I have a brand new strop and a brand new blade.now I don't know what I need for my strop.paste, oil, all of the above or what. anyone steer me in the right direction?
thank you gentleman!
thank you gentleman!
Strop care? Beginner
- Thread starter budd
- Start date
What kind of strop is it and where did you buy it?
You will get as many answers to this as there are strops, but I say don't put anything on it, just rub it with your hand, if it starts to feel slow, rub it with your sleeve. No matter what you do, you can only do nothing once.
Bluesman is right, for the vast majority of strops. Only split hide strops can do with the rare conditioning from some yellow dovo paste, very infrequently.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Rub with the palm of your hand before each use for the first month or so and you are good to go. If the surface has bumps or lumps or doesn't lay flat, also rub it with a bottle. After a year or so you might or might not want to run a FEW DROPS of neats foot oil into it.
Your primary hanging leather strop needs to be kept clean. If you have a second strop you could apply an abrasive paste or powder but normally abrasives should go on a balsa strop, or at least a leather paddle strop. I strop on a 3" wide x 12" long block of balsa after every shave, that is pasted with .1u diamond paste on one side, .5u on the other. I never allow a coating on the balsa. I apply no more than a half pea size amount on the first application, and once a month or so I refresh with half that amount. It must be rubbed into the balsa and not simply left as a surface deposit. I strop about 4 dozen laps on the fine side after shaving. If the edge ever seems to not be keeping up well, then I will hit the .5u side until it is treetopping nicely, and then do the 3 or 4 dozen on the fine side. Doing this, my edges never need re-honing.
BEFORE each shave, I strop 50 laps on hanging leather. CLEAN hanging leather.
Your first strop? Don't use it for the first week. Strop on newspaper. Fold an entire sheet longways until it is a long strip about 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Pass one end over a towel rack or through a D ring hung from a hook or door hinge, pinch both ends together, pull it back tight, and strop on that. Make your newbie mistakes on the newspaper. Sort of like training a puppy. No sense hacking up your strop so early on. And the newspaper works nearly as good as leather, and better than the leg of your jeans IMHO.
Remember to keep the pressure low and keep the strop pulled tight and flat. Always keep the spine to the strop. To turn at the end of the stroke, flip the edge outward, never the spine. Keep the shoulder from riding up on the strop. Even with a wide strop, you should use a slight x stroke and/or vary the heel-leading angle. You don't want the razor to always take exactly the same path up or down the leather. Don't get in a hurry. You aren't making a cowboy movie. See Bugs Bunny in "Rabbit of Seville" or Popeye and Bluto in "Clean Shaven Man" for a lesson in how not to strop. Or shave, for that matter.
Your primary hanging leather strop needs to be kept clean. If you have a second strop you could apply an abrasive paste or powder but normally abrasives should go on a balsa strop, or at least a leather paddle strop. I strop on a 3" wide x 12" long block of balsa after every shave, that is pasted with .1u diamond paste on one side, .5u on the other. I never allow a coating on the balsa. I apply no more than a half pea size amount on the first application, and once a month or so I refresh with half that amount. It must be rubbed into the balsa and not simply left as a surface deposit. I strop about 4 dozen laps on the fine side after shaving. If the edge ever seems to not be keeping up well, then I will hit the .5u side until it is treetopping nicely, and then do the 3 or 4 dozen on the fine side. Doing this, my edges never need re-honing.
BEFORE each shave, I strop 50 laps on hanging leather. CLEAN hanging leather.
Your first strop? Don't use it for the first week. Strop on newspaper. Fold an entire sheet longways until it is a long strip about 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Pass one end over a towel rack or through a D ring hung from a hook or door hinge, pinch both ends together, pull it back tight, and strop on that. Make your newbie mistakes on the newspaper. Sort of like training a puppy. No sense hacking up your strop so early on. And the newspaper works nearly as good as leather, and better than the leg of your jeans IMHO.
Remember to keep the pressure low and keep the strop pulled tight and flat. Always keep the spine to the strop. To turn at the end of the stroke, flip the edge outward, never the spine. Keep the shoulder from riding up on the strop. Even with a wide strop, you should use a slight x stroke and/or vary the heel-leading angle. You don't want the razor to always take exactly the same path up or down the leather. Don't get in a hurry. You aren't making a cowboy movie. See Bugs Bunny in "Rabbit of Seville" or Popeye and Bluto in "Clean Shaven Man" for a lesson in how not to strop. Or shave, for that matter.
- Thread starter
- #6
you know i'm not sure where I bought it and I have to check the brand. bought it a few years ago with good intentions.......well you know!
- Thread starter
- #7
thank you sir!
and nothing is cheap!
and nothing is cheap!
- Thread starter
- #8
that was a great tip! thank you so much for the information. As I am new to DE,and working my way to the strait. I am going to practice on the newspaper.
you are a gentleman, and a shaving scholar!
thank you
chris
you are a gentleman, and a shaving scholar!
thank you
chris
