A first strop

[mmiller3475]

I had thought that choosing a razor was difficult, but that pales in comparison to choosing strop. I can't think of anything that has more combinations and permutations than razor strops.

I was looking for a hanging strop with leather and linen, but then I found paddle strops. Most of the instructional videos and postings talk about how to strop which is certainly important, but little about the materials and construction of strops.

So...any suggestions for a newbie looking for a basic leather and linen strop? If the paddle strops do the same as hanging should I consider those as well. Finally, there is much talk about pastes for both types of strops. For a newbie I hope I can safely ignore those for the time being.

Thank you for the help!

 

[ShavedZombie]

For a basic, beginner strop, I recommend SRD's Latigo. Latigo is a great workhorse strop, it has a heavier draw (but not terribly so) that shapes blades up really quick, and the Poly Webbing backing is fantastic (it takes a bit of getting used to for the sound though). Go for the 3'' width when starting out, you can learn an xpattern later.

Alternatively, you can get a paddle strop (I recommend Neil Miller or Straight Razor Designs [SRD]) for a paddle strop. The benefits of a paddle are portability, you don't need to hang it to use it, and, as a beginner, you don't have to fret over tension/tautness.


Any questions?

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[Leche]

A simple but good starter strop is the filly from Ruprazor. Has no linen component but its 20 bucks and the back is pasted with CrOx. He also has some other nice offerings. You can also contact Ambrose here for great strops.

 

[ShavedZombie]

The Filly is good, but it sounds like the Linen was a selling point for MMiller. However, Ken Rup's El Toro is also a good place to start. It's his cowhide and linen strop. It's a great performer.

 

[mdunn]

Get a filly (or equivalent) to start with. No matter how careful you are, you will nick your first strop, so it may as well not be a great one.

 

[jjjackso]

+1 to the filly. Thats what i did.

 

[mmiller3475]

For a basic, beginner strop, I recommend SRD's Latigo. Latigo is a great workhorse strop, it has a heavier draw (but not terribly so) that shapes blades up really quick, and the Poly Webbing backing is fantastic (it takes a bit of getting used to for the sound though). Go for the 3'' width when starting out, you can learn an xpattern later.

Alternatively, you can get a paddle strop (I recommend Neil Miller or Straight Razor Designs [SRD]) for a paddle strop. The benefits of a paddle are portability, you don't need to hang it to use it, and, as a beginner, you don't have to fret over tension/tautness.


Any questions?

Cheers,
Jeremy

Thanks for the reply! I tend to get caught up with all the variations offered, e.g. Russian leather vs Latigo, or linen vs hard felt (?), and countless pastes. I need to visit SRD to see if I can decipher this some more.

I do know that it's probably a mistake to pay a lot for my first strop. It sounds like it's easy to damage the strop. Maybe a paddle would be the way to go initially, but even those come with options that I don't understand their purpose (mostly various leathers?).

 

[mmiller3475]

A simple but good starter strop is the filly from Ruprazor. Has no linen component but its 20 bucks and the back is pasted with CrOx. He also has some other nice offerings. You can also contact Ambrose here for great strops.

The Filly was mentioned by another member. Do I really need the paste (chromium oxide)? or would another paste do the same? I'll go look again to see if I can sift through this.

 

[ShavedZombie]

I never use pastes for touchups. I always hone, then go to pastes, then strop and use until it needs rehoning. But that's just me.

As for the paddle, a paddle is just to keep you from having control the tautness of the strop, it's also more portable.

And I never nicked my first strop, but I did research and went slow. Also, if you nick an SRD strop, they're fully modular, which means you just buy a new leather, rather than a new strop (about a 30$ replacement).

I love Modular strops

 

[mmiller3475]

The Filly is good, but it sounds like the Linen was a selling point for MMiller. However, Ken Rup's El Toro is also a good place to start. It's his cowhide and linen strop. It's a great performer.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not closed to something other than linen. I just assumed that's what a strop was made of...I'm learning otherwise. Now I am finding that there can be many materials used in a strop along with leather.

And pastes...what to say about them? I think sticking to the KISS principle would not be a bad way to go.

 

[ShavedZombie]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not closed to something other than linen. I just assumed that's what a strop was made of...I'm learning otherwise. Now I am finding that there can be many materials used in a strop along with leather.

And pastes...what to say about them? I think sticking to the KISS principle would not be a bad way to go.

Strops have, generally, two component options. Fabric or Leather. Sometimes you'll see dual leather strops, or dual fabric. The most common however is fabric and leather (although there are some leather only strops, but they're generally beginner/practice strops). A lot of people prefer fabric, but there are those who swear by leather only strops.

Pastes, read my prior post to get my view. They help refine edges, but I always do touchups on stone.

 

[Leche]

I think CrOx is OK when the razor starts to pull a bit. It's quick and easy and darn near impossible to screw up if you can strop. Also, if you're learning, you don't need to worry about honing properly. That being said, I feel the absolute best way to touch up is with a stone.

 

[mmiller3475]

I've been to the SRD site and while they offer a wide range of strops I think I can find something that would serve my purposes - either paddle or hanging. As for pastes - until I get more experience, I don't think I need them. I'm thinking I should have gotten a "practice" razor along with the DOVO I ordered. If I mess up, I won't have spent a lot of money.

I never realized that using a straight razor could be so complicated!

 

[ImaWestie]

Is Ken from Ruprazor on B&B?

Any aussies purchased from him - I'm having problems getting a shipping method to show up in my shipping cart and it stops right there. Wondering if this is because he doesn't ship to us?

 

[mmiller3475]

Is Ken from Ruprazor on B&B?

Any aussies purchased from him - I'm having problems getting a shipping method to show up in my shipping cart and it stops right there. Wondering if this is because he doesn't ship to us?

I can't say for sure, but he lists shipping to New Zealand so I'm sure he'd ship to Australia. Their website has a "contact us" feature so you can ask him what's going on.

 

[dmcconnell]

Ken is on B&B, user: 'kenrup'.

 

[ImaWestie]

Is Ken from Ruprazor on B&B?

Any aussies purchased from him - I'm having problems getting a shipping method to show up in my shipping cart and it stops right there. Wondering if this is because he doesn't ship to us?

After a bit of frustration, comparing the filly to some online but locally available strops, I remembered that I had been pointed to The Hair and Beauty Bargain Bazaar , and indeed they have this strop.

So on my way back from my sons speech therapist I dropped in there. Totally nice couple in a jam-packed hairdressing supplier place. The strop... well I've got nothing to compare it to? It's certainly "made for the trade" not a bit of "<strike>bathroom</strike> shaving den porn".

I will get around to a post-visit write-up on the GSL thread but I've not been here long enough to post there yet. Photos...
edit: I will try to get these working in the test thread, bare with me...
edit2: check these out...

strop, cover down

strop with cover raised

handle end

hardware end

I have my first straight on it's way to go with my first strop. Hopefully the first straight will destroy the first strop not the other way around??

On a good note, they also introduced me to their own brand of "Bay rum" aftershave, and apparently, Mrs Westie approves
Does everyone buy aftershave by the litre? In PVC bottles? Does that tell you who this shop generally sells to (ie, TRADE CUSTOMERS)??

 

[ImaWestie]

Sorry, my first go at uploading images... didn't go as planned!

 

[altshaver]

This question came up on another forum I frequent, and I bet it comes up a lot.

Here is what I replied verbatim:

Personally, I feel a 3" strop created in the fashion of Tony Miller's modular design is the way to go for a person new to straight razor shaving. The larger width will make it easier to strop initially because an X-stroke is not required, although some straight razor users utilize the X-stroke regardless of their strop's width. The modular aspect of strop will allow you to replace the leather that you might nick while learning for a relatively low cost.

Vintage Blades sells strops like these. Straight Razor Designs also sell strops like these. Tony Miller now only makes strops on a very limited basis, so he probably won't be an option. There are probably plenty of other strop makers that make a strops as I have described. I only mentioned the above vendors to give you a place to look.

Once you become adept at stropping, you'll be able to decide whether you want to keep the strop or go for something different like a HandAmerican strop or something more traditional like a Kanayama strop. The strops mentioned above should be fairly easy to sell on a BST or Classifieds.

Good luck!

 

[mmiller3475]

I ended up buying a strop from Vintage Blades - 3" red Latigo. I still don't know that Latigo is all about, but it seems pretty popular. If I make a mistake, it can be replaced. I'm also considering a Filly strop for practice. The custom straps look wonderfull, but until I have more experience I won't be able to appreciate them.