An Intro and a Couple of Quick Questions...

Climber160 · 10-05-2008, 05:45 PM

Hello all! I just wanted to introduce myself and ask a few quick questions. Though I'm not exactly "new" to straight razor shaving (it's now my gramps taught me to shave), I's been almost a decade since I've massacred my face to remove whiskers. My fiance has recently started making shaving soap and my DE and I have been her guinea pig. This has renewed my interest in using my deceased relative's old razors and strops. So here are my questions...

1. I just don't really have the room to hang gramps old strop (which I have cared for over the years because I have very fond memories of it and him) for daily use. Are there any good economical paddle strops out here? I've looked at the selection at classicshaving.com, but their price points just don't really fit my budget at the moment.

2. Unfortunately my nice old hone that gramps left me was cracked at some point over the last few years. At some point I will purchase another because I use to hone gramps for him and remember how much of a relaxing zen like mood it put me in when I was stressed back in college. Is there someone out there who can hone for me relatively inexpensively and with a decent turn around (I've also got one old razor that needs some minor resto I'd like to have done)?

I've been browsing the forum for the past few days and have learned quite abit. I'm not really a big forum poster, so just let me say now to everyone out there....Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us!

Steven

dward · 10-05-2008, 05:56 PM

Welcome aboard, Steven. Have you perused the classifieds? Lot's of bargains there...

sidneykidney · 10-05-2008, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Climber160

1. I just don't really have the room to hang gramps old strop (which I have cared for over the years because I have very fond memories of it and him) for daily use. Are there any good economical paddle strops out here? I've looked at the selection at classicshaving.com, but their price points just don't really fit my budget at the moment.

2. Unfortunately my nice old hone that gramps left me was cracked at some point over the last few years. At some point I will purchase another because I use to hone gramps for him and remember how much of a relaxing zen like mood it put me in when I was stressed back in college. Is there someone out there who can hone for me relatively inexpensively and with a decent turn around (I've also got one old razor that needs some minor resto I'd like to have done)?

I've been browsing the forum for the past few days and have learned quite abit. I'm not really a big forum poster, so just let me say now to everyone out there....Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us!

Welcome to SRP Steven! Glad you could make it

1) You can get paddle strops in various places. Check the classifieds for the best deals. However when I read your post I was struck by the care and attention that you had put into you gramps' strop. It is clearly a cherished item to you with sentimental value. If I were you i'd buy a hook. Cheaper than a paddle strop and it means you can use the strop

2) I'm not sure you mention where you are from but yeah, check the classifieds for honemeisters in your area.

Good luck dude and if you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask.

zepplin · 10-05-2008, 07:12 PM

I'm sorry, I just don't get it!

How much room does it take to hang a strop? - and how much less room is a paddle strop?

I don't get it!

Have I missed something here?

Steve

sidneykidney · 10-05-2008, 07:14 PM

Perhaps SAD* has set in early

We wouldnt blame ya

*SAD= Strop Acquisition Disorder

Climber160 · 10-05-2008, 07:25 PM

it's not so much the question of "room" to hang the stop", but more a question of loosing my deposit of I put any holes in the wall for a hook. i would us the door knob, but I'm afraid that too much pressure will pull the darn thing right off!

sorry i didn't mention it earlier, but i live in a town just south of knoxville, TN called maryville.

zepplin · 10-05-2008, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Climber160

it's not so much the question of "room" to hang the stop", but more a question of loosing my deposit of I put any holes in the wall for a hook. i would us the door knob, but I'm afraid that too much pressure will pull the darn thing right off!

sorry i didn't mention it earlier, but i live in a town just south of knoxville, TN called maryville.

Okay! I understand.

I will say this, though, I feel that the use of a hanging strop is important! The quality of your stropping is not only important, it is best achieved on a hanging strop. Having said this, I would if at all possible ask my landlady or land lord if you can hang a hook. It might be all right, and perhaps be used by the next occupants. In other words, the owners may not object at all. - and if they do, the hole can easily be filled in and sanded over when you move. It's worth the try, IMO! Obviously, I feel that strongly about learning to use a hanging strop. The quality of your edges depends on it. Believe me!

I cannot stress enough how important proper stropping is to the success of becoming a good str8 razor shaver.

Steve

AusTexShaver · 10-05-2008, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Climber160

it's not so much the question of "room" to hang the stop", but more a question of loosing my deposit of I put any holes in the wall for a hook. i would us the door knob, but I'm afraid that too much pressure will pull the darn thing right off!

sorry i didn't mention it earlier, but i live in a town just south of knoxville, TN called maryville.

Wow...how much pressure are you putting on the strop?

Being the frugal (some would say cheap) person I am and not wanting to put another hole in my wall I just tied an old shoe lace on my towel rack. When I'm ready to shave I get my strop from it's protected storage place and clip it on.

You really only need just enough tension on the strop to remove the slack...if you're pulling off door knobs that's a sign you're using maybe a little too much tension.

If you're still concerned use an old coat hanger in place of the shoe lace. Bend it into a S shape and put one of the "hooks" over a towel bar or similar fixture and use the other "hook" for the strap. If you bear down on the strap too hard you will just bend the coat hanger and one of the hooks will straighten out and the strop will come off the hook...instead of ripping out a fixture.

sidneykidney · 10-05-2008, 10:07 PM

Dude you can get hooks that hang over the back of a door. There is a link I have for this but its on UK ebay. You'll get an equivalent somewhere i'm sure. Let me get you the link:

Reversible Over Door Hooks - Pack of 6 on eBay, also, Racks Stands Hooks, Decorative Items, Home Garden (end time 07-Oct-08 18:18:07 BST)

Job done.

thebigspendur · 10-05-2008, 11:37 PM

Actually I hand my strop on the door hinge, you know those knobby things that stick out a bit on top. I've been doing that for years and it works for me.

cassady · 10-06-2008, 02:08 AM

Another option is a carabiner fastened to a towel rack and the strop (or a piece of rawhide / shoelace / whatever attached to the strop, if the hole is too small). Useful for travel, too.

cass

Ben325e · 10-06-2008, 05:47 AM

You, my friend, need a 3M command hanging strip! I've got a couple of these on closet doors, and I just tested one to see if it would do fine with a strop..... the commercial says it holds 5 lbs, but it's much more than that....I can pull hard enough on mine to make my finger hurt....

here's a video of the hook:

YouTube - 3M Command Strips

You can buy them here:

3M

OR

Here's one more option, in case you say that you have no room to put a hook.....

I'm assuming that you shave when looking into a mirror, and also that this mirror is firmly attached to the wall. They make great hooks that use suction cups, and these have a special lever-action to really increase the suction provided by the cup like whoa..... I use these for all sorts of stuff.

Buy these suction hooks here: Clear PowerLock Large Suction Hook

Just put the suction hook on your mirror, hang your strop, and strop away.

OR, ANOTHER SOLUTION:

Take your strop into your kitchen before you shave and hook it to your freezer/refrigerator door. Strop your razor, then go shave in the bathroom, and put away your strop.

Or, you can get a hanger and make a hook that hangs over the door hinge of your bathroom door. If you pull hard enough to pull the hinge off the door frame, then either lighten up, or tell your crappy landlord to shove it and move to a sturdy home.

Basically, my point here is that many of us would love to have a brand new strop from the Heirloom strop company, but we would KILL to have an ACTUAL HEIRLOOM strop from our forefathers. If I had 4 Tony Miller strops and could trade them all for ONE of my grandfather's old strops, I'd do it in a flash. You are in the lucky position to actually have such a strop.

You can always buy a new one, but you can NEVER buy your grandpa's old one.

Use it, and enjoy the heritage. You're lucky.

BUT, that said, become proficient with stropping before you even touch your inherited strop. You want it to last just as long as it did for your grandfather, and you don't want to go and ruin it in two months by nicking the crap out of the edges because of lack of skill. Buy a used strop and practice and get dang good before you ever touch the old strop.

Here's the strop you should buy, from the SRP classifieds: Proforma Latigo Strop - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Have fun and enjoy,