The thing is, I bought a strop a couple of years ago from an antique dealer, but the strop has a couple of decent chunks taken out of it, bang on half way up.
I am keen to start using a straight razor, but need to know if these nicks in the strop are going to cause the razor any harm?
To define 'Big', they are both about 10mm long, wedge shaped and a good 1mm deep.
Any help is appreciated.
Are big nicks in a strop an unsurmountable problem?
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Scrapyard Ape
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Re: Are big nicks in a strop an unsurmountable problem?
GAH!!!!gluegun wrote:To define 'Big', they are both about 10mm long, wedge shaped and a good 1mm deep.
Sounds like a lost cause. If you have not already, head over to SRP and get a recommend for a new one.
~Greg
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kaptain_zero
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- Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
10mm wide and 1mm deep, what is the third dimension? Are they loose flaps or simply gouges in the strop?
A loose flap could be glued down carefully with a little contact cement... if the flap is gone, simply chamfer the edge of the cut so that nothing sticks up and if they aren't large enough that the blade drops into the gouged out area you should still be able to use it.
Don't use sandpaper to chamfer the edges of that cut in the strop... some of the grit could get embedded into the strop and ruin the edge of your razor.
All that being said, in the great scheme of things... a strop is not that large an expense vs all the hones and one or more decent razors.
Regards
Christian
A loose flap could be glued down carefully with a little contact cement... if the flap is gone, simply chamfer the edge of the cut so that nothing sticks up and if they aren't large enough that the blade drops into the gouged out area you should still be able to use it.
Don't use sandpaper to chamfer the edges of that cut in the strop... some of the grit could get embedded into the strop and ruin the edge of your razor.
All that being said, in the great scheme of things... a strop is not that large an expense vs all the hones and one or more decent razors.
Regards
Christian
Previously lost, on the way to the pasture. Now pasteurized.
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kaptain_zero
- Posts: 1031
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- Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Hey, thanks Christian, I appreciate the advice. Having just bought my first new straight, I think I'll get a new one instead of risking it.
I think it's about time I checked out SRP too. There seems to be a lot of good info. in the states.
I guess it's not so big here in NZ. I have been relying on Anders Larson's book - "Sharp Practice". Worth a read.
Cheers,
Andrew
I think it's about time I checked out SRP too. There seems to be a lot of good info. in the states.
I guess it's not so big here in NZ. I have been relying on Anders Larson's book - "Sharp Practice". Worth a read.
Cheers,
Andrew
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kaptain_zero
- Posts: 1031
- Joined: Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:59 am
- Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
As far as new strops go... if you're shopping on the net, don't miss out on The Well Shaved Gentleman, you can find the link on our home page here.
Tony at TWSG makes some fantastic strops, both hanging and paddle style and while those high end strops are beautiful and work superbly, there is nothing wrong with the less costly versions... I actually bought one of his "seconds" that had some slight blemishes and I got a great strop for a low price though I am not sure if he still offers those.
Christian
Tony at TWSG makes some fantastic strops, both hanging and paddle style and while those high end strops are beautiful and work superbly, there is nothing wrong with the less costly versions... I actually bought one of his "seconds" that had some slight blemishes and I got a great strop for a low price though I am not sure if he still offers those.
Christian
gluegun wrote:Hey, thanks Christian, I appreciate the advice. Having just bought my first new straight, I think I'll get a new one instead of risking it.
I think it's about time I checked out SRP too. There seems to be a lot of good info. in the states.
I guess it's not so big here in NZ. I have been relying on Anders Larson's book - "Sharp Practice". Worth a read.
Cheers,
Andrew
Previously lost, on the way to the pasture. Now pasteurized.
I think your strop took too much abuse to be used effectively.
The SRP has members from all over the world.. I'm from Canada, there are plenty of European members, a few in Africa, Asia and a decent representation from down under, especially NZ.
Anders' book is a very entertaining and informative read, so you got a good start. Another good resource is Lynn Abrams' DVD that you can buy from classicshaving.com. I watched it when I was already at an advanced level and it still kicked my honing game up a notch or two.
+1 to Tony's strops. They're top quality and you won't go wrong by picking one up from him. The razors he's selling really are shave-ready in case you need to pick one up.
The SRP has members from all over the world.. I'm from Canada, there are plenty of European members, a few in Africa, Asia and a decent representation from down under, especially NZ.
Anders' book is a very entertaining and informative read, so you got a good start. Another good resource is Lynn Abrams' DVD that you can buy from classicshaving.com. I watched it when I was already at an advanced level and it still kicked my honing game up a notch or two.
+1 to Tony's strops. They're top quality and you won't go wrong by picking one up from him. The razors he's selling really are shave-ready in case you need to pick one up.
"The downfall of any system of government is that it is run by humans." -- Ilija Milicevic
