I'm using a small strop that has two straps. One is some sort of sewn cotton/canvas material while the other is leather. The leather strap has one smooth side and one suede side. My question is this: Does anyone know if using the canvas material is better for the blade than using suede, or is there really no discernable difference ? I notice some strops consist of only one leather strap. Currently I'm doing 50 laps on canvas, 25 on suede and 75 on smooth leather. What's your stropping routine, please? What do you use?
I have a similar strop, I always do 25-30 laps on the canvas followed by 60 on the leather. I only hit the suede side, which has diamond paste, if my razor is getting dull. Ive wondered about the purpose and abilities of wool felt instead of canvas. The best "canvas" material I've found is called fire edge, it has a foam core that does something amazing with a blade. ~J. Babcock Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The side with out the grain is the flesh side. In better quality leather, it can be sanded and burnished to a smooth finish as good as the grain side of the leather. I typically use mine for pastes, so I don't get the good side of the leather with them. The canvas side is used before the leather, to clean the edge and get it ready for the leather. A lot of people just use the leather, and skip the canvas. I think it helps to use it, so I normally do 10 passes on linen and 10 leather after each shave to dry and clean the blade, and 20 on linen and 40 on leather before each shave. I prefer the feel of hemp linen, but all cloths do the same function.
My routine is very similar to the posts above. I have 0.5 micron diamond paste on the back side of a leather strop. I strop 25 laps on leather after each shave. Before each shave I go to linen (I have old strop with Belfast linen) for 25 laps followed by 40-50 laps on the leather. I'll hit the paste after a dozen shaves or so just to refresh the blade.
From my limited experience the compressed wool felt holds pasting compounds extremely well. Even better than canvas IMO. It's possible but unlikely that a person can "overload" a wool felt strop with diamond spray or CrOx. (Especially if following instructions) Meaning that once you load up your buffing compounds you won't have to do it again for a good bit. The wool has a good bit of drag to it and some of us like that drag. Just a choice of feel while doing your Zen moment.
I have a finishing stone, which I have yet to use. Is there any need for me to use a paste, on the strop, to bring back sharpness to the blade? Is this a case of there being many roads to the same destination. With regard to the suede side of the leather. I do like the slight resistance the suede brings to the stropping process. I'm still trying to work out if suede is better than canvas or if it doesn't really matter.
It sounds like you enjoy a little more draw to your strop. Latigo and Bridal leathers have more draw, Horsehide has less. Being a leatherworker, I have been able to play around with a lot of leathers for stropping. I haven't noticed any difference in the outcome, but I enjoy the process more on a medium to high draw strop. Paste is not something you want on your every day strop, and is typically used as a stop gap measure before going back to the hones. Its very possible to not use it and maintain a straight, but they will have to be touched up more often. The flesh side of the leather is doing the same thing as a canvas strop would, and I have noticed with canvas, like with leathers, it feels a little different in use, but they all preform the same function.
