Thread: Strop purchasing suggestions.

Hey, Guys,
Thanks SO much for the great information. I have a birthday coming up and will make a decision relying heavily on your suggestions.
Ron.

I'll have to add my voice to recommending Tony's stuff.. Whatever you get from him will be good as the differences are in size and trim. Well you can pick honey brown or latigo (latigo has a lot more draw), but according to people who have used both types, they perform about the same. 3" isn't a necessity. I have some fairly long razors and 2.5 has been more than enough for them, when using the x-pattern, which I'd recommend in any case as no piece of leather will be perfectly flat.

Originally Posted by izlat

Honestly - I am not sure. I have used untreated (vintage cleaned) linen strops with great results. But we do know vintage linens were treated. It does make the linen stiffer, of course - but I think there must have been other reasons, too? Maybe there is something specific added to the glide. I would certainly love to hear more from anyone in the know.

Cheers
Ivo

I believe that waxed/soaped Linen strops are tolerant of climatic conditions. They also exhibit a small amount of draw which give greater control over the stroke. A filled surface to the linen makes it possible to apply abrasives etc with good effect though I am not sure that this would have been the consideration when first done.
I stand to be corrected on any of those points but they are put forward based on my own experience.

PuFF

Hi Puff,

I feel a different glide from the wax - maybe a tad *sticky* while smooth (vs untreated, which is obviously not as smooth but less sticky.) I cannot say if it is better than no wax for the edge. And one vintage strop that I received treated had some abrasive stuff in it.

The resistance to changes with climate / moisture also makes sense to me - but I am not sure if this was of any concern to the people at the time. I remember that someone on ebay said common strops were hanging from a tree or a beam in the past, so if the linen was kept outside maybe this is one more reason for the treatment

Cheers
Ivo

I don't have enough experience with different strops and linens and such, but I'd like to echo my satisfaction with Tony's strops. The quality is par excellence!

Another vote for Tony.

Viktor

I've had 2 of Tony's #1 strops now, the first was a narrower one which I sold to a buddy when I upgraded to a 3" wide one.

Unfortunately I had an accident with the 3" wide one recently and ended up destroying it. I tried to fix some unevenness/curling in the surface which developed over the last few months by "shaving" the surface with a DE razor. It seemed like a good idea at the time (honestly), but I ended up gouging the surface badly. I tried sanding the whole strop down but that just made matters worse. I ended up trashing what was really a perfectly good strop, I was not happy to say the least!

Just for a change, I've gone for an Illinois #827 russian leather strop this time, as I've only ever used Tony's strops so far and wanted to try something else. But I suspect I'll be ordering another one of Tonys strops again in the future - they're very good indeed.

At the moment I'm using my practice strop (which is usually my travel strop these days) until the Illinois arrives, the practice strop is very good too.

Crazy idea to fix cupping for sure, Iwan! Did you check with Tony before you went ahead?

Anyway, yes - the 3" are more likely to cup, it seems. I prefer a 2-2.5" anyway. Tony's strops are great, no doubt about it

Cheers
Ivo

Strange... ...I regularly shave my strops, but only after rubbing the razor for a minimum of 50 strokes on my face. Perhaps you neglected that important procedure.

Bruce

Hey, Iwan,

I'd be very interested in knowing how you like your new Illinois 827. It reads like a fine strop on the classicshaving.com website.

Ron