So, I'm a newbie to Badger & Blade...have been a troll for quite some time. I started out late last year switching from an electric razor to a DE safety razor. I've had great luck with my Gillette Fat Boy, Super Speed, Aristocrat and Slim adjustable. Decided to give the straight razor a chance. Picked up a Dovo 5/8 rounded and a Henckels Friodur razor (both in "new" condition). I'm looking to send them out to a honemaster, but figured I'd need a strop at any rate. Found this one on eBay mislabeled and nobody bid on it. I got it for $14.88 and it came in the original packing sleeve. Looks to never have been used; has no cuts or nicks. Any comments on the quality of this strop and advice for treating it before use? Thanks in advance.
Picked up a new strop...any good, could use advice?
- Thread starter RGS
- Start date
Welcome to B&B. As to your strop, the price was nice and if it was good enough for a barber college, it's good enough for you and me.
I would suggest getting some neetsfoot oil rubbed into it, let it hang vertical for a day or two and then wipe it down and use it. Neetsfoot oil goes a long, long way. So, there is no need to use a great deal of it. Always hang your strops vertical. Never fold them or roll them up. For travel, find a small travel strop. Otherwise, you done good in my opinion.
Good luck and good find!
I would suggest getting some neetsfoot oil rubbed into it, let it hang vertical for a day or two and then wipe it down and use it. Neetsfoot oil goes a long, long way. So, there is no need to use a great deal of it. Always hang your strops vertical. Never fold them or roll them up. For travel, find a small travel strop. Otherwise, you done good in my opinion.
Good luck and good find!
- Thread starter
- #3
From what I understand, the red diamond-checked side is for making the strop more pliable and NOT for stropping. As this has a tight-weave linen strop also, I conclude only the "face" of the leather strop is meant to be used.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
I think your understanding may be correct.
I am assuming that the red checked side is bonded to the leather. I am not sure what you mean by more "pliable". The actual leather appears to be relatively thinner than most strops. Perhaps the red side is to better stabilse the thinner leather against cupping and possibly stretch.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
That strop will do you just fine, and I think you got a pretty good score there, for the price. More than anything else, that strop will benefit from lots of hand rubbing. 4 or 5 drops of neatsfoot oil are the most you should apply, if that. Then it is good for a year or so. That probably seems like it is not enough, but trust me, it is. Yes, the smooth leather side is what you strop on.
The strop you have isnt rare or precious, but they are not that common, either, so do be careful not to nick it up. It is worth a good bit more than you paid for it, IMHO, though we can't put a dollar value on stuff here. Sadly, beginners often slice up their first strop while learning. You might consider making one out of a 36" x 3" strip of veg tanned leather from McMaster-Carr, and a couple of D rings from a saddle shop. Or get a cheapie Illinois or Fromm strop, or see if member @Tony Miller has any beginner quality strops in stock. I could see that one becoming your favorite in a year or two, unless you spring for a horse shell Cordovan one like maybe a Kanayama, but those are a bit pricey.
Whatever you do, don't let anyone from outside the straight razor community hone your razors. It is almost guaranteed to end badly. Most members on this forum use @Doc226 or else Glen at Home - GemStar Customs - https://gemstarcustoms.com/ but anybody who is a long standing and respected member of one of the straight razor forums who says he can do a good job, probably can. I suggest you risk the Dovo, first, especially if it is one of Dovo's entry level razors. Anybody who does a great job on a Dovo "Best Quality" or "Special", can then be trusted with your Friodur.
The strop you have isnt rare or precious, but they are not that common, either, so do be careful not to nick it up. It is worth a good bit more than you paid for it, IMHO, though we can't put a dollar value on stuff here. Sadly, beginners often slice up their first strop while learning. You might consider making one out of a 36" x 3" strip of veg tanned leather from McMaster-Carr, and a couple of D rings from a saddle shop. Or get a cheapie Illinois or Fromm strop, or see if member @Tony Miller has any beginner quality strops in stock. I could see that one becoming your favorite in a year or two, unless you spring for a horse shell Cordovan one like maybe a Kanayama, but those are a bit pricey.
Whatever you do, don't let anyone from outside the straight razor community hone your razors. It is almost guaranteed to end badly. Most members on this forum use @Doc226 or else Glen at Home - GemStar Customs - https://gemstarcustoms.com/ but anybody who is a long standing and respected member of one of the straight razor forums who says he can do a good job, probably can. I suggest you risk the Dovo, first, especially if it is one of Dovo's entry level razors. Anybody who does a great job on a Dovo "Best Quality" or "Special", can then be trusted with your Friodur.
“From what I understand, the red diamond-checked side is for making the strop more pliable and NOT for stropping. As this has a tight-weave linen strop also, I conclude only the "face" of the leather strop is meant to be used.”
Nope, I have several Diamond cut strops and often strop on the back diamond side of my shop strop with excellent results.
You will need to clean both the leather and wash the linen to remove years of dust and ground in grit. Wipe the leather with a damp white paper towel to see how dirty it is. Clean with Saddle soap and as little water as possible.
To rehydrate, dampen leather with a wet sponge or microfiber wait 10-15 minutes, then dampen a clean paper towel or cotton ball with a teaspoon of neat’s-foot or olive oil and rub into the leather. Dampening the strop with water will allow the oil to penetrate evenly deep into the leather.
Now the hard part. Wait a few days before adding more oil. A week is better. Over oiling can rot the leather, adding oil slowly over months can rehydrate a vintage leather stop. Vintage Russian tanned Diamond cut strops are excellent strops, once properly re-hydrated.
Wash/soak the linen in Woollite or Dollar store knock off overnight, scrub and rinse until rinse water is clean, a 5-gallon bucket is great for strop soaking washing. Be careful with linen, true linen can get brittle when wet and can break.
It may take several cycles of soaking/washing/rinsing to fully clean a vintage linen, usually a week for me. Rinse in one cup of vinegar to 2 gallons of water to remove all the soap from the weave. Rinse until your rinse/soaking water is clear.
Your vintage linen may look clean, but dust gets into the weave and will scratch your bevel and edge, defeating the goal of stropping. Same for hand rubbing. Hand rub if your hands are clean, or you are just grinding dirt from your hands or air borne dust on the strop into the leathers.
Would you polish the finish on your car's paint with your dirty bare hand, or use a clean foam pad and microfiber? Just for grins, look at your hand with magnification. There is a reason surgeons go through an exhaustive scrubbing up process with a brush, prior to surgery.
Nope, I have several Diamond cut strops and often strop on the back diamond side of my shop strop with excellent results.
You will need to clean both the leather and wash the linen to remove years of dust and ground in grit. Wipe the leather with a damp white paper towel to see how dirty it is. Clean with Saddle soap and as little water as possible.
To rehydrate, dampen leather with a wet sponge or microfiber wait 10-15 minutes, then dampen a clean paper towel or cotton ball with a teaspoon of neat’s-foot or olive oil and rub into the leather. Dampening the strop with water will allow the oil to penetrate evenly deep into the leather.
Now the hard part. Wait a few days before adding more oil. A week is better. Over oiling can rot the leather, adding oil slowly over months can rehydrate a vintage leather stop. Vintage Russian tanned Diamond cut strops are excellent strops, once properly re-hydrated.
Wash/soak the linen in Woollite or Dollar store knock off overnight, scrub and rinse until rinse water is clean, a 5-gallon bucket is great for strop soaking washing. Be careful with linen, true linen can get brittle when wet and can break.
It may take several cycles of soaking/washing/rinsing to fully clean a vintage linen, usually a week for me. Rinse in one cup of vinegar to 2 gallons of water to remove all the soap from the weave. Rinse until your rinse/soaking water is clear.
Your vintage linen may look clean, but dust gets into the weave and will scratch your bevel and edge, defeating the goal of stropping. Same for hand rubbing. Hand rub if your hands are clean, or you are just grinding dirt from your hands or air borne dust on the strop into the leathers.
Would you polish the finish on your car's paint with your dirty bare hand, or use a clean foam pad and microfiber? Just for grins, look at your hand with magnification. There is a reason surgeons go through an exhaustive scrubbing up process with a brush, prior to surgery.
- Thread starter
- #7
Wow, guess I have some work cut out for me! Thanks for the tips.
Welcome here, and I’d say lurker, not troll, “long time list enter, 3rd time caller” more like.
if you’re US based, @Doc226 is indeed the man for honing, if you go that route contacting through his webpage Doc226.com is the easiest. Visiting @Slash McCoy’s diamon pasted balsa strop wisdom, thread titled “The Method” here will allow you the cheapest entry to a touch up method between sending out for honing, or may allow you to never send it out once you get your part sorted. Poor stropping and shaving techniques from new shavers shortens a good edge lifespan. It’s just part of the learning curve.
getting a cheap “learner strop” to cut up… and you will because we all did, is a good idea. Another option is a poorman’s strop from Whipped Dog. He also has a CrOx/FeOx balsa he’d package the strop with. That’s how I started.
I‘ve found a diamond/CBN edge softer and more comfortable on the face than CrOx or FeOx on balsa,(and likely any substrate) personally. And I’ve never wanted to paste a leather/liner/cotton component. Once youI’ve done it, it will never come out if you don’t like it down the road. Balsa pasted is easy and simple to do.
if you’re US based, @Doc226 is indeed the man for honing, if you go that route contacting through his webpage Doc226.com is the easiest. Visiting @Slash McCoy’s diamon pasted balsa strop wisdom, thread titled “The Method” here will allow you the cheapest entry to a touch up method between sending out for honing, or may allow you to never send it out once you get your part sorted. Poor stropping and shaving techniques from new shavers shortens a good edge lifespan. It’s just part of the learning curve.
getting a cheap “learner strop” to cut up… and you will because we all did, is a good idea. Another option is a poorman’s strop from Whipped Dog. He also has a CrOx/FeOx balsa he’d package the strop with. That’s how I started.
I‘ve found a diamond/CBN edge softer and more comfortable on the face than CrOx or FeOx on balsa,(and likely any substrate) personally. And I’ve never wanted to paste a leather/liner/cotton component. Once youI’ve done it, it will never come out if you don’t like it down the road. Balsa pasted is easy and simple to do.
