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hanging strop seems to damage edge

I have this feeling that stropping actually deteriorates (sorry if misspelled) my edges coming of the stone.
When i look at the edge thru my 40 times loupe i see the straitions going al the way to the edge.
Then after stropping the very last bit of the striations seem to dissapear. Even when using the lightest touch on the strops.
Its kinda like the pointy edge becomes rounded.
Am i doing something wrong? Or is it because i finished to soon on the stones? i'm really baffled by this phenomenon.
Is this why mastro livi advises against the use of hanging strops?
 
Not pulling the stop taut enough, too much pressure on the razor. The strop should remain basically flat (no sag) when stropping or you can remove the edge. A light touch is all it takes.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
If you have anything that catches the edge while stropping (i.e. nick in the strop) then it's no good. You will need to sand the nick down until it's smooth. Pressure and tension could be a factor. Weight of the razor and the strop needs to be straight, not hanging or anything, pull on that strop!
 
Nobody has asked yet so I will. What strop are you using? Is it in good shape? Stropping comes down to technique and the strop itself.
 
It does have a little nick whitch i sanded out and generally avoid.
It's a 3 inch wide harolds i think cowhide. has a little suede feel to it.
have used just a pinch of stropgrease (also herolds) on the palm of my hands twice now.
It does have a nice draw to it. Thing is pretty thick and stiff if u ask me. also, some parts feel way more supple.
Dunno, it's my second strop
 
Is it possible the angle you viewed the edge on after you stropped caused the light reflecting off the bevel to make it look like the scratches were gone, or were they really gone? I don't think clean leather can remove metal. [ducking]
 
Possibilities to run through: When you sanded out the nick did you leave any grit behind. Has the strop been exposed to a dusty environment post application of conditioner. (dust can be very abrasive) Be very certain of a flat razor on the strop and be careful on the flips at the end. I have no familiarity with Herolds strop grease, but if it doesn't soak in completely or leaves a tacky film behind it will attract dust like a magnet.
 
Any severe action upon the edge by the so-called hanging strop should be visible to the naked eye. Put aside the magnifying glass at this stage in other words. A strop with a slight amount of slack works great. Try to avoid pulling it so tight so as to stretch it. It may have to do with how you are gripping the shank when stropping and how much pressure you are applying. A slight amount of pressure is fine. Go slow, paying attention to the flip, to make sure that the edge is making contact with the leather surface throughout the pass.
 
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If you are stropping incorrectly it's possible you have rolled the edge, if you are not familiar with the use of a hanging strop try laying it flat on a counter top and run the razor over it like honing but spine leading and see if your edges improve, if so then you know it's your stropping technique. Stroppping is no race, there are no prizes on getting done fast other than a bad edge or cut strop if done incorrectly, like I said if laying the strop flat on a counter works then move to using it while hanging by pulling it taught and slowly strop ensuring you keep the spine and edge in cotact with the strop and do 40-50 laps (speed will come when you get better) it's better to do 25 laps correctly than 50 bad ones.
 
Generally speaking, you'll see that stropping does smooth out the edge. That's why we strop actually. Now - if you're rounding the apex and bevel 'too much' - then you have an issue - this is usually, but not always, the result of too much slack in the leather.

Forgetting how you think the edge 'looks' through your loupe, what is most important is how it shaves. If the shave is no good, I'd say the stropping technique needs work.
I use a hanging strop every day, it works great.
So it's not that the strop is a hanging strop, the issue becomes user error with that strop.
While it's possible, sanding out a blip in the hide wouldn't, in most cases, have anything to do with the issue of a heavily convexed bevel.
 
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