Can anyone identify the maker of this strop?

I was on the bay looking at completed auctions for strops to get an idea for how much they're selling for. I saw a nice looking strop, but can't identify it. Here's a link to the auction:

2 LEATHER ,BARBER ,KNIFE SHARPINING STROPS,TAKE A LOOK - eBay (item 170323704686 end time Apr-27-09 17:35:49 PDT)

Just curious to know who the maker is. I like the look of it, but I don't see any identifying marks other than the horse head, but I'm guessing that the symbol just means horsehide.

At first glance I thought it was a Tony Miller based on the thong & bead hanger and other hardware, but it doesn't have his logo at the top. I would have placed a bid if I would have noticed sooner.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

- Mark (S-4-C)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Strapped-4-Cache

I was on the bay looking at completed auctions for strops to get an idea for how much they're selling for. I saw a nice looking strop, but can't identify it. Here's a link to the auction:

2 LEATHER ,BARBER ,KNIFE SHARPINING STROPS,TAKE A LOOK - eBay (item 170323704686 end time Apr-27-09 17:35:49 PDT)

Just curious to know who the maker is. I like the look of it, but I don't see any identifying marks other than the horse head, but I'm guessing that the symbol just means horsehide.

At first glance I thought it was a Tony Miller based on the thong & bead hanger and other hardware, but it doesn't have his logo at the top. I would have placed a bid if I would have noticed sooner.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

- Mark (S-4-C)

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If I recall he used to only use a horse head! I believe them to be early Tony Miller strops

Just checked out my 3 in TM and sure enough, only a horse head and towards the bottom a fancy looking no.#1

I agree with Mark those are a couple of Tony's strops that somebody fairly stole! 34$ shipped dang!

Looks like Tony's to me

Yes, they are mine. Probably about 2 to 3 years old. I started using the oval logo 2 years ago, replacing the horsehead. The #1 and no end caps makes these at least 2 1/2 years old I think. The one that looks like my Apprentice was a second as there is an "s" stamped on it. Now days I would use an "X" on practice strops or seconds.

Tony

wow, somebody got a great pair of strops for a song. Tony's strops are the best (bar none).

I'm starting this comment by saying that I LOVE my wife, (even if I can't spell it correctly in the title).

She had seen me looking through Tony's website, the classifieds and the bay looking for deals on strops, and she, lovely woman that she is, found the above-mentioned auction and bought that strop for me, under her own ebay account, totally without my knowledge. What a woman!

She knew I wanted a leather and either linen or cotton combination, and she also knew to stay away from the Zeepk garbage out there. When she noticed the listing she saw the extra leather strop and thought the going price was fairly decent, she placed a last minute bid thinking it would be a nice anniversary gift. She then caught me in the other room browsing through the completed listings and began laughing at me when I showed her the one that I thought was a good deal.

The fact that I stumbled across it shortly after she won it was too humorous for her not to tell me about her plans. She thought it was even funnier that I had posted a comment about it on the forums. It's going to be delivered to my office, and I hope to have it in my hands before the end of the week if all goes well.

I now believe that even when she doesn't appear to be listening to me, she DOES listen to the things that I think are important. I have the best wife EVER!

- Mark (S-4-C)

That's very cool, though slightly freaky that they're yours in such a roundabout way! Congrats.

Marvellous! I'll drink one to that! Take good care of all three; I hope you'll relish them for a long time!

Tony, the stop just arrived and it’s a work of art. I can’t wait to try it out as part of tomorrow’s shave.

The scratch that is partially shown on the practice strop in the auction pictures is actually a cut, though it’s not too deep. Looks like I’m going to have to find a pumice stone to try to smooth/level that area if possible. Aside from the cut and a nick at the bottom of the “good” strop, everything is perfect. All of the screw heads are even positioned the same, which shows the level of detail that you put in your products.

I have no idea why anyone would be willing to let this gem go, but I plan to keep it for a *very* long time. The strop will definitely outlast me, and though I have no sons to pass it on to, I hope that a future son-in-law may find it useful. Time will tell.

Tony, thank you again for all of the exceptionally well-made products that you make available to us in this community.

- Mark (S-4-C)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Strapped-4-Cache

Tony, the stop just arrived and it’s a work of art. I can’t wait to try it out as part of tomorrow’s shave.

The scratch that is partially shown on the practice strop in the auction pictures is actually a cut, though it’s not too deep. Looks like I’m going to have to find a pumice stone to try to smooth/level that area if possible. Aside from the cut and a nick at the bottom of the “good” strop, everything is perfect. All of the screw heads are even positioned the same, which shows the level of detail that you put in your products.

I have no idea why anyone would be willing to let this gem go, but I plan to keep it for a *very* long time. The strop will definitely outlast me, and though I have no sons to pass it on to, I hope that a future son-in-law may find it useful. Time will tell.

Tony, thank you again for all of the exceptionally well-made products that you make available to us in this community.

- Mark (S-4-C)

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Mark,
Glad you got to get one after all.

To anyone else reading this post please note that the scratch etc... that Mark is describing is because this was bought used from an ebay seller, not direct from me as new. Still looks very usable and at a great price.
Tony

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Mark,
Glad you got to get one after all.

To anyone else reading this post please note that the scratch etc... that Mark is describing is because this was bought used from an ebay seller, not direct from me as new. Still looks very usable and at a great price.
Tony

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Whoops! Sorry I didn't clarify that in my comments. I can't imagine your allowing such obvious flaws on an item to leave your shop.

I'm thrilled to get my hands on one of these since I've been saving up for a new one for a while. Now I guess I'll have to find one of your other fine products to purchase with those funds. :D

I noticed in the strop repair wiki the following comment: "The information below will work for genuine leather strops, but not necessarily for other materials, in particular Latigo!" Can you tell from the pictures if this is a latigo strop (I'm guessing from the reddish color that it probably is), and if so, what's the best way to smooth the cut?

Thanks,

- Mark (S-4-C)

Mark,
The wiki's need to be taken with a grain of salt...... Latigo IS Genuine Leather. What they meant was un-treated, plain leather would react differently than Latigo or possibly Cordovan leathers "or other materials" which are tanned and treated differently. Plain leather like Dovo, etc... uses will take just about any dressings just fine. Latigo is already impregnated with oils and waxes so may react differently and usually needs no dressing. Cordovan may also react to dressing differently.

The red strops are Latigo....genuine leather, steer hide actually.

Tony