Razor Strop

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If you are the type who prefers to use cut throat or straight razors for their shaving needs then you are most likely familiar with the tool called a razor strop used for maintaining it in razor sharp condition. It can also be used to sharpen and fine tune knives which makes it popular among knife collectors. Now it is common knowledge among those who favor the use of a cut throat razor that keeping them razor sharp is absolutely essential. Using a dull straight razor for shaving yourself can be relatively risky as they do have the tendency to slip, cause nicks or be generally inefficient requiring you to go over specific areas of your skin numerous times.

 Simco Razor Strop Cowhide-canvas

A cut throat razor strop is offered on the market by various manufacturers such as Zeepk, Latigo and Dovo are actually classified into two variants; the paddle or handheld razor strop and the hanging or wall mounted razor strop. As its names may suggest, it’s actually a matter of design preferences and which way you would actually like to use it. Both of them are all essentially a piece of leather used to polish the edge of cut throat razor prior to actual use.

Razor strops may seem as pretty basic razor honing tools but did you know that it requires a particular skill set in order to use it effectively? Now it may seem rather strange when you hear people complaining about how great their straight razors were prior to using it a couple of times. Some are even surprised when told that they actually have to hone it or maybe they have but aren’t just doing it right. The funny thing is that a typical razor actually needs to be honed at least two times a year provided that the stropping was conducted correctly. Using the correct technique for using razor strops is critical for maintain a cut throat or straight razor in top condition since this is instrumental to a comfortable and smooth shave, but to achieving a satisfying close one as well.

Fromm Razor Strop

Now most people would think that razor strops are simply pieces of leather that was intended to do one thing. In a way this is true but did you know that you also have to pay attention to what kind of razor you are intending to hone with it? The truth is that razor strops as they are, is only effective for honing razors made out of high carbon steel. They are softer than the stainless steel razors which is what we commonly have today for straight razors. Simply put, you should not use bare razor strops for stainless steel straight razors since this is actually inefficient unless you use it in conjunction with diamond based abrasive paste. This is because stainless steel razors are a lot harder to hone compared to their carbon steel counterparts. Others make the mistake of using other types of abrasive paste which contains a material that is a lot softer than steel which makes steel cut throat razors even duller than it was prior to being stropped. Abrasive paste other than the diamond based ones is only suitable for carbon steel razors.

As you may realize by now, the use of a razor strop isn’t as simple and straightforward as you might think. There are a couple of considerations that you need to take into account other than the one mentioned in this article. The right technique, knowledge and equipment can certainly make the process a lot more effective.