Wich type of strop?

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As I have a lot of old Wilkinson Sword shaving sets from the early '20s on I'm going to try one with a NOS blade. So only stropping would be enough. First one to try is an Empire model (self stropping) so easy to do. I have the choice between a lot of strops and I see included with these sets shell horsehide and pigskin leather strops. Wich one would be best for me? Anyone?
 
merwtje said:
As I have a lot of old Wilkinson Sword shaving sets from the early '20s on I'm going to try one with a NOS blade. So only stropping would be enough. First one to try is an Empire model (self stropping) so easy to do. I have the choice between a lot of strops and I see included with these sets shell horsehide and pigskin leather strops. Wich one would be best for me? Anyone?

send neil miller a pm


he is the guy to talk to about strop's. because he makes them he knows more than most and is quite happy to pass on his knowledge of what kind of strop to use
 
These models take a small strop that passes through the body of the razor just under the blade, right? Like the Valets? If so you will find that the limiting factor (for a new strop anyway) is the physical width of the leather. If you have useful old strops that fit, make sure they are good for purpose - not covered in gunk, pastes, wrinkles or nicks.

If they are a bit 'iffy' and stiff, or have nicks very fine sandpaper (wet and dry, not proper sandpaper that leaves bits of grit everywhere) of around 400 - 600 grit will let you sand the nicks out - you are only concerned with what stands proud of the surface of the leather here), followed by saddle soaping - this should put a bit more life back in the strop (make sure the strop is perfectly dry after saddle-soaping and press it flat in a tea-towel under the weight of a book). If despite all this the draw is still to fast and you want a bit more drag, lightly dampen (not soak - just rub with a damp rag), drop a single drop of neetsfoot oil on another bit of rag and rub it quickly all over the surface. You want barely enough to cover it - too much and you will ruin it. If it isn't enough you can always do it again, but it is super-hard to take it away if you put too much on.

Because the thickness of the leather was a factor, they tended to use thinner leathers, like shell and pigskin. Both of these have a very fine surface and both are very good, the shell perhaps being a bit finer and quicker on the draw than the pigskin - but it all depends on how they were were tanned, so you will have to use your own judgement! If one has a quicker draw (ie, a lighter feel while stropping, offering less resistance to the passage of the blade) then you will need to do more laps to achieve the desired end.

Valet stopped using leather and used a man-made material - it lasts quite well, but gets a bit too thin, so contact with the blade is sometimes problematical unless you introduce a lot of sag into the equation, then you run the risk of rounding the edge very soon.

If you have more than one strop at your disposal, you can always dust one lightly with green chrome oxide powder and use it to refresh the blade - it acts like a very fine blade. Keep the strop very taut and only do five - ten laps, then finish stropping on plain leather.

Regards,
Neil
 
Thank you Neil for taking the time for this very informative reply.

I'm not familiar with saddle-soap, would a green soap also do?
On the right you see the horsehide, it's rather stiff and has been folded up for decades.
I treated it with old Valet strop dressing, ok or not?. In the middle a very soft pigskin that I sanded and I think it's usefull. On the left a nos JLCA 402, maybe cowhide? A bit shorter than the Wilkinsons but I'm also gonna try it.

I will post my experiences soon.
 

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Update: My try-out did not take long. After a few strokes on both sides of the cheeks I found the edge not sharp enough to continue. A DE razor, currently using a full bakelite model, is so much easier:icon_razz:
 
Saddle soap contains glycerin and neetsfoot oil - you can get it from tack shops, probably even Ebay. I only use it because it is a very controlled way to administer the oil, and the glycerin helps to keep some moisture in the leather - without moisture, leather shrinks and cracks and cannot be brought back - the filaments it is made of contract permanently if they get too dry.

With regard to your pic:

The horsehide is u/s.
The valet strop dressing is a rather coarse abrasive - much coarser than chrome oxide (that is if it is the red coloured dressing).
The pigskin should be OK.

Sorry to hear your experiment was not a success!

Regards,
Neil
 
Even though it is NOS, its been in storage a long time and probably lost its edge. Not knowing the storage conditions, the odds of the edge surviving in factory condition after so long aren't great. If it were me, I'd touch it up or have someone do it for me.

As for the leather, I've had good success with neatsfoot oil to re-hydrate leather. Worst case scenario, it does not look too difficult for someone to craft a new piece of leather for the stropping contraption.
 
Not satisfied with my first try I onwrapped another blade and tried to sharpen it first on an old barbers hone. Then stropped it on the pig-skin strop. With this one I could do a 3-pass shave, not bbs but ok.

Good start for more experiments though.
 
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