Thread: An New Acronyms and Abbreviations To Add

Originally Posted by Jimbo

You Are Blatantly And Deliberately Acquiring Blades And Diverse Other Objects!

One acronym to rule them all - YABADABADOO!

James.

Good one James, I really like that!!!!!

Originally Posted by RobinK

Kanayama strops are to high performance strops what Japanese "natural" hones are to high performance hones. Nice to look at in pictures. If you want proper performance, get it elsewhere. Unless you have money to burn, in which case a Kanayama is a great investment.

Interesting opinion. I bought my first Jnat finisher becuse it was far less expensive than synthetics of similar capability.

Originally Posted by Birnando

Hah, what agenda are you on? Seriously, you forgot a tiny little something in your plug there. "In your opinion"

An interesting remark. Do you not think that as a moderator, you maybe should preserve your anti-plug energy for the many undercover salesmen here? I have never had an agenda, unless you want to call "relay first hand experience" that. In which case "plug" makes even less sense. In my opinion.

Originally Posted by Birnando

The English bridle strops out there are fine strops, no question. For a while. What you failed to mention though is that they will go hard and stale after a while, rendering them pretty much useless for other things than cutlery et al. My four Bridle's have all gone that route.

Ah, yes. Sincere apologies for this omission. Here you are: "My English bridle strops have delivered top performance for more than seven years each, but somebody on the internet is having problems with them, so I guess I must be doing something wrong. In my opinion."

Originally Posted by Birnando

As for my Kanayama's and other Cordovan shell strops
Still as soft and supple as the day they were bought.
One of them being a C-Mon made in the fifties...

And I have a restored strop from the thirties. So? We are talking about leather here, Bjoernar. Animal skin. Treat it with palm grease, neatsfoot oil, or any other means of keeping it supple and it will remain - supple. Sounds strange, but works. Even completely dried up, hard strops can be brought back to life if you have the proper leather care products at hand. And even cordovan leather can become brittle unless treated properly. Because it is an animal skin.

As for the Kanayama strops, they are nice, no doubt about it. But one can get similar or better performance for significantly less money. In my opinion.

Originally Posted by RobinK

An interesting remark. Do you not think that as a moderator, you maybe should preserve your anti-plug energy for the many undercover salesmen here? I have never had an agenda, unless you want to call "relay first hand experience" that. In which case "plug" makes even less sense. In my opinion.

Oh, I try.
Including with yours.
As to the first hand experience, I agree.
I have never made a single shilling from this hobby, nor will I ever start.
Nor will I ever stoop to promoting friends, countrymen, people who live near me, share beliefs, parttake in the same "research-team", make a quick buck or whatever other agendas detectable out there every day.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Ah, yes. Sincere apologies for this omission. Here you are: "My English bridle strops have delivered top performance for more than seven years each, but somebody on the internet is having problems with them, so I guess I must be doing something wrong. In my opinion."

Well, I'm sure you are not alone in feeling content with your current set-up of strops.
Otherwise you'd have done something to remediate the situation, no?
As Did I.

Originally Posted by RobinK

And I have a restored strop from the thirties. So? We are talking about leather here, Bjoernar. Animal skin. Treat it with palm grease, neatsfoot oil, or any other means of keeping it supple and it will remain - supple. Sounds strange, but works. Even completely dried up, hard strops can be brought back to life if you have the proper leather care products at hand. And even cordovan leather can become brittle unless treated properly. Because it is an animal skin.

As for the Kanayama strops, they are nice, no doubt about it. But one can get similar or better performance for significantly less money. In my opinion.

It most certainly is.
Dead skin, nothing more.
And just as it seemed open and shut, in comes the term craftmanship.
The thing is this, Robin, how you treat that dead skin is what will make it a good and lasting product and what will not.
Or are you saying there are no differences in treatment of the hides?
No separete methods that work with various degree of quality?
Affecting longevity, maintenance of status quo, environmental aspects?
Of course, you know there is.

Originally Posted by Birnando

I have never made a single shilling from this hobby, nor will I ever start. Nor will I ever stoop to promoting friends, countrymen, people who live near me, share beliefs, parttake in the same "research-team", make a quick buck or whatever other agendas detectable out there every day.

Well, I am guilty of having made some shillings in the past. I have sold at least five razors, and made a profit, over the last eight years.

That not-to-do list looks fairly specific, though. I am confused by the "research-team" reference in particular. Have you got somebody special in mind? If so, why not name names? It would certainly help our members if they knew which people have a hidden agenda. In my opinion.

Originally Posted by Birnando

Well, I'm sure you are not alone in feeling content with your current set-up of strops. Otherwise you'd have done something to remediate the situation, no?

I am never content with anything. There is always something new, and better, waiting to be discovered. When it comes to razors and shaving paraphernalia, though, the more you know, the more you realise that differences in performance are mostly negligible. Craftsmanship can be an issue, but usually is not when you are dealing with well established manufacturers. Like Kanayama, despite his massive QA problems a few years back. In my opinion.

Originally Posted by Birnando

The thing is this, Robin, how you treat that dead skin is what will make it a good and lasting product and what will not. Or are you saying there are no differences in treatment of the hides? No separete methods that work with various degree of quality? Affecting longevity, maintenance of status quo, environmental aspects? Of course, you know there is.

And that, Bjoernar, is not a very productive way of discussing the issue. You are asking a lot of rhetorical questions to which both you and I know the answer. I wonder what your rationale is. We both know that you can strop a razor on jeans fabric and a belt. We are, however, discussing what might, childishly, be called the finer points of stropping. And just because cordovan is the best leather you can get for shoes and gloves does not necessarily mean that the exact qualities which make it superior for that particular purpose make it superior for a razor strop. In my opinion.

However, we were not talking about performance. We we talking about price-performance ratio. And this is where Kanayama strops fall short. If you are willing to accept the markup because you like the craftsmanship, that is your prerogative. In my opinion.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Well, I am guilty of having made some shillings in the past. I have sold at least five razors, and made a profit, over the last eight years.

That not-to-do list looks fairly specific, though. I am confused by the "research-team" reference in particular. Have you got somebody special in mind? If so, why not name names? It would certainly help our members if they knew which people have a hidden agenda. In my opinion.

Does it?
Well, if the shoe fits..
But no, as stated, those are my standards concerning objectivity.
Yours may differ.

Originally Posted by RobinK

I am never content with anything. There is always something new, and better, waiting to be discovered. When it comes to razors and shaving paraphernalia, though, the more you know, the more you realise that differences in performance are mostly negligible. Craftsmanship can be an issue, but usually is not when you are dealing with well established manufacturers. Like Kanayama, despite his massive QA problems a few years back. In my opinion.

And here we are at the crux of the matter to me.
Craftmanship does, in my opinion, make a rather noticeable difference in perfomance on strops, be it Cordovan, crocodile or cow-hide.
With performance meaning doing the job needed, and with a feel one is comfortable/happy with, lasting over a substantial period of time.
Without any need to jump thru hoops to keep it so.

Originally Posted by RobinK

And that, Bjoernar, is not a very productive way of discussing the issue. You are asking a lot of rhetorical questions to which both you and I know the answer. I wonder what your rationale is. We both know that you can strop a razor on jeans fabric and a belt. We are, however, discussing what might, childishly, be called the finer points of stropping. And just because cordovan is the best leather you can get for shoes and gloves does not necessarily mean that the exact qualities which make it superior for that particular purpose make it superior for a razor strop. In my opinion.

However, we were not talking about performance. We we talking about price-performance ratio. And this is where Kanayama strops fall short. If you are willing to accept the markup because you like the craftsmanship, that is your prerogative. In my opinion.

Well now, if you pardon me, it's a bit of a hoot to be lectured on productive ways to discuss things from you.
Your alter ego, BeBerlin, sort of set a remarkable standard at times in that regard.
But I guess that's why you opted for a different user name this time around?

But yes, stropping is not a very complex matter, nor does it require anything magical when it comes to material.
I have strops that will set you back but a few Dollars.
They work.
The whole price/performance ratio is a very subjective thing.
To some it matters a lot, to others, not so much.
Otherwise we wouldn't be discussing it ad nauseam.

Cordovan is nothing magical at all.
I'd much prefer a proper cow-hide made correctly than a poorly executed Cordovan one.
But as far as my best strops go, the majority are in fact Cordovan.

Originally Posted by Birnando

Does it?
Well, if the shoe fits..
But no, as stated, those are my standards concerning objectivity.
Yours may differ.



And here we are at the crux of the matter to me.
Craftmanship does, in my opinion, make a rather noticeable difference in perfomance on strops, be it Cordovan, crocodile or cow-hide.
With performance meaning doing the job needed, and with a feel one is comfortable/happy with, lasting over a substantial period of time.
Without any need to jump thru hoops to keep it so.



Well now, if you pardon me, it's a bit of a hoot to be lectured on productive ways to discuss things from you.
Your alter ego, BeBerlin, sort of set a remarkable standard at times in that regard.
But I guess that's why you opted for a different user name this time around?

But yes, stropping is not a very complex matter, nor does it require anything magical when it comes to material.
I have strops that will set you back but a few Dollars.
They work.
The whole price/performance ratio is a very subjective thing.
To some it matters a lot, to others, not so much.
Otherwise we wouldn't be discussing it ad nauseam.

Cordovan is nothing magical at all.
I'd much prefer a proper cow-hide made correctly than a poorly executed Cordovan one.
But as far as my best strops go, the majority are in fact Cordovan.

When it comes to anything with me, quality counts & not the price! I'm always willing to pay a few more dollars when it comes to better quality. Good going Birnando!!!

Originally Posted by Birnando

Does it? Well, if the shoe fits.. But no, as stated, those are my standards concerning objectivity. Yours may differ.

Since when have fairly unintelligent attempts at character assassination become common practice here? And you failed to answer the question on top of that. What do "research-teams" have to do with this? Undercover vendorship, shilling, rigged reviews - all of these I can understand. But the few meaningful attempts at actually researching something (the ones I remember) were very open about their setup. Such as the Belgian Blue Whetstone one. Funnily enough, each time such attempts were made, the backlash by people with a not-very-well-hidden agenda was epic.

Originally Posted by Birnando

Without any need to jump thru hoops to keep it so.

Hoops such as...? Leather, any leather, requires maintenance. Palm grease will suffice. If you call that hoops, I wonder if you prefer Wellies to cordovan leather shoes. It would be the only logical consequence.

Originally Posted by Birnando

But I guess that's why you opted for a different user name this time around?

And we are back to character assassination. How about you answer questions instead of questioning my motivation for picking a nick name?

Originally Posted by Birnando

But as far as my best strops go, the majority are in fact Cordovan.

Just like mine are bridle leather. As you said, all of this is highly personal. I tried Kanayama strops, saw no improvement over the strops I mentioned (all of which are cheaper, and come with proper handles), and got rid of them again.

Originally Posted by engine46

When it comes to anything with me, quality counts & not the price! I'm always willing to pay a few more dollars when it comes to better quality.

Which of the strops in question (Straight Razor Designs, Scrupleworks, Old Traditional, and Kanayama) have you actually tried? Personally, I find it very hard to pass judgement on any household appliance without having used it.

Rigged reviews & character assassination?????? I don't get those...........
I don't think Lynn or any other moderators would allow that on his forum. Crazy accusations..........
I wouldn't be surprised if this thread is closed soon.
BTW, I use a large Mastro Livi loom strop because I have no collarbone in my left shoulder from a motorcycle accident many years ago & I'm right handed so I can't always pull a normal strop taught like a normal person can with my left hand. I tend to ease up on a normal strop so I bought the loom strop & although there are cheaper ones out there, the one I bought from SRD has at least a 25 inch working area & I was glad to pay a few extra dollars for a longer, quality loom strop. It works very well for me & I like it. We had a new member join awhile back that was born w/o a hand & he was interested in shaving with a straight razor. I suggested he buy a loom strop since he couldn't normally pull on a conventional strop & many other members liked my idea. I cannot comment on any of the others you have mentioned because I have not tried them & I can't try them. This is a great forum & I am respected by all members as Birnando is a well respected member too & you are calling him unintelligent? All due respect, if you aren't happy with what people post on here, why are you on here? To me, I get the impression you just want something cheap & not of good quality.

Originally Posted by Badgister

Overrated, possibly, but to limit impressive strops to "exactly three" makes my Kanayama strop feel very unathletic. Not even a bronze medal!

then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.