Why does a leather strap sharpen a razor?

It may be in the form of a hanging belt or a hand-held paddle. Antique razor strops are generally heavier. Use of a special paste or dressing is recommended to condition the material and for the removal of 'burrs' that form on the razors edge after shaving. You must remember that the main purpose of stropping is not to remove material but to straighten and align the microscopic teeth that are at the edge of the blade. Nothing maintains the mirror edged sharpness to your straight razor like a fine quality leather strop.

This is not used on a daily basis but for honing – see our guide to Hones and Honing. It is also used for stropping with an abrasive green or red-black paste to help extend the time between honing.

We strongly recommend that you use a professional to re-hone your razor. We have seen many cases of cut throat razors being rendered useless by incorrect honing.

With a quality leather strop and the correct stropping technique your blade will not only retain its sharpness but will last for decades.

The following steps are meant as a guide to your daily stropping techniques prior to shaving. We recommend that you develop a method or technique that works best for you.

Step one: Attach your hanging strop securely to a wall. Chest height is advised for ease of use.

Step two: Rotate the strop so that the leather side is uppermost. This would previously of been prepared with a non abrasive strop balm or paste.

Step three: By using the handle of the strop ensure it is fully taunt to gain maximum effectiveness whilst stropping.

Step four: Fully open the razor, grip the shaft with your thumb and forefinger. Place the blade on the strop closest to you with the spine of the blade furthest away.

Step five: Begin to stroke the blade away from you with the spine of the blade leading.

Step six: At the end of each stroke flick the blade over and return with the spine of the blade leading.

In the event of the blade being wider than the strop then a figure of 8 or an X technique should be used much in the same way as honing. This ensures that all of the edge of the blade is stropped evenly.
There are now dozens of very good, informative and entertaining YouTube videos on stropping, we recommend you watch and see how the experts strop their razors.

SHOP ALL LEATHER STROPS

SHOP ALL STROP BALM AND PASTE

Stropping is the last but not the least important step in the sharpening process of any blade. But which side of the strop provides the best finish- the smooth leather or the suede side? Many people are unsure of which side of the leather strop should be used to polish the blade.

The answer is that straight razors are typically stropped on the smooth side of the leather, while knives and larger blades are usually stropped with the suede side to round the bevel of the blade.

As a sharpener, why would the type of leather matter you strop a blade with? Isn’t a blade just a blade? Let’s take a more in depth look at the stropping process and why the type of leather used is so important. 

Why Use a Strop After Sharpening a Blade?

Knife experts promote stropping as the best way to sharpen and maintain a knife. With the right strop and skilled technique, knife owners will keep their knives sharp and always ready to use.

A strop is used as the final step in preparing a blade for use after it has been sharpened. To the human eye, blades appear to be smooth. But there’s more to meet the eye.

If you were to view the blade under a microscope, you'd see that it has thousands of little "teeth." When used regularly over time, those little teeth start to bend out of alignment, causing the knife to dull.

This is where stropping comes in. Stropping does not sharpen the blade, but it does refine it by bending the little “teeth” back into alignment. This is done by running the blade over a smooth, porous surface. 

Stropping your blade after sharpening it will prolong the life of your blade. The best surface for stropping is leather. When stropping a straight razor, the smooth side of the leather strop is most effective, and the suede is best for larger blades such as a carving knife.

Typically, straight razors are stropped with the smooth- or plain leather side of the strop. This smoother leather provides a softer surface for stropping. The grain of the surface is perfect for gently polishing the low angle edges on straight razors. 

The smooth leather helps to create a finely sharpened blade by gently resetting the microscopic teeth on the blade into place. 

How to Effectively Strop Your Straight Razor

To strop your razor to refine the sharpness of its blade, take the following steps: 

• Hook the strop to a fixed object (wall, counter, barber chair)
• Hold the razor between the blade and the handle with your fingertips
• Lay the blade flat on the strop
• Move the razor towards the back of the blade 
• Pull the blade gently towards yourself at 40-degree angle to the strop
• When you reach the end of the strop, roll the blade over the back of the razor
• Push it back to the hook
• Repeat 4-5 times for best results

Do not put too much pressure on the blade, or you will cut the strop. Also, the back of the blade should maintain contact with the strop.

There are razor strops that come with high quality leather on one side and heavy linen on the other side. 

Some razor sharpeners prefer to strop with the linen side first because it cleans the razor blade before the final strop with the leather, further refining the sharpness of the blade. 

Should You Use a Compound with the Smooth Leather?

Whether or not to use a compound with the smooth side of the strop is a matter of personal preference when stropping a straight razor. The smooth leather of the strop can still provide a fine polish and removes any stray burs without adding compound. 

Those that elect to use a compound appreciate the even, fine, edge that the compound in conjunction with the smooth leather provides the blade after sharpening. This is achieved by the abrasive particles further pushing the blade teeth back into place. 

Often, sharpeners who use the smooth leather side of the strop do not use much, if any compound. The grain size of the leather lends itself to providing an exceptionally fine polish for the blade. 

Most carvers and knife sharpeners opt to use the suede side of the strop to polish their blade after sharpening. The soft surface of the suede compresses under the blade to help round the bevel of the blade. 

There are some woodworking tools and chisels that get better results from using the smooth side of the leather strop. 

The suede side is also a good option if you choose to use a compound to fine tune the stropping process. The nap in the suede absorbs the compound nicely and adds extra grain to the leather. 

Some sharpeners prefer the reinforced finish that results from a combination of suede and compound. The difference may be miniscule, but to the perfectionist, even the tiniest details make a difference in the sharpness of the knife.

How to Effectively Strop Your Knife Blade

For the sharpest blade possible:

• Lay the strop flat and firm 
• If you are using a compound, apply a small amount to the surface
• Lay the knife flat on the suede
• Hold the bevel away from the cutting edge
• Pull the knife toward you with the sharp edge pulling away from you
• Turn the blade over and repeat the motion on the other side
• Do this 4-5 times for maximal results

As soon as your knife doesn’t feel as sharp as it should be, strop it again before it becomes dull. Accidents are more likely to happen with a dull knife, so the sharpness is more than just for best cutting results. It also decreases the chance of cutting yourself. 

Should You Use A Compound When Stropping Your Knife Blade?

As with stropping a razor, whether to use compound boils down to personal preference. Using a compound (also known as a loaded strop) is an efficient way to polish the freshly sharpened knife. 

The grains in the compound work in conjunction with the suede to push the microscopic teeth in the blades back into alignment. It also helps to remove any extra bits of metal that can’t be realigned. 

This combination of coarse grains from both the smooth leather and the compound gives the blade an extra refined and polished finish. However, some sharpeners are satisfied with the results of stropping with the suede alone. 

Conclusion

To review, the side of the strop you use will depend on the type of blade that you are sharpening. 

After sharpening a razor, stropping with the smooth side of the leather is best for getting the smoothest blade. Stropping regularly will keep the razor nice and sharp and prevent cuts when shaving. 

When sharpening a knife with a beveled edge, you will want to use the suede side of the strop. This will help keep the beveled edge nice and round while wiping away any microscopic excess material to keep a nice sharp blade for easy cutting. 

Whether or not to use a compound when stropping a razor or other type of blade is really a matter of personal preference. Some sharpeners like the extra finish it gives your newly sharpened blade, while others are satisfied with the leather alone.