been cut. Yea, it happens that often to beginners like me. I still use my original strop and it has been repaired by me.

Like everyone else has said the key when you are learning to strop is to already have the razor going in the other direction spine first before the cutting edge hits the strop. Go slowly and with light pressure. If you get frustrated take a break there is always another day.

Bob

It is better to repair any nicks. Contact cement &/or an abrasive on light nicks is fine.
Strop treatment and repair - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Hello Onimaru55

Thanks for your reply.

I was looking, but how do you fix a leather strop? Another baffling issue for me in the world of straight razor. :(

Thanks

ps. I looked at the wiki,contact cement...???

No problemo. If you have sliced a flap out of your strop it can be glued back down with contact cement or rubber cement, Pliobond is good. If you have just small nicks you can sand the strop with sandpapers or use a pumice stone (old school) or use a diamond plate (new school). Make sure there is no abrasive left in/on the leather. A rub with a Scotchbrite pad may help there.

Hello again,

i will make sure to read just in case about the pomice stone to repair the leather strop.

So now the question that I have is: let's say that somehow I did not strop the razor properly, is there any way I can test it for that?

Thanks!!!

Hi Onimaru55,

I did not sliced a flap out of the strop, but you know when you flip the razor during stropping it and if you make a mistake(well at least like me ..lol) the blade gets stuck on the strop and not cut it but mark it? hmmhmh I hope you know what I mean...


Thanks

Stropping is a little like learning a fingerpicking pattern on the guitar, or how to cast a fly rod. Start your forward cast too soon, and you can snap off your fly (nicked strop equals the $1.50 cast!) Go slow and methodical as you build in the muscle memory; should happen pretty quick. I find that even 2 years in, my stropping keeps improving.

Merry Christmas all! Aaron

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gcappo

So now the question that I have is: let's say that somehow I did not strop the razor properly, is there any way I can test it for that?

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Only in the shave being bad & then you need to know the razor was good the first time. That & also if you have nicked your strop , obviously.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gcappo

I did not sliced a flap out of the strop, but you know when you flip the razor during stropping it and if you make a mistake(well at least like me ..lol) the blade gets stuck on the strop and not cut it but mark it? hmmhmh I hope you know what I mean...

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If you mean the edge got stuck it has nicked the strop & some sanding may solve that.

Yes, you should be able to repair your strop, even some sand paper to smooth down any nicks.

I don't think anyone has asked this yet, but are you flipping your blade with the sharp edge up or down? you should be rolling your blade on the spine, with the cutting edge away from the strop. That's not always apparent. It sounds like you may be rolling your edge on the strop.
it's a steep learning curve, keep it up.