(Newb) Which strop for a dovo 6/8?

[Swayz]

What's the best route for me to go with for a strop? I want a bigger one so I don't have to x pattern with my 6/8 dovo I just ordered. I want to make a one time investment and I'm done strop wise. There's so many threads that someone with experience I would greatly appreciate some feedback. I'm not concerned with short changing my investment. What do i need? I think as of now when I have to hone it I'm going to send it out. I say that now but I'm still on my journey!
Thank you gents,
-Pat

 

[cb91710]

The X-pattern is beneficial.
1) - Wide strops are prone to cupping, which puts too much pressure on the heel and toe, and does little for the center of the blade.
2) - The X-pattern moves the strop across the blade at an angle to the deformations produced by shaving. Look up "Metal polishing 101" and you'll see that with each reduction in grit, the direction of the polishing is moved 45-90 degrees. Moving only in the direction of wear is likely to deepen the grooves. It may restore sharpness, but it can also produce a very un-smooth blade.
3) - Widest commonly available strops are 3". Most blades are slightly longer.
4) - Wider strops are more expensive. The only 3" I'm aware of costs double that of a cheaper Illinois 127, which is an excellent beginner strop... this leads to...
5) - You will in all likelihood, eventually, seriously damage your first strop. I was lucky and only nicked the edge near one end and the strop is still quite usable, other, more experienced straight users have actually sliced through it.

 

[Swayz]

Wow thank you! Then I will head in new direction! What's your recommendations for my situation? Should I purchase a Illonois 127? Is that all I will need to keep my Dovo razor sharp for 6 months to a year before I send it out to be honed?

 

[cb91710]

As I mentioned... the Illinois 127 is a good, inexpensive strop in the ballpark of $40.
http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Illinois-Razor-Strop-127_p_1227.html

Cheaper is the Whipped Dog "Poor man's" for $22. It is 100% no-frills. No chrome or gold hardware, no linen/canvas component... just a strip of usable leather that won't make you cry if you damage it.
http://whippeddog.com/products/find/strops-and-abrasives

 

[drathgeb]

I got my first real strop from Star shaving. It is a 3" and around $40 shipped. I started off with just some scrap leather and ended up hacking that thing to pieces.

 

[Slash McCoy]

For the first few shaves, you could use a sheet of newspaper. Fold it lengthwise several times until it is between 2-1/2" and 3" wide. Loop one of the ends over a towel rod, pinch both ends together, and pull it tight. If you hack it up, you just ruined a sheet of old newspaper. WAAAAAAAAAAH!

That was to allow your Poor Man Strop from www.whippeddog.com a chance at survival. Newspaper works but leather will work better. If after a month you are not hacking up the Poor Man with your stropping technique, consider an upgrade to the Big Daddy from www.starshaving.com. That's my favorite strop. It is hyoooooge! If your Poor Man is still in good shape, you can use it for a travel strop or just a backup.

Now us big strop fans like to go on and on about not needing to x-stroke, but in truth at least a slight x-stroke component is desireable. This is mainly in case you are letting the shoulder ride up on the strop, but also to compensate for the surface irregularities of the leather. Furthermore, it is a good idea to slightly vary your x-stroke as you strop. Yes, the wide strop is still easier to use but all is not lost if you only have a narrow one such as the Poor Man.

If you really want to go a long time without rehoning, get a piece of balsa, 3" wide, at least 12" long, and 3/4" or 1" thick to use as a bench strop. Paste it with diamond paste from www.tedpella.com or another source, 1u on one side, .25u on the other. I was using a half dozen laps on the 1u and a dozen on the .25u after every shave but now I am going just the .25u for routine maintenance. I do this after each shave. I strop on the hanging leather strop without paste before each shave, about 4 dozen laps. Generally, I never have to re-hone a razor, but I often do anyway simply because I like to hone. But I know I have gone 100 shaves or more without honing, nevertheless, when using the pasted balsa as an edge maintenance tool. Remember, this is a strop, not a hone. Don't be tempted into stroking with the edge leading. You will immediately cut into the soft balsa if you do that. Always go spine-leading, just like on a hanging leather strop.

If you buy the Poor Man Strop Kit, it comes with a balsa bench strop pasted with Chromium Oxide (the green stuff) and iron oxide (the red stuff). It isn't diamond but it still works okay. Not as wide as I like but it will gitter done. Strop on the green side first, then the red side.

Remember to keep a hanging strop pulled tight and always keep the pressure very light, barely more than just the weight of the blade. Always flip the edge out when you turn and do the return stroke, never flip the spine out. In fact, concentrate on always keeping the spine in contact with the strop.

 

[Swayz]

Wow thank you all for taking the time to help me out! Slash im going to look into buying a bench strop as well and take your advice.

 

[shakin_jake]

I've owned/used 5 strops in the last 18 months. First purchased was/is a very nice Walkin' Horse 3" English Bridle...can't seem to locate any pics, and here's a pic of the venerable $35 strop on Amazon, the one from Chicago plus one of Tony Miller's horse hide strops w/o his stamp

both have a linen component behind the leather. tony's stampless strop pictured here doesn't getr his stamp as it is not one of the better pieces of leather, so he charges less. IIRC, about 50 some dollars with the linen, and the linen was upgraded at the time

here's the same strop alongside Tony's Steerhide strop-

steerhide on the left, and BTW, the steerhide is my daily strop tool since last October. It came with Tony's best herringbone linen, about $90 delivered back then

The steerhide is the shizzle yo! Tony cut relief marks up and down both sides of that strop right near the edge (both sides). it does not cup at all & why the relif cuts are there. I've always liked the medium to heavy draw of the Walkin' Horse English Bridle but Tony's Steerhide is faster with a small amount of draw I find best for me

I can increase the amount of draw on the steerhide by generating some heat with my free hand before stropping if I want more draw and I always run the palm of my hand up and down before stropping just to clear it of any dust and for some draw but by rubbing it more until noticeably warmer, the draw picks up to a greater extent, sort of like tuning the amount of draw one wants, or desires

Both of Tony's strops (pictured above) are 2.5" in width. Speaking strictly for myself, I don't care all that much for 3" strops and I find the 2.5" widths more enjoyable to use. I much rather employ an X stropping motion while stropping which isn't needed when using a 3" strop. different strokes for different folks... but anyone shopping for a higher end strop and doesn't mind dropping the better part of a $100 bill, Tony's 2.5" Steerhide w/ herringbone linen is a top shelf strop

Worth noting, the steerhide strop I have uses Tony's 'barber cut' end...no handles, you grasp the end of the strop with thumb and fore finger, and it's a 24" length which I prefer using over shorter strops. Again, it's all what you get used to using but I can't imagine wanting to strop on anything other than this particular steerhide strop. the results I get on my razors are nothing short of sharp from the hones I use but the steerhide strop brings out the edge rather nicely


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.


Oh!, I found another strop pic-

strop on the left is a 3" (from Tony) that I put some Thiers Issard paste on the split side of the leather that I'll use occaisonally on a razor I've just used and feel the edge needs some help w/o going to the hones...I'll do 10 laps on this paste after the shave, wipe the blade with a single sheet of toilet tissue, then strop on linen then leather to dry clean the blade before putting it up, and this is my honing station, the pantry closest between the kitchen and 1/2 bath. More often than not I shave in the half bath around the corner from this closet and why I keep the strop in the closet, as it's handy to the sink I shave over

 

[Swayz]

I'm learning a lot! I may just have to look into those after I'm good at stroping!

 

[JeffM]

Your initial comment about making a one time investment got a big grin out of a lot of people. Not only will you mark up your first strop- give yourself about 12 mos. of daily stropping before investing in a dream strop- TM, Neil Miller, Kanayama, Scrupleworks, etc. Secondly you will definitely develop SAD and enjoy the look and feel of different leathers. Have you started looking for a second straight razor yet?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Your initial comment about making a one time investment got a big grin out of a lot of people. Not only will you mark up your first strop- give yourself about 12 mos. of daily stropping before investing in a dream strop- TM, Neil Miller, Kanayama, Scrupleworks, etc. Secondly you will definitely develop SAD and enjoy the look and feel of different leathers. Have you started looking for a second straight razor yet?

Well, I don't have a dream strop. I have only ever used vintage, homemade, and Big Daddys from star shaving. Never felt a need for anything "better" than the colossal Big Daddy. I got one at home on my boat, and have one with me on my ship. Thinking about getting one more, to hang at my GFs house. I only have a couple of new bought razors, as well, Well, not counting the 30 or so Gold Dollars laying around. I probably have 10 lbs of other razors, and most are $10-$20 ebay rescues.

 

[hokahay]

+1 On Tony Miller.

I have both those leathers in the Old Timer. And A linen and a cotton. I've been using the horsehide as my first pick.

 

[mr_]

The X-pattern is beneficial.
1) - Wide strops are prone to cupping, which puts too much pressure on the heel and toe, and does little for the center of the blade.
2) - The X-pattern moves the strop across the blade at an angle to the deformations produced by shaving. Look up "Metal polishing 101" and you'll see that with each reduction in grit, the direction of the polishing is moved 45-90 degrees. Moving only in the direction of wear is likely to deepen the grooves. It may restore sharpness, but it can also produce a very un-smooth blade.
3) - Widest commonly available strops are 3". Most blades are slightly longer.
4) - Wider strops are more expensive. The only 3" I'm aware of costs double that of a cheaper Illinois 127, which is an excellent beginner strop... this leads to...
5) - You will in all likelihood, eventually, seriously damage your first strop. I was lucky and only nicked the edge near one end and the strop is still quite usable, other, more experienced straight users have actually sliced through it.

This is a great advice. Seriously, I wish I had asked the same question (or bothered to read the forum) when I was purchasing my first strop. Cupping and strop damage will force you to buy a new stop.