Antique shop strop find

I picked this strop up unused for $40.00,it has 2 peices, is one side canvas,they both seem to be leather 1 side is darker than the other.It says craftsman geniune imported scotch tanned shell horse hide prime selection hand finishrd on 1 side. sorry for the stupid questions i newb and have been using news paper up untill now,also can i just use it as is or do i have to buy some type of strop dressing that i have read about in some of the posts.It is in such good condition i kind of hate to use it,apreciate anyinfo thx.

Shell is the bee's knees for strop leather.

I just love the feel of shell, and no you probably don't need to do anything to it unless its crackingly stiff. Rub it a bit, letting your hand slide up and down the smooth skin.

Subsequently you can also do this to your strop, just make sure you have clean hands.

Ps. just saw the razor you got the same place. You've done quite nice for a day of shopping =)

Thanks chady for the tip ,i really apreciate it.I have nothing to compare it to since this is the first strop i have purchased,but it does not seem to be that dry.I will rub my hands on it for a 2 or 3 days before i use it as u sugested .

Thx Kees i am not to shure what that means, but i guess u are saying it is of high quality.thx

You are a lucky dog. That is one nice classic strop. Hope your newspaper practice has you prepared I'd hate to nick a mint antique like that.

The strop seems to be leather on both pieces ,all the others that i have seen have 1 peice that is canvas.On this 1 1 piece says sharpening this side the other says finish this side .Is the side that says sharpening side equivalent to the canvas on another strop.

Wheres our strop expert? It could be equal to the linen but more likely it is pasted or awaiting paste. I would use the finish side daily and the sharpening side only when your edge begins to dull alittle bit, this should refresh the edge bringing it back to sharp for a while.

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Originally Posted by Chady

I just love the feel of shell, and no you probably don't need to do anything to it unless its crackingly stiff. Rub it a bit, letting your hand slide up and down the smooth skin.

Subsequently you can also do this to your strop, just make sure you have clean hands.

Ps. just saw the razor you got the same place. You've done quite nice for a day of shopping =)

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Hahahahahahahaha

Course you got to use it..
It looks WONDERFUL!!!

All my antique places have junk and no wetshaving stuff...
Sigh :)

I have been using news paper for a short time i recently started str8 shaving, i will go real slow with the strop. when i make a mistake with news paper i dont care i just turn it around or remove the page.Here is a pic of the strop ends 1 leather piece is lighter in color than the other.

Sears! That's awesome

kick butt!

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Originally Posted by Chady

Rub it a bit, letting your hand slide up and down the smooth skin.

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way too easy :nono:

yea hogaloo it says craftsman at the top as u can see in this pic and the other 1 has some crest and says mellow tanned.Anyway i have not used it yet still rubbin it ,the strop that is.

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Originally Posted by Joe777

Thx Kees i am not to shure what that means, but i guess u are saying it is of high quality.thx

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You're right.

That is the best looking strop I have ever seen!!! Great buy for $40! :tu :tu I want one!!!

Have you used it yet?? If so, what's it like??

Rick

That is incredible mate... what a great find !!

Now... find me one !! :tu

Greg Frazer

I thought that the "better" strops were leather on front & back.
I have one here that has "Sharpen" just above the handle, the other side has "Finish" in the same place. At the top it has "KEEN EDGE"
On the handle it has "All ??????" and the number 159 inside a circle.
.........momma
PS No where near as nice as Joe's

Hey, don't worry about the nicks. It's a Craftsman.....if it breaks you just take it back to Sears and they give you a new one : )

Really a nice strop! If you ever want to trade for something..........

Tony

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Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Hey, don't worry about the nicks. It's a Craftsman.....if it breaks you just take it back to Sears and they give you a new one : )

Really a nice strop! If you ever want to trade for something..........

Tony

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I wonder if Sears hires specialists to rub the oil in for the customer?

Hey your right tony i never thought of that ,but i am sure if i went to sears they would be like what the hell is that,they would problably think it was some sort belt to hold up my pants.Tony would u know if the side that says sharpen on this side should be used every time i strop or should it be used less often.

Yes i have used it on the side that says finish on this side for now ,and all i can say what a huge difference it has made.I was using news paper before i found this strop and it is like night and day, no comparison my shave is so much better now.

I'm guessing the sharpen side would have an abrasive paste on it, or was designed for a paste that you would need to apply yourself. "Back in the day" it would have been red paste (jewelers rouge) and would have only been used occasionally. For a barber using this all day he may have used it once a day, for us maybe once a week or two.

I have been using 0.25 and 0.5 on a plain hanging strop for a few passes every once in a while and it's a nice way to add a quick refresh to a blade.

As clean as the sharpen side looks I'd guess it was not pasted and was designed for the owner to apply the pastes himself.

Tony

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Originally Posted by Chady

Rub it a bit, letting your hand slide up and down the smooth skin.

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:roflmao :roflmao

You may want to do this quite a lot. It feels good to do. Take your time and enjoy the experience. A repetitive motion can yield the best results.....