Thread: Types/trends of strops in the past

Anyone know what types of strops were developed when and for whose use? For instance, is the hanging strop primarily something grown from barber's use? Did men typically have them in there homes or did they use various forms of paddle/loom strops? I assume the answer is going to vary by time period. Just curious if anyone has any info on typical trends. I suppose one could build a case for what was common with a perusal of old catalogues, advertisements, and such...for as far back as you could find them anyway. Also, the past arts and literature probably have clues as well as shown in the occasional posts on shaving in literature (I'm crazy enough to wish I had the time and resources to actually research this kind of thing!! Oh, well...back to the day job.)

- Dale

Dale,

Since barberiana collecting and history is one of my hobbies, I'll give it a shot.

Based on what I see in my collectors books, both hanging and paddle type strops were offered to both the barber trade and private users.

One of my books contains copies of pages from a 1908 Sears and Roebuck catalog. Sears offered both types of strop. Also some pages out of various barber supply catalogs, from about that same time period, were offering barbers a choice of either type.

OTOH, the barber training manuals only cover the use of hanging strops (that I remember, at least).


Scott

Originally Posted by honedright

Dale,

Since barberiana collecting and history is one of my hobbies, I'll give it a shot.

Based on what I see in my collectors books, both hanging and paddle type strops were offered to both the barber trade and private users.

One of my books contains copies of pages from a 1908 Sears and Roebuck catalog. Sears offered both types of strop. Also some pages out of various barber supply catalogs, from about that same time period, were offering barbers a choice of either type.

OTOH, the barber training manuals only cover the use of hanging strops (that I remember, at least).


Scott

Thanks Scott. Any ideas on this for the earlier periods - 19th and 18th centuries? I started thinking along these lines as I've been feeling my way along learning how to strop a few older, heavier, curved blades (mid/late 19th century?). I'm having more success with a narrow old loom/paddle style strop on the curves and was just wondering if history synch'd with that at all...i.e. were the curved blades stopped with a narrower strop and did the trend to straighter blades coincide with more wide, hanging strops.

- Dale

Not sure about that Dale. I have to assume earlier strops (pre 19th cent) were also made from some type of animal hide (maybe plant) and probably did not survive till today. Some of the earliest examples of barber trade catalogs I've seen are still late 19th cent and strops look pretty much the same.

I think a razor strop is pretty much elemental in its design and function. I can't imagine that they were very much different even going back to the middle ages or before. That is pure speculation of course.

I imagine that some iron age? fellow might have tried to clean a knife or other sharp tool on his leather apron (loin cloth? skin robe?) and found that it not only cleaned and polished the edge, but maybe made it seem a little sharper? Probably not too much innovation from then to today.

Even if you look through the old US and European patent records there hasn't been all that much "new" about razor strops.

I guess this is one thing that makes the straight razor so appealing to some of us. That it is so basic and old world and yet elegant and useful today.

Scott

I look at it this way,
man figured out that by rubbing metal against something harder (stone) he was able to wear away metal and form an edge. The harder the stone (and the finer) the sharper the edge. Then he discovered that wiping it on something soft & smooth (but durable) made the edge smoother. Hence he probably discovered wiping it on animal pelts.

The evolution of the strop probably came from that. I'm sure they figured out that you had to lay the pelt on a table or something flat to use it well. The paddle probably evolved from there, so you wouldn't need a table to lay the pelt on - it was stretched over a board. But where do you store it? I'm sure some tucked it into a drawer, or left it on a shelf... but being that it was rather long, it would probably be easier to just hang it by a nail from the wall and take it down when needed. Then they probably figured out that you could leave it attached to the wall, and just stretch it tight to use, and hence the hanging strop style was born.
I'm sure that for those people who were shaving in the same location every day (barber shop, or home user) the hanging strop was a good compromise between space saving design & minimized cost. The paddle strop was probably better for those people who traveled and/or probably who could afford something that cost more, since there are more materials involved.