Can I use this strop?

So, long story short; I just got my first strop and razor in from a reputable vendor. When I was checking out the strop, the fabric side has a pull in it near the center to the right. Can I still use this strop or will it mess up my pretty new straight?

Is it that way on both sides?

Acmemfg said:

Is it that way on both sides?

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Yea, top picture is one side, next two are the other side

Just my opinion but I would be returning that one

Return. They should have caught that.

Thanks, gents. I figured, but didn't want to return it if I didn't have to.

Have already contacted the seller.

That looks like poly to me. It is just a thought, but you might consider replacing with something different. I have never been a huge fan of poly as a second component.

Brianskeet said:

That looks like poly to me. It is just a thought, but you might consider replacing with something different. I have never been a huge fan of poly as a second component.

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Agreed. Lots of better alternatives out there than poly webbing.

Thanks for all the help guys, the vendor is sending a replacement for the piece. I will eventually upgrade it, but for now, this is going to have to do.

Thanks!

Usually you don't want anything protruding from the surface of the strop. Any kind of indentation is fine. I had a cut in my strop and I was informed that as long as there is nothing sticking up than it's fine. I ended having to sand it down a bit with high grit sandpaper to make it flat and usable again. In your case it looks like in that area it isn't flat so probably if you got some flat shears you could probably fix it but you're better off to just replace it like suggested.

Brianskeet said:

That looks like poly to me. It is just a thought, but you might consider replacing with something different. I have never been a huge fan of poly as a second component.

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+1 on that one. It can serve as your linen side if budget is tight. I did it for the better part of a year. But there are alot of better options. Your strop should have come with Chicago screws. If you unscrew them, you could just take out the webbing side. Send it back for a replacement while you are still using the leather side. And if you have the money you can purchase a different material whenever, and when you get it, you can compare the 2 different canvas/linen or whatever your chose. Just my 2 cents.