Hi guys! I'm new to straight razor shaving and i've been getting better and better with each passing week. I have a low budget strop that is 2.5" and its okay but I feel a 3" will be better and since now I havent damaged my hanging strop for a while I want to make that jump to a better strop that is wider. Do you guys have any suggestions? Thank you in advance guys!
Suggestions on 3" wide hanging strops at 30$-60$ range
- Thread starter Stapelfeld
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I know some of the guys on this forum make and sell some very nice strops. Maybe one of them will step forward.
Heirloom Vanilla strop from Tony Miller. You get a dual strop that includes both a leather and a cotton strop. Hardware is bomb-proof. All for 55 bucks, or leather only for $42.
These are considered "beginner" strops, but still very nice. Tony also has more premium strops, of course those cost a bit more than your stated price range.
These are considered "beginner" strops, but still very nice. Tony also has more premium strops, of course those cost a bit more than your stated price range.
2.5" x 24", or the standard barber's cut of old, is where it's at as far as I'm concerned.
Why do you think 3” will be better?
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- #6
It will fit the entirety of my blade length so I don’t have to do x passes. So it will be more convenient in my mind that I don’t have tot junk about doing an x pass just a regular pass that fits the entire blade.
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- #7
Thank you very much, that sounds like an amazing price
But… The X pass is the correct technique, and delivers the most consistent contact over the length of the blade.
There is a reason there are no vintage 3” strops, and it isn’t a lack of leather.
I recently, just to experiment, made and used a 1.5cm strop for a while. With good technique it worked just fine.
IMO 3” was spruiked by dudes who owned shaving forums and sold strops, so they could sell more expensive strops.
Very true. I second this.
I have shortened all my wider strops width-wise, I find them more efficient that way and easier to use and control the razor on.
Especially with smiley razors.
Same applies to narrower hones, ime.
More localised pressure, ergo better efficiency and generally easier to control / make good contact.
Interesting.
So it is impossible to perform an X stroke on a 3" strop and achieve consistent contact?
As a new SR user, I'm just trying to understand why.
I would not say it's impossible to perform X strokes on 3" strops.
A wide strop can easily cup (even by a small amount) and then not come into contact with the whole blade length, so doing straight strokes will not cover the entire length of the razor. Also, the razor must be completely straight and in reality, not all razors are that straight. For these reasons, wide strops are not necessarily superior to narrower strops.
I still have an old 3.15" (80 mm) strop and while it does not get much attention nowadays, when it does I do X strokes only on one side instead of using all that width.
I find that strops around 2" (50 mm) are more versatile and consistent. Not that it matters that much, but I use a 1.75" (45 mm) on a daily basis.
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It's not impossible, but a razor rarely lies entirely flat over it's entire length.
Not on the stones, not on the strop, so it needs an x-stroke.
You can strop on wide strops and wide hones without an issue, but you're mostly going to use only the outer part of the strop and stone anyway in that case, that is with an x-stroke. You will get good contact all throughout.
If you were to lie the razor flat on the stone or strop and don't do an x-stroke, but only go straight up and down; guaranteed you will have spots where the razor and stone/strop don't touch each other and that's no good.
I agree with the gents above, so I won't repeat their arguments. My first strop was 2 inches wide, my current leathers are 3 inches and my flax linen is about 2.5. I didn't care for the 2 inch at the time but I suspect I would like it better now. After a couple years of stropping on 3 inch strops I've come to realize that 2.5 inches is the sweet spot for me. If I buy or make another strop it will be in that dimension.
My thoughts, not a sales pitch....
The traditional width was 2 1/2" here in the USA and it seems most European strops were more like 2" based on brands that were selling years ago. Jemicho offered 1 1/2", 1 3/4" and 2" for years with one 3" model. Narrow requires an X stroke which many feel is better but you can do an X on a wider strop.
That said 3" seems to be what people will actually buy....maybe the old USA "bigger is better" thing LOL and those wanting 2 1/2" has declined significantly. I probably make 10 times as many 3" as 2 1/2" strops now days and zero interest in the 2" models anymore. A maker is also limited by the webbing on the market. Now days 2" or 3" cotton is about the only thing available, 2 1/2" is difficult to source. Genuine linen is soon to be history.
Anyway, personally a 2 1/2" x 24" plain end, steerhide or horsehide strop would be my preference.....the traditional USA made/sold strop. I have also enjoyed using a 2" x 17" D ring strop or both leathers.
The traditional width was 2 1/2" here in the USA and it seems most European strops were more like 2" based on brands that were selling years ago. Jemicho offered 1 1/2", 1 3/4" and 2" for years with one 3" model. Narrow requires an X stroke which many feel is better but you can do an X on a wider strop.
That said 3" seems to be what people will actually buy....maybe the old USA "bigger is better" thing LOL and those wanting 2 1/2" has declined significantly. I probably make 10 times as many 3" as 2 1/2" strops now days and zero interest in the 2" models anymore. A maker is also limited by the webbing on the market. Now days 2" or 3" cotton is about the only thing available, 2 1/2" is difficult to source. Genuine linen is soon to be history.
Anyway, personally a 2 1/2" x 24" plain end, steerhide or horsehide strop would be my preference.....the traditional USA made/sold strop. I have also enjoyed using a 2" x 17" D ring strop or both leathers.
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Kanayamas ran between 2.5 and 2.75, too, as I recall.
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- #16
Well I’m a beginner so I might be doing something wrong but I used to do circles and x strokes when honing my straight and this was good but not great. I started honing my straight up and down and felt a significant change, I also started doing this because I saw a video from work sharp that straight up and down gave the best edge for their knives. And so I thought if it works on knives and I can manage to translate that to straight razors it might make my straight razor better. I started going up and down and using my loop, made sure there weren’t any micro chips and now my straight is shaving the best it has since getting it but it might be im doing something wrong with the x strokes since like I said im a beginner. And I always thought at least with knife sharpening that you want to strop the same way you sharpen/hone, and so since I’m honing up and down and not x strokes I thought a 3” would be better. But like I said razor sharpening is a little different. But I’m getting better results at least with my atg pass not feeling harsh anymore.
Well, Tony, not zero! I love the 2" horsehide/linen you made for me.
You can totally do X strokes on a 3”, and you should. But if you are going to be doing that, why buy the bigger strop, with the issues that can possibly come with extra width?
The problem comes when people buy a 3”, thinking that it means they can avoid the X entirely.
I also very recently cut down 2 leather strops(F. shaving) in width from about 8cm to 5,5cm.
Also have an 5.5cm F. Shaving and that one is just fine(slightly convex in width).
Both had issues being concave in width and now both are just fine and I like them.
I know it's possible to reshape with hands but this was a practical solution for me.
Also have scrupleworks strop that are close to 8cm but that one is slightly concave(perhaps perfect) and works fine.
I guess less width meds less stretching force.
Get yourself a strop from Tony. Only you can determine what width you prefer and your preference may change over time. I would go with whichever width will make you happy now.
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