How Important is a Canvas Strop?

[Joe Edson]

Thinking of embarking on str8 shaving and have purchased a RupRazor Filly to finally push me over the edge into trying. I'm definitely not jumping in headfirst like I did with DE shaving. Will probably purchase a good starter straight eventually, but am not rushed as I fully want to research everything about that before settling on a razor.

My real question though is how important is a canvas strop? The Filly doesn't come with some sort of canvas strop and I was wondering if it is necessary to get one or if I could get by awhile with just a filly to see if I like straight shaving. Thanks all!

 

[kg4ghn]

You will be fine with just the filly for a while to see how you like it.

I would suggest buying a straight from Larry Andro at www.whippeddog.com. He sells straights for $33 that ain't the prettiest but they are very smooth and sharp. One of those with your filly would be all you need to try out straight shaving.

 

[dancraig]

When I first started shaving with a straight, I didn't have linen. I only had a small leather strop.

 

[dancraig]

You will be fine with just the filly for a while to see how you like it.

I would suggest buying a straight from Larry Andro at www.whippeddog.com. He sells straights for $33 that ain't the prettiest but they are very smooth and sharp. One of those with your filly would be all you need to try out straight shaving.

And ditto. Larry is good to deal with.

 

[Joe Edson]

Thanks for the replies. I'll definitely have to check out Larry's site. Just trying to take things slow as I've only been DE shaving for about 2 months and am thoroughly enjoying it. There is just something about straights that I'm drawn to. Probably my love of only vintage DE razors has something to do with that.

 

[kg4ghn]

I know what you mean. When I first joined, Joel's straight shaving video was the first thing on the main page. I had a straight and practice strop ordered before my first DE arrived in the mail!

 

[ambrose]

I personally dont even like using the canvas

 

[ouch]

I can't imagine not having a canvas/linen side.

 

[mdunn]

i like my canvas, but you dont need it.

its personal preference really

 

[mparker762]

You don't need it but it's handy for extending the life of the edge (weeks to months). For that matter you don't need the leather strop either but it's handy for extending the life of the edge (days to weeks). It's possible to get by with just a hone - there was a member a few years ago that went on a multi-month trip and just took a razor and barber hone with him, and it worked out fine. Just depends on how minimal you want to be.

 

[ouch]

You don't need it but it's handy for extending the life of the edge (weeks to months). For that matter you don't need the leather strop either but it's handy for extending the life of the edge (days to weeks). It's possible to get by with just a hone - there was a member a few years ago that went on a multi-month trip and just took a razor and barber hone with him, and it worked out fine. Just depends on how minimal you want to be.

Heck, you don't even need a razor, but it's handy for extending the life of a shave (hours to days).

 

[snakyjake]

If the linen is to extend the edge an extra few weeks or month, what about using paste on one side of the strop instead of using a linen (or other fabric)?

Or why not a barber stone instead?

Jake

 

[ambrose]

Heck, you don't even need a razor, but it's handy for extending the life of a shave (hours to days).

laughing and coughing over here

 

[mparker762]

If the linen is to extend the edge an extra few weeks or month, what about using paste on one side of the strop instead of using a linen (or other fabric)?

Or why not a barber stone instead?

Sure. There are no hard-and-fast "requirements". There are a lot of ways to keep a razor going, and it just comes down to personal preference. As I mentioned in my previous post, we had a member here that went without any strop at all for months using only a barber hone. We had a guy that used those little V-shaped ceramic sticks for both honing and stropping duties. And there was a guy who went at least 4 years with just a TI paddle - he had joined SRP back in late 2005 and finally made his first post a few months ago asking if might be a good idea to get his razor touched up on a stone - mind you his razor was still shaving fine, he was just wondering if a hone could improve it even more.

FWIW the effect of linen on my edges was significant, with just leather they lasted about 10 shaves, with the linen they last in the range of 70-200 shaves.

 

[Joe Edson]

hmm, seems like a lot of varied opinions on the importance of canvas. For starters I'll probably stick with the filly and get a shave ready straight. If I like it, I have a feeling based on my DE AD's that I won't have to worry about having a linen strop or if it''s necessary. Odds are I'll own two or three by then

 

[jtrops]

There was another thread on this topic not very long ago. For what it's worth I think the linen does more than the leather for maintaining my edge. The leather makes it nice and smooth, but the linen seems to make it a bit more keen.

 

[LarryAndro]

I've never used the linen side of strops. And, as others have stated also, that works fine. I have to admit that some of these threads have made me interested in some experiments with linen. Interesting...

 

[taffy]

My dovo strop is a duel, leather/lined, and i do find a few strokes every now and then on the linen sharps up my blades.

 

[huntmol]

For a new straight user just starting out, use any old piece of flat, clean leather. Once you nick that one up, invest in a good quality strop with a leather and linen component. You only need leather, but linen will greatly improve the longevity of your edges.

 

[Gafer]

Sure. There are no hard-and-fast "requirements". There are a lot of ways to keep a razor going, and it just comes down to personal preference.

Definitely a good point. There is no, "one way" in maintaining a razor. For me, I use the linen side of my strop to dry the razor when I'm finished. Just a few strops to make sure the edge is dry. Otherwise, I've not noticed the difference between really stropping on the canvas before I strop on leather.