Thread: what is a goot brand of strop?

what is a good brand of strop to buy? That is not outrageously expensive.

thanks
ed

If you like vintage strops, then almost anything made of "shell" that isn't warped, cut up, or hopelessly dried out will be good.

For new strops, the only good brand is Tony Miller. Freakin' awesome.

Well, OK, to be fair, Handamerican strops are good too, but waiting for that website to surface for a split-second and be active is like whale-watching in the off-season.

That's a tough one. It depends on your personal preferences and budget. There's lots of good opinions in the Review section of the forum.

Originally Posted by tryonix

what is a good brand of strop to buy? That is not outrageously expensive.

thanks
ed

How much would you call outrageously expensive? If we know your budget we can help much easier

Tony Miller, The Well Shaved Gentleman strop manufacturer, is the best you can get, at any price point! His less expensive models are simple, beautiful, fully functional excellent, excellent strops.

You can buy somewhere else, but you will not find any better, and likely find lower quality.

try,

The Well Shaved Gentleman (or the Heirloom Razor Strop Co.): Tony Miller's strop works is THE place to buy a strop. One, the quality is superlative and two, Tony is a wonderful guy to deal with. Now, because of the example he has set and his at times limited production, as he is both the sole proprietor and sole producer of his strops, there are a couple of other sources which have begun to sell strops also of excellenet quality. This is doubtless because of Tony's example and the other vendors' needs to have a product which is competitive to his, lest they suffer our slings and arrows. So you can try also Vintage Blades and Straight Razor Designs.

good luck and good sliding of steel against leather,

I have a number of strops from 4 of the top makers (all are in production at the present time). My favorite is my SRD Premium. The workmanship is as good or better than any of the competitive strops. What sets it apart, for me, is the leather. This stuff is absolutely great. It's hard to describe the feel of it when you are stropping. It is silky smooth with just enough resistance/draw and still manages to make that great sound we all like. Leaves the razor with a nice, refined edge too. It's the best I have used, so that would be my recommendation to you.

To be fair, I have an Invisible Edge that is over the top in terms of fit, finish and detail, but I still think the SRD Premium performs better. It's about half the price, too.

I want to clarify something regarding my post above. It's been a long time since I was in the market for a new strop, and at that time, Tony was the only man, unless by a fluke you managed to catch Keith at Handamerican, who also made a great article when he wasn't busy "temporarily" shutting down his site.

I realize now that there are other craftsmen at work, including Lynn's outfit Straight Razor Designs. I have no doubt the quality is top-notch.

There are plenty of good strops available, i.e. the ones named above. I have an Illinois strop and it has served me well. Just another brand to consider!

Originally Posted by dylandog

If you like vintage strops, then almost anything made of "shell" that isn't warped, cut up, or hopelessly dried out will be good.

For new strops, the only good brand is Tony Miller. Freakin' awesome.

Well, OK, to be fair, Handamerican strops are good too, but waiting for that website to surface for a split-second and be active is like whale-watching in the off-season.

Too funny!