Is is okay to buy a strop on Ebay? I have very little experience with strops and was wondering if there's such a thing as a bad strop. I would buy a new one.
Thanks!
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Is is okay to buy a strop on Ebay? I have very little experience with strops and was wondering if there's such a thing as a bad strop. I would buy a new one.
Thanks!
there most certainly are bad strops.
When I first started I purchased a ~$20 cheapie strop, tghe kind you are most likely looking to get. It not only was not effective, it actually did my razor edge harm!
Buy something from Tony Miller, SRD, KenRup. I strongly advise you to not purchase a cheapie from the Bay.
i 2nd what Seraphim said. you can buy from ebay old ones then you have no idea what condition are they. New strop on ebay 99$ waste of money.
I've seen strops from The Illinois Strop Company on there that would be ok, but they are usually the same price as on regular websites so I don't really see the point. If I was in the US and looking for a cheap starter strop I'd get the Filly from Ruprazor.
It's certainly cheaper to buy from the US - if that's where you are, but to surmise that all strops on Ebay are a waste of time is quite frankly offensive - to a strop maker based in the UK like me, and a load of ill-informed twaddle.
Regards,
Neil
Could you translate? We speak English over here!:)
No, not all strops are bad, but if you look up "strop" on Ebay you will get 100 hits for Zeepk strops and the like. Those are the kiss of death....
Could you post a link to one of your listings? I'm always interested in checking out new stuff!
I'm not knocking you Seraphim, and I do realise that you speak a sort of english over there!:) - it's just that I find generalisations to be less than helpful. I'm sure you understand.
My stock on Ebay is a bit depleted at the moment, but here is a link to some of the types of strop I make, usually on a made-to-measure basis.
The prices in the Uk may appear high to those of you living in the US, but US-imported strops can cost as much in pounds sterling over here as they do in dollars in the US - there aren't many bargains to be had in the poor old Uk once import duties, customs & excise and all the other taxes are added on.
Regards,
Neil.
Neil, I think they are mostly talking about the cheap crap offered on the US eBay site. Nobody could confuse your strops with the like of Zeepk.
Sorry if I'm off topic but those strops are mad Neil ! Like the stingray handled one.
Neil I might be giving you a shout next time I'm on the hunt for a strop ..
I've got several just now one of Tony's top shelf Latigo's but i'm sick to death getting rodgered by customs .
:-)
Garry
Cheers Garry - if you do, don't forget to mention the forum and I'll do you a decent discount. I know what you mean about customs & excise, but so far they have only taxed me - rodgering sounds really bad! I'd put some cream on it if I was you!
Regards,
Neil
To the gent asking about Ebay strops, I lucked out buying one on the Bay before reading info on strops. I managed to find a Medal of Award Shell Horsehide and Linen strop for $10. It is a fine strop and was in very good condition: it had little use, was not cracked or dried out, not even a cut on it. A little neatsfoot oil made it like new and it brings up a fine edge. BUT... be advised! This is the exception not the rule. There are a number of vendors selling some really bad older strops on the Bay for a lot of money
Listen to the gentlemen in this forum and buy a good quality strop from one of the quality vendors mentioned. It will save you a lot of pain, money and wasted time. In fact, it is my intention of purchasing a high quality strop sometime in the future just because I want the best.
Best regards,
Denny
300WSM
I have bought several vintage strops on the bay, even with pics and plenty of questions, you are still taking a chance. If you cant handle it youself checking for dried out,cracked leather, you do not know what you are getting. Buy from a reputable vendor here at SRP, thats your best bet!
Hi Neil. I am in uk and looking for strops, paddle and hanging. Can you post your site address if allowed? I checked the member services but you are not on there.
Thanks H.
His eBay shop is here:
eBay.co.uk Shop – Millers-Militaria: Search results for.
Thanks I'll have a look.
I'll send him a message. Looking for a paddle for travel and a new hanging strop as I am just getting into how to do it . My oh my you should see my Dovo strop! I now have about 4 inches of small cuts that have all come together at the bottom blade side. Not too deep but as a newbie not sure if this will harm the edge. I think it's because the strop needs to be longer so I get more of a stroke before I'm worrying about turning the blade. What I haven't seen is a wider paddle strop with a travelling case. Any ideas? I read on a post here about using a camera lens to check the edge and it looks like a tree saw. I think I need to learn about pasted strops to give a smoother edge. My full hollow feels really rough.
Neil has honed and rescaled and repined two of my razors and honed my wapi, he made an amazing job of all 3, they seem to get sharper the more i use them.
thanks Neil
colin
stay away from ebay strops.
Thanks for that, I appreciate it. Maybe our off-the-cuff riend doesn't know that my namesake, the esteemed Tony Miller, used to sell his strops on Ebay too - or maybe he feels the same way about both of us.
Whatever the reasoning, I find that ill-considered, off-the -cuff coments are a worthless waste of space - like Joe Friday, I am interested in 'just the facts'.
Regards,
Neil
Oy knob! Get ya fact right I brought one of neils millers strops, and he sells on da bay, and its great
No imperfections and dead smooth. You can't go around telling people to stay away from evay stops
Without giving a reason and why. Ok don't buy an old falling apart strop, or one that has deteriorated
Leather on showing signs of rot! And most ebay sellers will give you close up pics if you ask an if they don't
Then don't buy from them! Don't make claims without getting your fact right, muppet!
Sorry mods rant over, feel better know
Ouch that sounded too harsh.
We're all well intentioned, lets not fight.
It's very hard to find the good strops among the pleather auctions on ebay, even more then filtering through Chinese and Pakistani razors. It's no wonder people stopped searching after a while, and generelize them as useless.
Here's something. I just bought one off ebay, see my post about "smokey strops". I bought a strop and razor just to restore them. The strop needed work, but I knew I could fix it, like the razor. The strop is good now, but it smells like a cigarette. You know that's not coming out. I had to get it away from my other strops.
I guess that's something to bear in mind about second-hand strops - until they invent "smell-o-vision" asking the vendor a question - if there's time or if you remember - will have to do!
I had a few ideas about reducing the odour - I replied to your other posting. I hope something works - it's a nice-looking strop.
Regards,
Neil.
Thanks, I never even thought of asking. That's a good bit of advice to any non smoker thinking of buying and EBay strop. I mean, it was so strong, when I walked by, I could smell it.
I wanted to post some before pics, but was having trouble last night. It was bad, I'm pleased with the way it came out. I'm going to give Saddle Soap a whirl, and then re condition it.
well, i just got two strops i bought off ebay in yesterday (i bought a lot of vintage barber items) and i ended up with one fairly nice strop, and one that has one very deep cut in about the middle of the strop, and many small nicks at the bottom, the seller had pictures of the good strop where u could see the entire strop, the one with bad cuts only showing the faded manufacture stamp on the top.
i am going to try and repair the strop just to see if it works, but basically got 50% out of what i ordered
now reading over this thread allot of people have already made the suggestion that you should ask for more pics, i didnt i got excited and snatched it up at the very tail end of the auction, and got what i deserved basicaly
its a pain to try and pick out the quality of an item when you cant actually touch it