Yesterday, I received what I imagine was one of Tony's first new Paragon horsehide and linen strops. I'm sure all the readers of this know that this is a beautifully made strop with top quality hardware, so I'll comment only on the horsehide and how the new design works.

I really like the horsehide. The draw feels similar to my (unconditioned) TM honey brown strop (and much lighter than latigo), but it seems a little more idiot-proof. What I mean by that is, for some reason, the edge more consistently maintains contact with the leather, even with very light pressure. Time will tell, but I'm optimistic that I'll get more consistently good edges from this than with the honey brown.

I also really like the way the new design works. I stropped first on the linen by holding the linen side's handle and letting the leather side hang loose. Then I rotated it the other way around and stropped on the leather, letting the linen side hang loose. It's quick, convenient, and you know you've got the right tension on the side on which you're stropping. Very nice design!

Great work, Tony!