Thread: Anyone using current production Illinois strops?

I spotted this one on eBay and I wonder if it's a good starter strop? Thanks.

Fromm Illinois Razor Strop Top Grain Cowhide Handle 20" - eBay (item 310126787345 end time Apr-03-09 11:12:36 PDT)

I'm using that very one...the Illinois 206. Its a great little strop. I'd like a wider one, but all in all a great strop.

That was one of the first strops I had when I started. It's an ok strop, but it is a bit on the small size and you may or may not get the results you want with it. If you want to go with an Illinois strop, I have the Illinois 24" model (361) with no handles; it is WELL worth the extra $10 it will cost you.
If you are considering other strops, then there are lots of options that would IMHO be better, whether from large manufacturers (Dovo/Jemico, Thiers-Issard, Illinois) or handmade top quality strops from Tony Miller or someone else.
Good luck!
The strop WILL work...but the price difference into a much better strop is not much at all.

John P.

i have the 206 and it works great for me. i don't mind the size and the quality is just fine. but let me put it this way. my next strop will be a Tony Miller, i have read enough about them, and i had one of his latigo starter strops which was great. Tony's strops always get good reviews and though they are a little bit more money, they are definitely worth it.

Nashville knife shop has them for less $$$ I have ordered the #827 Russian leather (slightly larger) through them a few times for myself and others...
The #827 is my Honing strop now, I think the rougher texture to the leather smooths up a fresh edge better then most other strops (JMHO) For my everyday though I recently switched to an SRD Latigo, (great workmanship) I also have a TM strop in double leather made specifically for pastes, that the quality is fantastic on, so basically pick the price you want to spend and grab one up...

That's what I use, works fine.

Thanks, guys. I went with the 827 Imperial Russian from KnifeCenterStore for $33.

I am currently using a #361 professional style model. It was a factory defect from when I was still selling Illinois strops on eBay. (I decided to use this one as a challenge to myself to prove that even a somewhat damaged strop could still be perfectly usable. I knew that if had I sold this particular strop to anyone, that they would most likely have complained. But anyways...)

I have used IRS Co strops for many years, mostly the #827 Russia, and now the #361. I have come to the conclusion that, at least based on the one's I have used, that all IRS strops need extra "breaking in" work before they will give good stropping results.

I began using the #361 "as is" with just a bit of strop dressing to begin. I found that it just didn't work as well as it does now, after a more aggressive breaking-in treatment. Just to be sure, I gave the strop a good 4-5 months of daily use "as is." There was an immediate improvement in stropping once the aggressive break-in treatment was applied. In fact, once properly prepared, IRS strops are excellent.

So, as usual, YMMV, but any of you who are using, or have used an IRS strop, and aren't quite happy with it's performance, may benefit from my observations above.

One other thing, I think that the canvas that comes with the current IRS strops are crap (I think that is the technical term for it). I have experimented with ways of improving them, including coating with urethane and sanding which seemed to help quite a bit. My usual solution is to find a vintage linen hose strop, treated with wax as they usually were, and replace the IRS "Barbers Best." I realize that this may not be practical for everyone since the number of good vintage strops available is extremely limited.

I have described how I break in a strop at least a couple of times here on SRP, so I'm not going to repeat myself again here. But if anyone has an interest and can't find those posts, I'll go over the process again.



Scott

Originally Posted by honedright

I have described how I break in a strop at least a couple of times here on SRP, so I'm not going to repeat myself again here. But if anyone has an interest and can't find those posts, I'll go over the process again.



Scott

At least give us a thread title Sir.

Originally Posted by JMS

At least give us a thread title Sir.

Ah geez Mark. I was trying to avoid all that work. You see, I'm extremely lazy and proud of it. But if you insist, I'll see if I can find something.....



Scott