Thread: Gillette Strop?

I found this interesting little item in an antique store recently. It's a Gillette razor strop. Has anyone ever heard of Gillette making straight razors? The strop is apparently intended for use while travelling, as it's a bit small. I couldn't resist buying it but I wouldnt strop with it, as it's really too small for my taste. I found an alternate use for it. It makes a great book marker!

It's probably for stropping DE blades, or something to rival the Valet Autostrop. Gillette and Autostrop were big rivals, and it wouldn't surprise me if Gillette started sniping their products.

Stropping DE blades? I've never heard of that. I have a friend who says his father had a mechanism for sharpening them for re-use but I don't believe it involved a strop. Is this something that was done during the era I grew up in that I wasn't aware of?

Originally Posted by JimR

It's probably for stropping DE blades, or something to rival the Valet Autostrop. Gillette and Autostrop were big rivals, and it wouldn't surprise me if Gillette started sniping their products.

Jim hit the nail on the head. I dug out my dog eared copy of Phil Krumholz's Gillette Collectors Handbook and on page 389 they show the Auto Strop razor. The strop was threaded through the head of the razor with one end of the strop tied off and the other held in one hand while the razor was manipulated back and forth stropping the blade. Gillette bought Auto Strop and didn't change the name. They were big on absorbing competitors.

Well, I could have sworn I saw a de blade stropper--a handle like you see for the old Wedge SE blades. Maybe I was wrong?

But I reckon a strop that small, made by Gillette, is almost certainly NOT for straight razors.