I got into a friendly discussion with my friend. He told me that his gramps will strop a straight razor with an ordinary leather belt. The idea sounds because knife maintenance could cost a small fortune. What are your thoughts on this? Another thing. I tried to ask where his gramps got the straight razor. It's actually an old school blade one will get back in the second world war. If only I could take a picture of it.
I made a strop from an old belt and some inexpensive green buffing compound. Works fine. I don't use a straight razor for shaving, so mine is just for knives.
I strop my straight razor on a leather belt with only initially a leather conditioner (yellow paste) to get it where it needed to go, now touching it will keep it conditioned. I don't use abrasive on it, my sand hones do a more than good enough job at sharpening my razor.
Honestly it's not a bad investment. A decent razor, hone and strop combo will last you many years. Invest in some decent stuff, it's your face after all and you'll be using it every day.
I shave with a straight razor. I actually have a small collection. I also have a side business sharpening knives. I can tell you from first hand experience that using a belt works perfectly well. I personally use both sides, green compound on the inside and the presentation tanned side bare. It works perfectly. You have to know what to look for in the belt though. You want a 100% leather belt with a rough suede texture on the inside and no embossing on the presentation side.
My grandfather used a strop that was made from an old harness. He gave me a belt and told me to glue it to some wood to use to sharpen my knives. It works great for me. Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
