Fromm Strops any good?

Are strops from Fromm any good?

I get these ThankYou rewards from a credit card I use. Turns out I had quite a bit of the built up. I wanted to use them before they decide to take them away.

To my surprise, they actually have some straight razor products available. Col. Conk soaps, razor handles, mugs, Fromm 5/8" razors, and Fromm strops.

I'm building a small set of gear to keep at my parents house, so I don't have to tote stuff back and forth. I got one of these Fromm strops, linen and cowhide.

Are they any good?

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago. Apparently they're made by the Illinois Strop Co., so are quite a reputable strop.

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Originally Posted by mosley59

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago. Apparently they're made by the Illinois Strop Co., so are quite a reputable strop.

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Thanks for the reply Mosley!

The description for the canvas says that it's impregnated with zinc oxide to abrade and sharpen. I probably shouldn't use that every time I strop huh? Won't that gum up the edge if I use that too much?

I have a Vintage Blades strop now, with some nylon webbing. That doesn't have any abrasives in it, so I use that every time. But I'm not sure about using zinc oxide every time.

Interesting, the description for the one I bought didn't say that, although I DID buy it off Amazon, so quite possibly not sold by someone in the know. The zinc oxide they refer to is a powder, not that paste you used to put on your face for sun protection, so it won't gum up the edge. What it WILL do, if used too much, is wear down your blade, just like stropping on a linen strop that's been impregnated with chromium oxide or some other form of abrasive compound.

In effect, this is a ready-pasted strop, so you may want to find a non-pasted piece of webbing to add to the strop that you can use like a regular linen strop. That way, you have three options, all on one travel strop - pasted, linen, and leather - and that way can reduce the amount of wear on the edge while still stropping on linen.

Well, I received my 'Fromm' strop. It IS an IRS co. strop. What the heck. Why didn't they just say that? Anyways, I am hesitant about using it, since they put a symbol of the devil on it:

Attachment 26811

:shrug:

This is a #127. Anyone own one? Putting technique aside, are they good to use? It felt a little flimsy when compared to the VB latigo.

Thanks.

I remember Tony Miller talking about Illinois strops before b/c he used to sell them before making his own. If I remember correctly the #127 was supposed to be a nice strop - a linen style strop with handle and separate leather strop with handle held together with a brass plate at the top. I remembered the leather being stamped with a horse head though...having what looks like a Pagan symbol instead makes it look pretty bad ass (and unique)!

Was this from a rewards point program like the ones from Capital One or Citibank? I only ask b/c I'm enrolled in such a rewards program and would love to use my point to pick up some extra shaving equipment....heck, it's like it would be for free! Christmas in July!

warpigs,

I actually just saw a bottle of Fromm strop dressing on another site and realized that the satanic Pagan-like head they have on the strop is actually the Fromm logo! It's actually a cow head (probably to demark the leather as cowhide)...so it's likely not a Pagan strop....booooo! :cry:

But.......non of your friends have to know the real story :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by warpigs421

Well, I received my 'Fromm' strop. It IS an IRS co. strop. What the heck. Why didn't they just say that? Anyways, I am hesitant about using it, since they put a symbol of the devil on it:

Attachment 26811

:shrug:

This is a #127. Anyone own one? Putting technique aside, are they good to use? It felt a little flimsy when compared to the VB latigo.

Thanks.

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I got that as my first strop from Amazon. It's decent but I eventually bought a TM 3" latigo because of the width. I recently got some CrO from ChrisL and pasted the #127.

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Originally Posted by Razorburne

I remembered the leather being stamped with a horse head though...having what looks like a Pagan symbol instead makes it look pretty bad ass (and unique)!

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Yeah! Maybe I can hum some Black Sabbath while I strop... :rock:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Razorburne

Was this from a rewards point program like the ones from Capital One or Citibank? I only ask b/c I'm enrolled in such a rewards program and would love to use my point to pick up some extra shaving equipment....heck, it's like it would be for free! Christmas in July!

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Yep, ThankYou rewards or something like that. To my pleasant surprise, they have a bund of Straight Razor stuff. Soaps, brushes, etc.