Thread: A question of luxury

I would get the strop and a tub of Domenico Caraceni 1913 shave creme and let me know how you like the creme, i have not tried it yet but i hear its pretty good.

Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Jeremy:

If I may suggest, please go with the Thater. There is nothing like that luscious morning kiss from a sweet shave brush.

Regards,
Obie

Jeremy,
Am I correct in assuming you have enough strops?
Besides, how can you resist this beautifully articulated, yet poetic plea by Obie ?

I'll tell you, even if I were to lean 100% towards the strop, Obie's post would have convinced me otherwise. That's the power of Obie's wisdom and words .

Obie: I'll NEVER look at my brushes the same way again, my friend

Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

Jeremy,
Am I correct in assuming you have enough strops?
Besides, how can you resist this beautifully articulated, yet poetic plea by Obie ?

I'll tell you, even if I were to lean 100% towards the strop, Obie's post would have convinced me otherwise. That's the power of Obie's wisdom and words .

Obie: I'll NEVER look at my brushes the same way again, my friend

My dear Robert:

Bless your heart for the kind words. Thank you, sir.

Yes, a good brush, with soap or cream, makes all the difference in the way one's morning starts. Not that a good strop does not, no, of course not. I am assuming that our good friend Jeremy already has a good strop.

The ritual, from first soaking the Thater in warm water to finally admiring the luxurious cloud of lather wrapped around it, is an ethereal revelation. Oh, yes, indeed.

Your friend,
Obie

Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

Jeremy,
Am I correct in assuming you have enough strops?
Besides, how can you resist this beautifully articulated, yet poetic plea by Obie ?

I'll tell you, even if I were to lean 100% towards the strop, Obie's post would have convinced me otherwise. That's the power of Obie's wisdom and words .

Obie: I'll NEVER look at my brushes the same way again, my friend

Enough strops? No. Never enough. But quality strops, indeed. My /worst/ strop is a Tony Miller Latigo and Linen in 3inch width. To compliment it, I have Tony's horsehide and Nylon, and then I have the SRD extra long bridle and polyweb. Lastly is SRD's Modular Paddle, with the bridle pad added. I wanted the Premium I as my last one for now... It will complete my current rotation.

I don't have enough, yet, and may never have enough strops... But I do have some very top of the line ones... As I said, my brushes are gorgeous, but the knots are not on Thater's tier.

Ah well, Thater first (and the clear handle isn't /that/ much more, so I'll pinch my pennies for a few more weeks and free up the funds for that one.) And the strop will come soon after.

Thanks for the responses.

Originally Posted by Obie

My dear Robert:

Bless your heart for the kind words. Thank you, sir.

Yes, a good brush, with soap or cream, makes all the difference in the way one's morning starts. Not that a good strop does not, no, of course not. I am assuming that our good friend Jeremy already has a good strop.

The ritual, from first soaking the Thater in warm water to finally admiring the luxurious cloud of lather wrapped around it, is an ethereal revelation. Oh, yes, indeed.

Your friend,
Obie

Obie, I want to bottle your dialect and verbiage. When next I am caught in an argument, and cannot think of an eloquent response of my own, just uncork the bottle and leave the combatants in awe.

Excellently said, and the advice will be heeded.

Thater it is, my friends.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

Enough strops? No. Never enough. But quality strops, indeed. My /worst/ strop is a Tony Miller Latigo and Linen in 3inch width. To compliment it, I have Tony's horsehide and Nylon, and then I have the SRD extra long bridle and polyweb. Lastly is SRD's Modular Paddle, with the bridle pad added. I wanted the Premium I as my last one for now... It will complete my current rotation.

I don't have enough, yet, and may never have enough strops... But I do have some very top of the line ones... As I said, my brushes are gorgeous, but the knots are not on Thater's tier.

Ah well, Thater first (and the clear handle isn't /that/ much more, so I'll pinch my pennies for a few more weeks and free up the funds for that one.) And the strop will come soon after.

Thanks for the responses.


Obie, I want to bottle your dialect and verbiage. When next I am caught in an argument, and cannot think of an eloquent response of my own, just uncork the bottle and leave the combatants in awe.

Excellently said, and the advice will be heeded.

Thater it is, my friends.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Congratulations on our decision. Now, since we are partly on subject of strops, do you have (or know of) the Kanayama Cordovan strops that JimR sells...These are in 30K to 90K category and they are $250-$370 or so.

1. Do you know much about these and if so, which do you recommend?
2. Is there a difference between the 70K, 80K and 90K?
3. Are they worth it? (they are pretty pricey)
4. Do any of these do what a Premium IV or other similar strop won't?

Let me know what you know

I'm going to suggest (please forgive me in advance) that you do neither.

You've got a boatload of strops, and a brush... but you do not yet have a Alex Jaques, Robert Williams, L.R. Harner (and the list of razor-wizards continues). In the words of my father..."save your pennies" and get something custom made that no-one else will ever have.


Ok ok... between the two, I'd get the brush... gotta go with Obie on this one.

Dave

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

But quality strops, indeed. My /worst/ strop is a Tony Miller Latigo and Linen in 3inch width.

I / don't/ know/ what/ is /with /the/ backslashes, but hopefully they imply sarcasm. Tony's latigo strops are second to none, as are any of his products, and have no place on any "worst" list.

It's a shame that Tony isn't as productive as he once was, because a couple years ago his products were all the rage, a reputation that was well deserved.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

I / don't/ know/ what/ is /with /the/ backslashes, but hopefully they imply sarcasm. Tony's latigo strops are second to none, as are any of his products, and have no place on any "worst" list.

It's a shame that Tony isn't as productive as he once was, because a couple years ago his products were all the rage, a reputation that was well deserved.

The Backslashes are to imply emphasis... Like a bold font... Sorry, it's a leftover habit.

And the latigo is, in my opinion, the worst of my strops. That's to emphasize how good my other two strops are, the SRD Premium Iv, and the Horsehide by Tony

Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

Congratulations on our decision. Now, since we are partly on subject of strops, do you have (or know of) the Kanayama Cordovan strops that JimR sells...These are in 30K to 90K category and they are $250-$370 or so.

1. Do you know much about these and if so, which do you recommend?
2. Is there a difference between the 70K, 80K and 90K?
3. Are they worth it? (they are pretty pricey)
4. Do any of these do what a Premium IV or other similar strop won't?

Let me know what you know

I'll give you a quick rundown on this... It's about the same as going from a Ruprazor Filly to a quality Latigo, or from an Illinois to SRD Premium IV... It's just a better feeling, better performing strop.

To answer your questions quickly:
1. I'd recommend the 60k, personally, because it's at the higher end of the list, without costing as much as the big brothers
2. Mainly, thickness... They get gradually thicker as the number increases... I'm not an expert on Kanayama (although I hope to get one myself, soon) but I believe they are all from the same material, just the higher the number, the thicker the piece (and maybe the more carefully selected the cut... Maybe it's the difference between the NY Steak and the Filet Mignon.)
3. That's a tricky question. To some people a Thater isn't worth it, because a Tweezerman does the same job and works fine for them... Then some people just want the Thater. If you realy love your strops like I do, they are worth it... If you just want a strop that gets the job done well, then you might want to look at something cheaper.
4. Not really... I'm going with the same analogy here... does the Thater do anything that a Tweezerman doesnt? No, it does not... But it feels /so/ much better doing what the tweezerman does. Same thing with the Kanayama. All (well, most) strops strop, it's just a matter of how they feel, and how they fit you. Stuff like that.

And, at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference like so much else.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

And the latigo is, in my opinion, the worst of my strops. That's to emphasize how good my other two strops are, the SRD Premium Iv, and the Horsehide by Tony

You have to keep in mind that good latigo gets better with use. Once the waxy top layer is worn from repeated use (like several months or even years) the draw improves. The strop won't even reach it's full potential until this has occurred. Mine is nearly 2 years old and is way better than it was brand new, or even after 1 year. In fact it continues to improve....