Thread: Which Strop and where?

Hi everyone,

Well, with the advice gleaned from this great forum, I've purchased my very first SR. I picked it up from Josh who has been extremely helpful throughout the proceedings (anyone looking to buy one? Go to Josh!).

Now I'm faced with the decision of which strop to purchase. I'd like a hanging strop (I just think they're so darn cool) but I'm unsure of which to buy (it seems there's so many 'wrong' ones to get) and where to get it. I'd love to keep the price down as this is a new endeavor for me and I live in Australia so postage is high.

Is there any advice you could give me on where to go?

Thanks so much for encouraging and helping newbies!! You guys are great.

It won't help with the shipping but my ONLY recommendation is Tony Miller @ The Well Shaved Gentleman

You can go to his website and look at what he has: www.thewellshavedgentleman.com

Or, and this is my recommendation here, PM him to discuss what might be the best choice for you (type of leather, width, etc.)

His prices are very fair and the customer service you'll get is priceless.

Oh, congratulations on your first SR!

I'll second what Steve said concerning a strop.
Tony's strops are outstanding.


Terry

Thanks guys.

My problem is, and NO disrespect to Tony, that those are a little pricey for me at the moment. His was the first place I looked and I love what he has on offer but the cheapest (when converted to Australian) would be above $50 and then you'd have to add postage to that (Ebay strops appear to be much cheaper but I don't know what I'm looking for so maybe they're utter rubbish).

I may have to give in and spend more than I'd hoped (in which case I'd go to Tony) but since this is my first step into the SR world and I'm unsure as to how it will go I was hoping to outlay less financially.

Of course, once I'm hooked, I could happily search for more quality products.

TONY, TONY, TONY, TONY!

He's got some starters which are cheaper. Ask him. Failing that, find a leather crafter in Oz. That eBay stuff is 90% refuse IMO.

X

TONY has some really nice paddle strops which could cut the cost of keeping your razor sharp for quite some time. I got mine with three pasted sides and a latigo leather side for daily stropping for 55 bucks. The newer ones on his site are bigger now and look even better than before. I have also had numerous questions for Tony about his strops since I started and he is always around on these forums answering my questions and a lot of others

I keep thinking that if one were committed to going about this on the total cheap one would use two belts for stropping. The first would be the military stle woven cotton belt to stand in for the "linen" strop. Then one would wire, string, or otherwise fasten one's leather belt to a convenient non-movable object and finish stropping one's razor.

Otherwise, buy a good strop from Tony. I did and am completely satisfied with his excellent quality and wonderfully prompt service. Ebay may not be a complete rathole down which to pound one's money, but buying a strop there probably will cost very little less than getting one from Tony at: thewellshavedgentleman.com

Good luck, Bruce

since money if your concern, Tony does offer a starter strop (as of now i am unsure what the cost will be) i'd definately recommend that you email him and inquire for a price. his old starter strop was 2.5" inch wide with barebones hardware and no linen. he's moved down to 2" inch width with upgraded harware and linen. the old linen cost something like $22.00 US, so i'd expect the new version to be in the neighbourhood of $30.00 US which is quite inexpensive in terms of quality strops. if you go here:

http://www.classicshaving.com/page/page/522944.htm

you'll see that even their cheapest strop is $35

i'd shy away from ebay as most strops will likely be nicked/cut/scarred etc....in general they'll have all kinds of imperfections, and as a new straight shaver i'd want to worry more about stroping technique than on how to fix a strop. Tony hand picks the leather he uses so you can be sure you're getting a good tool.

It is questionable if you would save money with a hanging strop from ebay.
You would not regret ordering a strop from Tony, and it is possible that you might have to purchase several ebay strops before finding a good one. Cost may net out the same. You could scrounge the antique shops in your area. You might also consider a paddle or four sided. You can purchase decent paddle strops with one side pasted for around $25.

You know, I was thinking (I do this sometimes). I completely understand your cost concerns with shipping and the currency conversion rates. What is the price (incl. shipping) that you could pay without hardship. In other words, what are you hoping to spend and what is the maximum you WILL spend?

If we knew that, we might be able to better help. Of course, I don't want to put you on the spot and make you uncomfortable either.

Another option, which I can't speak for, is Strop

It's the strop from Poland that people have bought with the very excellent Wapienica straight razor. I don't know the conversion or shipping costs to Australia but it might be worth searching SRP for some reviews. As I say, I can't/won't speak for it since I've never used it but given the quality of the razor, it should be decent to get you through until you can afford something like Tony's strops.

Just a couple of thoughts..now back to our regularly scheduled programming