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I am curious to try the Roo strop sold by Straight Razor Designs. One review said the strop was thin and cupped on the edges and you had to be careful or you'd cut the strop. Anyone else experience cupping with this strop? Their Premium IV (long) English Bridle Leather strop has served me well for the last 4+ years. Just looking to try something different.
I strated with a three inch English bridle, and proceeded to tear it all to hades as a newb.
I then purchased a Roo. I love it. It's tough, yet thin. It gives me better feedback.
I can get a great tug on to tighten it up while stopping.
It can be rolled up easier for traveling.
Great strop, so great I have a second on hand when and if this one wears out.
Thinking of getting a thrid just too have because I don't want to ever go without this leather again.
Roo is very thin and flexible so even if slightly cupped when stropping it would conform to the razor without issue. There are plenty of threads on the roo from srd and the concensus seems to be that it is a good strop
not SRD but my Roo is 0.8 to 1.2mm thick
mine is 30" x 3" & rolls up to about 1 1/2" diameter
mine doesn't cup as yet (8 months old) but if it did cup it would not matter much as the leather is very thin & subtle & it will flex to the shape of the razor very easily wile stropping
I have the SRD Roo strop from when they were first brought on board. Never an issue with
cupping. Thin and strong leather with feedback that I like. I would always recommend this strop.
Yeah, when I first received mine, I thought they had forgot to send the strop "replacement piece" which I order to try different materials. I thought it was a divider piece for separating the leather pieces.Quote:
Originally Posted by karlej
After realizing that it was the actual strop, I worried it would be too easy to cut through if someone had a mis-step. Oz--Onimaru assured us that it was a very tough, although thin leather, and would hold up. He was "Right On"!!
It's a very tough...thin...leather and very supple. It conforms more to the blade than any other leather I'm aware of. Very forgiving...very tough...and the light draw and performance are, to my liking....right on!
I highly recommend it!
Regards,
Howard :)
Edit: I haven't experienced cupping, but I suspect that pulling too hard will cause such. I lay the strop just in front of the handle accessories over my index finger and use just enough pull to level the strop...barely. A 1/2" to a little more slack when stropping, from the light pressure of the blade, seems to work very well.
Made my own recently and it is real nice leather, works a treat. Mine is cupping slightly at 3 inch, but like others have said not a problem at all, it just forms to the edge of the razor. Definitely recommend trying it.
Mine also is 3 inch and homemade. It does cup slightly but have no trouble with it or performing x strokes etc. As long as the razor is flat on the strop the strop will be flat
If only I had actual need of a new strop! I really want to try a roo. From what I've heard it seems to be similar to a genuine cordovan shell strop. Thin, tough and somehow very very effective. I want one, but I'll have to wait till I can justify the expense hahah (the trouble with straight shaving always!!!!)
I don't think you can compare it to Cordovan. I have both a 2.5" roo and the cordovan from Neil Miller, the roo has far more draw. Incidentally, despite being a pretty experienced stropper when I bought it, I did notice that I'd caused quite a few nicks at the bottom - I put this down to the fact that it is very thin and maybe I wasn't using enough tension. They sanded out OK but I now tend to use this one with a drop of neatsfoot oil added for cleaning the edge after shaving - it also deposits a hint of oil on the bevel which is good in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdbyDesign
Like eddy's mine is not 100% flat but it strops well, the leather would be around 1mm or possibly even less, i sanded the leather when I first got it as it was quite rough, i was concerned that it was too thin but it has served me well for the last 20 months.
May I ask who manufactured your strop?Quote:
Originally Posted by Substance
OK. I've ordered a Roo strop. It should be here by Friday I would guess. I'm looking forward to trying it out.
Yes, horse hide in general is rather slick. It is my only real grievance with horse because it has no real feedback to speak of.Quote:
Originally Posted by UKRob
My roo strop(s) are about 6(longer?) years old, used daily, no problems besides my own screw ups. You won't find a more hard wearing leather out there, weight for weight. I've not experienced any cupping in the usual sense - it will curl sometimes but it's never permanent, just a temporary reaction to the forces you place on it.
You could do way worse than getting a roo strop.
James
Roo leather varies in draw. Some of the falconry grade roo hides are as slick as horse.
All leather that is broken in will have a slight increase in draw.
The strop arrived yesterday and saw its first use this morning. The finish of the strop is not like my English Bridle Leather. The English is glossy and slick. The Roo has a texture to it I guess is the best way to describe it. I was most interested to try this strop on some wedge grinds so this morning I used a 7/8 Wade & Butcher FBU. I was surprised at how much noise it made compared to the English leather and the draw was also very light in comparison. I liked the lighter draw. A totally different feel than the English Bridle.
It did its job as I got a super comfortable 3 pass shave. I'm curious how much the draw will change as the strop gets more use.
In my experience, not much. In fact, the earlier post about roo having much more draw than cordovan makes me think cordovan must be like stropping on greased leather. I can't imagine a lighter draw than my roo.
This is an interesting and thought provoking thread. I have two eighteen inch horse hide strops one is Horween shell cordovan the other is what Skip Horween called 'just north of Cordovan' it is literally the next piece of leather trimmed to give the hide a straight edge after they cut the shell off the rump.The difference in draw between the two strops could be described like the difference between a 4000 king hone and a 12000 Chinese waterstone.I have never used Roo , bridle or buffalo leather but if these are all that much different it makes me wonder if there would be sufficient gain to be made if one were to approach stropping like honing.Three or four strops starting with the heaviest draw,I have to wonder if there would be a noticeable difference or gain to be had on the razor to justify using three or even four strops of differing draw.
I can feel a test period coming on(well as soon as I can think of a way to justify the cost to the little woman eh.)
One of our Aussie members sent me a Roo Strop,, it's a little small & you need to be experienced to get the most out of it. It's got a lot of draw,,,, boy,, does it have draw!,,, just hook it to the bathroom door & strop away,,, the Roo strop even has a pocket to store your straight in, when your done. :shrug:
Them Aussies really know how to make a strop,,,:beer2:
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Attachment 197426
Darn Hirlau - you beat me to it....:gaah:
Was going to say I have a Roo strop, and it's a fine one, if you can get by all the little pouches on it....yours post is better.....:shrug:
I won an SRP Roo strop at the Asheville Meetup last year. It is my go-to strop now. Just an amazing quality tool.
I have a couple cangaroo strops.
They are very nice, with the added benefit of not wrinkling.
I always travel with my roo's.
Just roll them up and toss it in the suitcase.
Perfect!
Sorry mate I made it myselfQuote:
Originally Posted by MikekiM
I did post on it a while back
http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...p-my-take.html
