Hello straight razor shavers. I'm getting more into straights, still very new to this style of shaving, been learning with a weck. I purchased a vintage Geneva Cutlery and looking to get a strop. Does a strops price necessarily mean better performance? Can I get a 15$ strop off Amazon and be okay? Is a regular strop better than a paddle strop? I've been searching around and haven't been able to find a lot of information so I figured a discussion would be helpful.
The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
Strop prices compared to performance
- Thread starter DamascusSteel
- Start date
I know there are plenty of straight razor users who swear by the various high dollar strops (names/brands es ape me at the moment but I’m sure others will post the names at some point) and I don’t doubt those strops are great both in appearance and performance. I don’t personally own any of the high dollar brands, I have preferred to make my own using leather from different sources. One of my strops is made from leather I got at Hobby Lobby. I found other leather on eBay or from a visit to a leather shop.
I do know/ can say is different types of leather feel and perform differently. And how you clean and treat the leather can change the way it feels or performs. I can also say the width is probably a matter of preference and technique than anything else. I thought I wanted/needed a 3” wide but after making one I am not as impressed as I thought I would be. I recommend a 2.5” over anything smaller or larger, it seems to work best for all my different razor sizes and shapes. Some oddly shaped razors kind of need a narrower strop.
I have also bought and restored several old/vintage strops with great results. I found some pig skin strips that are really good at bringing the edge up a notch. Problem with many older strops is they have been coated with abrasives that are hard to clean away. You CAN sand the surface with Emory cloth on a flat board/sanding block, then finish with oils etc as desired.
Last thing to mention is the cloth component. In my opinion/experience it is an important thing to have. The generic fabric that comes with most new strops works ok but I REALLY like my vintage flax firehose. Second to the flax firehose would be flax herringbone fabric…flax fabric seems to really help get/keep edges super keen. Other than the flax recommendation I don’t have much more I can offer because I don’t have much experience beyond that.
I do know/ can say is different types of leather feel and perform differently. And how you clean and treat the leather can change the way it feels or performs. I can also say the width is probably a matter of preference and technique than anything else. I thought I wanted/needed a 3” wide but after making one I am not as impressed as I thought I would be. I recommend a 2.5” over anything smaller or larger, it seems to work best for all my different razor sizes and shapes. Some oddly shaped razors kind of need a narrower strop.
I have also bought and restored several old/vintage strops with great results. I found some pig skin strips that are really good at bringing the edge up a notch. Problem with many older strops is they have been coated with abrasives that are hard to clean away. You CAN sand the surface with Emory cloth on a flat board/sanding block, then finish with oils etc as desired.
Last thing to mention is the cloth component. In my opinion/experience it is an important thing to have. The generic fabric that comes with most new strops works ok but I REALLY like my vintage flax firehose. Second to the flax firehose would be flax herringbone fabric…flax fabric seems to really help get/keep edges super keen. Other than the flax recommendation I don’t have much more I can offer because I don’t have much experience beyond that.
@DamascusSteel
Most people nick/cut/damage their first strop(s)
Check out Duke City Shaving for some economic and diverse offerings.
I like mostly like paddle or bench type strops these days over hanging.
The most reputed higher end and fair priced strop maker is Heirloom Razor Strop Co. I don’t have one of Tony’s strops, but have never heard anyone say they did not like theirs.
Good luck.
Most people nick/cut/damage their first strop(s)
Check out Duke City Shaving for some economic and diverse offerings.
I like mostly like paddle or bench type strops these days over hanging.
The most reputed higher end and fair priced strop maker is Heirloom Razor Strop Co. I don’t have one of Tony’s strops, but have never heard anyone say they did not like theirs.
Good luck.
Also in the beginning as you are learning your Stropping skills take an old pair of Jeans cut s 2 foot section and attach it to a hook and that will work as well. also a News paper strop works as well. Take a 3 foot section, fold it to a 3 inch wide and drape over a towel rack and grab both ends, make it taught as strop that way.
This works very well until your pivot and rotating of the Razor in your fingers start to become 2nd nature. Just remember to always keep the spine on the strop when your rotate and change direction. Start slow and speed will come with experience. Plus if you mess up neither the Denim or Paper will not hurt the edge
This works very well until your pivot and rotating of the Razor in your fingers start to become 2nd nature. Just remember to always keep the spine on the strop when your rotate and change direction. Start slow and speed will come with experience. Plus if you mess up neither the Denim or Paper will not hurt the edge
I'll definitely give the denim method a try, i remember hearing you mention that in your how to straight shave lessons @BarberDave. What are some of the pros and cons to using a paddle strop? @Bill M why do you prefer the paddle or bench strops these days?
Also remember to check with some of your local fire departments because sometimes they have some small sections of old hose you could get . Remember though that they will HAVE to be cleaned MANY MANY times before using... Also some people have said they have had pretty good luck with hemp strops for the cloth parts...
1) Most of my stuff is honed on convex hones and I have leather mounted to a convex shaped base for those.
2) I never arranged what I think would be the ideal position for me to hang a strop, therefore my tensioning and motions are somewhat compromised.
Also, I could probably come up with a dozen more reasons why, but my personal experience never yielded the results that hanging strops are usually known for.
I don’t have one, but another consideration along the way is a loom strop.
As to Bill's Point above, This is very important. Get a Good strong hook that the Strop cannot escape from and mount that hook taking a measurement that should be half the distance from your navel to your armpit. Mount the Hook with dry wall anchors. When stropping pull the strop very taught and it should be, depending on the length of the strop, where the handle of the strop ( if you have long handles (recommended) vs D rings ) should rest in your palm at your waist angling down from the hook.
Or better yet, mount it to a stud.
Does the brown packing paper work or does it need to be actual newspaper? Also is old and worn denim preferred over new thick denim?
Newspaper is preferred as the fibers of the “brown”paper are a bit to rough. Worn denim is the best. An old pair of jeans. From the leg. Fold it over to a 3-4 inch width glue or sew