New T.M. Heirloom 1st Impressions and a ?

Hey all, anxiously awaited my Tony Miller 3" Latigo Strop with Cotton 2nd strop and a practice strop to boot. Due to USPS snafu I had to deal with knowing it was in the mailbox across the street but I coudn't get it for 2 days (left before holiday but they left me a key ring to the package box that had no key on it!)

Ultimately this was a good thing, as more anticipation meant that when I got the box yesterday I was really amped and was likely lucky to be able to slice the package open without incident for all the rush.

my first impression, mind you I've only handled three strops, a very old one, which was in horrid condition, the starter one I got with my starter razor which was just an ok piece of leather, and the litttle 50+ dollar one at local store that was about 2" by 12" with linen second. I had no idea therefore what I'd really be getting for my money.

I was impressed! The practice strop alone was nicer than what I already had. the real one, man, excellent materials and craftsmanship. for the 30 dollar difference with the little german one at the local shop you get at least twice the strop. I put it in my car and took it with me to run a couple of errands so I could stop and show it off to a couple of friends.

anybody else like me that is new to it all and considering getting a strop I recommend not messing with the lesser ones, better to wait and get one of these, get the practice strop with it as well, and learn on that before taking a chance with the other. I think I'm doing pretty good stropping but still am going to work on that practice strop before turning to the nice one.

my one question was this, I thought I read somewhere that the practice strop needed the edges dressed? what does that mean and how do I do it?

Thanks all, and Thanks Tony for such a great product at a good price and fast delivery.

Red

Red,
Thank you so much, you made my day.

On the practice strops the edges are rounded a bit but the entire strop could stand with a little flexing, etc... to help flatten it.

One of my friends, a 76 year old Amish gentleman makes these up for me from letfover leather so at $7.50 there is not much wiggle room to add extra time after I pay for materials and his time. Many find that with a little work on them they make nice travel or pasting strops once the learning curve part is over.

I'm glad you are pleased and you put a big smile on my face on a very dreary, rainy Baltimore day.

Thanks,
Tony

I'm glad I could cheer you up. My practice strop seems just as perfectly flat as my other strop, I had to look very long and hard to find any cosmetic problem that justified it being just a practice piece, and even the small blemish I found wouldn't have bothered me if it were in the regular strop. My uncle was well impressed when I showed him as well. sadly he's still afraid of the straights and won't try it, but I'm working him. :D

Red

Just got my paddle strop, Tony. The workmanship is so precise and looks so damned beautiful! :rock: I'll be pasting it up tonight and using it this weekend. Man, it was worth the wait to get the funds!!

i got a starter from tony and really was impressed by the craftsmanship that went into it tonys strops are 1st rate