Opinions sought: best strop width for a newbie.

[erudolph]

Hi all... in your experienced opinions, what is the best strop width for a newbie to work with?

[Wid]

I really like a 2.5" strop.

[tomjr]

2.5 are 4 me

[noahpictures]

I would go with a 3 inch because it's more difficult to nick it. Hanging it higher will reduce the chances of cutting the strop, at least in my experience.

[Legion]

2"

That will teach you the muscle memory of doing a correct X stroke. For your second strop you may want to get a 2.5" (that is what I normally use), but it will not work any better than the 2", since will already have good technique.

[Kentos]

Start with a 2.5, end with a 2.5.

[Earcutter]

I'll just throw this out there - it's very easy to get 2 and 3 inch replacement parts for a strop. And cheap too. The 2.5 is just a bit more of a challange. Just saying - as a noob you might want to look into that.

[whipdog]

I would say 2.5 to 3

[Skyrider55]

Start with a 2.5, end with a 2.5.

+1
Like Goldilocks and the three bears

2" this one is too small !!
3" This one is too big!! (overkill)

2.5" This one is just right! OH my !!!!

It's the perfect size for a strop.

[Cochese2323]

I just posted a similar response about this, but I started with a 3" strop and I wish I wouldn't have. It has really hurt my technique. I would go 2" or maybe 2.5". Will make you use proper technique and it will be less likely to cup on you. Plus you are going to nick it up, so might as well go with a cheaper option.

[gash]

2.71384" is the only width to get. Good luck.

[Jporco]

3 is my choice, works best with the variety of straight I have.

[ouch]

2.71384" is the only width to get. Good luck.

Don't you mean 2.71828", the base of the natural logarithm?

[bhorsoft]

Best one for a newbie is one that can be hacked and chopped to death.

I use nothing but 3s, but started on a 2.5. Started using it stretched on the counter so I didn't hack it up as much and to develop a good X stroke motion. Once I had mastered stropping without hacking I passed it on to another newb.

[Obiwan]

2.5 gets my vote

[O.G.]

Also I would say a cheap one. I destroyed my first one for the most part and it was only about 2" but it allowed me to learn a good x-stroke.

[brothers]

2.5 is the width of my Illinois strop, the first one I bought.

[professorchaos]

Three inch. That way all you need to do is move the razor back and forth on the strop.

[gash]

Don't you mean 2.71828", the base of the natural logarithm?

I was an art major, so whichever's prettier.

[YetiDave]

Why isn't 'whippeddog' an option?