Am a relative noob to straight razor shaving, some 7 months. Noticed the other day that my strop has a few small nicks on it. What would be the best way to repair the strip.
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Best way to repair a leather strop
- Thread starter Doti B
- Start date
Excellent question. I noticed some cuts in my hanging strop the other day and removed them using sandpaper.
Just sand away until the cut is gone and the surface is flat or lower than the rest of your strop.
I used 100 grit.
But before you 'ave at it, perhaps more experienced members can tell you (and me) if this is the correct way to deal with these kinds of problems.
Just sand away until the cut is gone and the surface is flat or lower than the rest of your strop.
I used 100 grit.
But before you 'ave at it, perhaps more experienced members can tell you (and me) if this is the correct way to deal with these kinds of problems.
I would start *a lot* higher than that. Then you have to ensure you use a damp cloth to remove all traces of the grit afterwards; you don't want it on the strop.
- Thread starter
- #4
When you say higher grit than 100 what are we talking here ?
Assuming we are talking about a small nick, and not a gouge or a flap, I would start at 1000 and just gently smooth out the surrounds so that there is nothing to catch the blade.
Florin, on his Zen Razor Japan youtube channel, has a video where he refreshes a strop with 800 grit. Although he was doing it to get the Jnat particles out of it (it was his shop strop that he uses when testing stones).
At any rate, I've used 600 w/d on minor nicks with no problem. Lapping film works really well for this since it doesn't really shed grit. Wet/dry shouldn't shed much either but I'd still go over it with a damp sponge and fingers to make sure that it's clean when you're done. Larger nicks can be trimmed off with a razor blade, or even lightly glued down with CA before sanding them smooth.
At any rate, I've used 600 w/d on minor nicks with no problem. Lapping film works really well for this since it doesn't really shed grit. Wet/dry shouldn't shed much either but I'd still go over it with a damp sponge and fingers to make sure that it's clean when you're done. Larger nicks can be trimmed off with a razor blade, or even lightly glued down with CA before sanding them smooth.
I use a cuticle trimming tool (a sharpened V notch) to remove strop nicks and chamfer their edge.
Really depends on the type of leather and finish, also depends on the nick, location, etc.
I use 220x w/d to take edge nicks out of some, not all, leathers. Smooth with 600x w/d on some, not all leather. Have used micro mesh pads too. It's not a one size fits all situation and not all repairs are equal at the end of the day. Better to evaluate each scenario individually.
I use a brush and compressed air to remove grit particles. Water can make dirt and other types of contaminants embed into some leathers.
I use 220x w/d to take edge nicks out of some, not all, leathers. Smooth with 600x w/d on some, not all leather. Have used micro mesh pads too. It's not a one size fits all situation and not all repairs are equal at the end of the day. Better to evaluate each scenario individually.
I use a brush and compressed air to remove grit particles. Water can make dirt and other types of contaminants embed into some leathers.
