Hey guys, I've not posted much but I'm constantly scouring the forums. A good friend and member here (Nun2Sharp) turned me on to straight shaving about a year ago and I've not regreted it since. Being that I'm a tinkerer (it's a disease you all know well, I'm sure) I've already got a set of stones on the way (norton combo's 220/1000/4000/8000) and a 12k Chinese with slurry that I've used a bit with good results. A good strop for myself (Illiois Stop Co.) and various other good bits, soaps, oils and all th fun stuff. I love straight shaving. I enjoy it as much as I enjoy shooting, and Nun2sharp can tell you, I LOVE shooting!

All that said, my point is that I want to be a self sufficient shaver. I can buy, restore, hone, rescale and with the acception of making my own soaps, I can shave in to infinity with out having to depend on shipping razors out for work. My last endevour is strops. I've got at least 3 friends that are willing to give straight shaving a try but I want to be able to give them the best bang for their buck. One of them doesn't make a lot and the price of getting good equipment is a little daunting to him. He can't imagine spending $50 - $100 for stuff you shave with. I've got a source on 2" tanned leather in 24" strips for cheap that I could easily make paddle strops out of and get these guys, and more going super cheap (about $20 per strop). I just need to know what makes good strop leather, what grits to sand the leather with to get it ready and if any specific dye's are a no-no. I've got plenty of neets foot oil to condition.

Like I said, I dont' post much so I figured I'd talk your ears off this time. Thanks in advance!

Gavin