I need a strop

[papi]

I imagine this is a controversial subject. I need a strop. Any suggestions as to what to get? Are the expensive ones that much better? Should I use the green compound or go with diamond spray or paste? Is this all personal preference? I will like to use it for knives as well as straight razors.

I have a question. should a strop be cleaned? Would mico bits of metal on a strop scratch a well-polished edge
As always thanks for the help to all.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

If you're going to use pastes (not arguing for or against here) get a cheap fabric or canvas strop or strops for that.

But, you'll want an unpasted leather strop for your razor, regardless of how you fine tune the edge. Tony Miller is a vendor here and I can vouch for his quality, and he often has low priced options.

Heirloomrazorstrop.com is his site. Contact him and he'll get you squared away.

TomoNagura on Etsy has good strops too, including flax linen firehose (don't use pastes on those). Firehose is nice but you still will want leather for the final stropping before you shave.

 

[Legion]

Your everyday razor strop should not have pastes, just clean leather. For your first hanging strop you want decent quality, but not fancy or expensive since there is a good chance you will cut it a bit learning the technique.

Tony has had beginner strops for sale in the past. If he still does those that would be perfect.

Failing that, a second hand strop without much damage may be a good option.

 

[papi]

That is all I needed to know Thanks .

 

[Butch Waxx]

Your everyday razor strop should not have pastes, just clean leather. For your first hanging strop you want decent quality, but not fancy or expensive since there is a good chance you will cut it a bit learning the technique.

Tony has had beginner strops for sale in the past. If he still does those that would be perfect.

Failing that, a second hand strop without much damage may be a good option.

Yes indeed…..Contact Tony and no ifs, buts, or whys!

 

[Eshebert]

I just purchased my first straight. Now looking for a strop, I am looking at vintage Illinois Razor Strop and another cat on ebay that makes some nice strops as really low price point. Anyone have any dealing with or use a Duck City Strop? Any advice or opinion is much appreciated.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Have a vintage Illinois that is a nice strop, but the linen is useless unless soaked and washed.

Take a look at Tony Miller Heirloom strops, he has quality beginner strops for as low as $50. He also sells replacement linen and leathers, if you need. It can take a while to perfect your stropping.

A quality strop will pay shaving dividends, as stropping is your last chance to polish/improve the edge prior to touching your face. Linnen is often overlooked but as important as leather for edge maintenance/improvement.

 

[gpjoe]

...Tony Miller...Heirloomrazorstrop.com

...Tony has had beginner strops...

...Contact Tony and no ifs, buts...

...look at Tony Miller Heirloom strops...

I think I see a pattern here.

I bought one of Tony's Vanilla strops and was very surprised and happy with it. It is a quality strop with nice sturdy hardware.

Being a rookie I have managed a couple of nicks but I like that the usable portion of the strop can be easily replaced.

 

[Kyle89]

Another happy Tony Miller strop user here, he has my regards and recommendation.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“I imagine this is a controversial subject. I need a strop. Any suggestions as to what to get? Are the expensive ones that much better? Should I use the green compound or go with diamond spray or paste? Is this all personal preference? I will like to use it for knives as well as straight razors.”

“I have a question. should a strop be cleaned? Would mico bits of metal on a strop scratch a well-polished edge
As always thanks for the help to all.”

To answer the other part of your question, yes, your strops should be clean, Do not use the same strop to paste/hone knives. Knives are hard on strops and are better stropped on a larger paddle strops. They are not expensive, or you can easily make one. The same goes for stones, knife points are hard on stones, you can use the same stone for knives and razors, just mark and dedicate one side for razors and the other for knives. Razor edges are much more fragile than knife and tool edges, that you will not be putting to your skin.

Paste is a different horse all together. It can take a while to perfect your stropping technique to the point where you are consistently improving the edge. A single errant stroke can roll an edge. It is very common.

A pasted strop is an abrasive strop and will more easily ruin an edge with an errant stroke.

So, do buy a new strop and keep it clean. Airborne dust will land on it daily. Dust is much larger than any paste you will use. I wipe my strops daily with a damp microfiber before each use.

You can paste a piece of cardboard, inside of a cereal box and experiment with paste stropping on the edge of a table or bench. Once you find a paste you like then paste a linen or leather strop. Once a strop is pasted it can never be completely removed.

All paste work, the trick is finding one that works with your razor and skin. Paste can make an edge too thin, especially if too much pressure is used, common new stropper issue and/or too keen/harsh, depending on your skin.

As said start with plain leather and linen, can’t go wrong with A Tony Miller strop, he makes all different levels of strops.

I use a Tony Miller or vintage Kanayama strop daily. BTW Tony’s Flax Linnen is a great linen to use while honing, between stones.

 

[Eshebert]

Do you recommend the horse or steer hide TM Stops?

 

[rbscebu]

Do you recommend the horse or steer hide TM Stops?

I have experience with horse, steer, calf and kangaroo hide strops. I found no noticeable difference in the finished edge result between them.

Where I did notice a difference is in the "feel" while stropping. That becomes just a personal preference as the end result doesn't change.

To reply to your question, just get a strop of the leather that you admire the look of and is within your budget

As for strop width, they come in three common sizes; about 75mm, 65mm and 50mm. The 75mm has a greater tendency to cup transversely and the 50mm requires greater furness in striping with dedicated X strokes. The 65mm is about inbetween, it has a slight tendency to cup but doesn't require anywhere near as much X stroke skill.

My preference is for about 65mm. Other prefer 75mm and even others swear by 50mm. Up to you.

Usable stropping length also comes into it. The longer this length, the lesser number of laps is required for the same result. A usable length of about 300mm is probably the minimum for a hanging strop. The longest that appears to be acceptable is about 600mm. Again, this is a personal preference. Probably go mid-way for about 450mm.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Have a vintage Illinois that is a nice strop, but the linen is useless unless soaked and washed.

Take a look at Tony Miller Heirloom strops, he has quality beginner strops for as low as $50. He also sells replacement linen and leathers, if you need. It can take a while to perfect your stropping.

A quality strop will pay shaving dividends, as stropping is your last chance to polish/improve the edge prior to touching your face. Linnen is often overlooked but as important as leather for edge maintenance/improvement.

Right on. A premium strop is not needed, it is just very cool to have and a joy to use. However, a substandard strop will yield substandard results. I have fixed a few razors that were stropped on old belts. They can be a real horror show. Same would go, I am sure, with old dried out wrinkled, cracked and split, and sliced up strops, or strops made from stiff, unyielding, warped and inferior leather with lots of range marks and wrinkles. Adequate leather is not expensive, and going with the cheapest available is definitely penny wise and pound foolish. A decent strop, supple and rightly yielding, properly used, is key to making an edge last for 100 shaves instead of a dozen. Vintage can be perfectly okay, if you get lucky, but buying one online, sight unseen, feel unfelt, is a crapshoot. You might get a good one, you might not. Illinois is definitely a standard, ordinary, adequate brand. One of Tony's beginner strops will probably be better, for only a few bucks more. Somewhere in between would be a DIY one made from veg tanned leather sourced from McMaster-Carr. Not Tandy or similar. One of my favorite strops is one I made from McMaster cowhide. In my stable, I put it just below my 40k Kanayama. I no longer have any budget strops, the sort you find online for under $20. They just don't do my razors any favors. Tony won't sell crap. He lives up to his reputation so that his reputation stands untarnished.

 

[Tanuki]

Do you recommend the horse or steer hide TM Stops?

I have both types of hide, each in both smooth and roughout. (So 4 TM total, I'm a moderate strop junkie.)

I am not good at detecting fine distinctions, but I choose the horsies more often than the steers. I am picking based on the feel/draw I want, rather than expecting a different face feel.

If I was limited to one, it would be my first TM, a 3" veg tanned smooth Horween horsehide, with linen.

I use a Tony Miller strop about as often as I chose one of my 6 or 7 vintage/used strops. If I buy another new strop it will be TM.

 

[Rosseforp]

One of my favorite strops is one I made from McMaster cowhide.

Props on McMaster-Carr for anything industrial...

Illinois is a good strop to get started with, then move on up to a Tony Miller.

~doug~

 

[Doc Dan]

I got a very nice buffalo strop from Duke City on fleabay. His strops are not expensive. He also restores razors and hones them.

 

[BanjoDadPDX]

Just got a vintage razor from Duke city. Great guy great razor

 

[BanjoDadPDX]

I got a very nice buffalo strop from Duke City on fleabay. His strops are not expensive. He also restores razors and hones them.

Great strops. Fine razors. Solid guy.