Thread: Hand American

Keith is a real great guy. I've an order in also. I'm sure we will all be pleased with his great products. You can't ask for a nicer guy to do business with. He is so willing to spend time on the phone.

He has got a new " Black bridal leather with a lot of drag. Mine is going to have the red latigo with diamond cut on the opposite side. I can't wait! Mike B

Originally Posted by sdsquarepoint

...Black bridal leather with a lot of drag...

I'd better not even ask ...

Joe...

I have the scary sharp system too. I love it. You raise a valid point with the wet/dry paper. They do the job pretty good for razors that need a little more work than the normal ones. I use the 320 grit for edge dings and go up from there. I found the 2,000 grit to be ok to get the razor edge close, but I always touch up with a stone. I'm not sure if the stone is absolutely necessary, but it fits in with my old school line of thinking. I use this progression:

• 320
• 400
• 600 wet
• 1,000 wet
• 2,000 wet
• light touch up on a 8,000 grit water stone

Originally Posted by Toddo

I have heard several of you guys mention ordering custome strops from vendors. What do the cuxtomizations generally intail, what are you looking for? Thanks

I am having a custome strop made by Tony Miller. The difference between what I want and what he regularly sells is that my strop is 4" wide by 28" stropping surface between rivets. Some of my blades are to long for the 3" and so wide that a shorter strop is really sort of difficult.

Thanks for the feedback on customizing. I know already I want the 3" wide at least. I want to be able to go straight back and forth instead of x'ing. I think I'm managing it ok on the paddle but would love to be able to lay the whole blade on at once. Not sure on length yet, again, longer than the paddle I think. So what about handle? Some where I read a recommendation for leather handle not metal.

Well, I said I'd post a review when I got the strops in...
If they work as good as they look, I'm in for a treat. I purchased 2 from Keith. One with red latigo/red diamond, the other with natural/black latigo, with 20" working surface (2.5" wide). Beautiful workmanship, and a helluva price for the pair. The hanging hardware and tensioning ring (the D-ring...that's what I call it, anyway ) are outstanding, and very heavy duty. I got them both with the padded D-ring handles, as well. I can't say how they work, but the finish on them is comparable to my two favorite strops, so I'll imagine, just for the sake of argument, that they're going to work similarly well. They are beauties, though, and Keith darn sure knows leather. Did I need both? No. Am I glad I got both? Hell yeah.

Got a chance to use the strops (all 4 sides). One word: PERFECT.

Tony, why don't you create a regular 28x4 surface model called "The Monster"? It would really go well for people who want to go big.

I got the scary sharp system a year ago. It was very nice but I really love my four sided paddle from Tony Miller. It is the best..

Originally Posted by Howard Wallace

I'd better not even ask ...

I think he meant to say "bridle" leather. "Bridal" leather means something else entirely.