My mate just bought a lovely Dovo straight, he's new to the whole thing having watched my interest in DE shaving grow I suspect he's decided to go one better than me and buy a straight! Fair play to him I thought as long as I can have a try! So last night I had a go, with somewhat mixed results I may add but what really got me wondering was his use of his leather belt as a strop! What does everyone think of this? Is it ok or not? I personally didn't think the blade was as sharp as I expected but then again I'm no expert, I didn't use a lot of pressure perhaps that was the problem. I definitely would like to get into straights at some point I really enjoyed the feeling of it in my hand.
Belt Stropping?
- Thread starter Der_Kaiser
- Start date
Thing to take into account is the reverse sides of belts are often sealed and it is possible that may interfere. Now, if you take some very fine sandpaper and remove that sealant (if present) you can end up with some very fine suedelike surfaces. That will hold abrasive if you so choose and be something of a cheap trick.
See!
Problem being it may not be so nice as a belt after all that.
Oh silly me... you were referring to the front of the belt. Well, that is usually sealed as well as protection against elements or other things leather doesn't like. Same situation. Probably best to remove coating. After that it should work ok. But again, it's not as good as a belt should you want to continue using it thusly.
See!
Problem being it may not be so nice as a belt after all that.
Oh silly me... you were referring to the front of the belt. Well, that is usually sealed as well as protection against elements or other things leather doesn't like. Same situation. Probably best to remove coating. After that it should work ok. But again, it's not as good as a belt should you want to continue using it thusly.
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i always wondered about old leather belt. i tried it once and seemed to work fine.
Many things will work for stropping. Newspaper is the one that blows my mind - it works fine. A belt will work just fine as long as it isn't finished (as was said). I have a 2" gun belt that works just as good as any strop. Handy for when I'm camping.
Of course... there is the Kanayama... but I wouldn't take that to the woods.
Of course... there is the Kanayama... but I wouldn't take that to the woods.
- Thread starter
- #5
Yeah he used the front of the belt, the shiny part. Having said that I seen him yesterday and he was sporting a DFS so it seems to be working! You know the BB mantra YMMV!
Any smooth leather surface will work fine. In fact any smooth surface that is softer than the blade steel can be used. You can also strop on the heal of you hand.
I stropped on my jeans for 2 months before I got my strop..I read some posts in the past where guys in the civil war would use their horse reigns to strop their blades..lol
I have used a belt for years to strop field knives. It gets them "razor sharp" 
Your mate might be sporting a DFS, but is he using the cut-throat to get it?! Yes you can, as has been said, use your belt, but I would rather just make or buy a strop for the purpose. I have three homemade strops. One for home (3in), one for my shack/cabin/humpy out in the bush (2.5") and one for travel (2") all single sided and all 'roo hide. They do the trick nicely. Any smooth leather will do fine for a strop. I use the flesh or rough side of my 'roo hide strops as a 'linen' side.
Mick
Mick
