Thread: Difference in quality of strops on eBay

Noobie here. Have not bought gotten any straight razors yet but am about to.

I was looking around on eBay at strops and I see some for a lot cheaper than at the online stores.

I realize that one needs to be careful with low quality blades on eBay, but what about strops? Its just a piece of leather, right?

Originally Posted by clam61

... Its just a piece of leather, right?

How dare you! OUT! GET OUT!!!

Just kidding. I'm a noob too. Basically, not just a piece of leather, much more than that. It needs to have decent drag, no warping, you have to be able to hook it up somewhere and / or hold it tight in some way, etc. As you can imagine, size matters, but knowledge how to use it will get you further...

Having said this, I have used a belt with good results; still, got a real (big) strop from Tony Miller as soon as I started shaving more regularly.

I am sure the experts are going to give you a more detailed answer, just wanted to get you started

Cheers
Ivo

I don't know the quality of leather they are using but I know from my own business there is a big difference in price between the really smooth hides I buy and much of the average stuff that is offered to me.

More obvious is the size. The average vintage barbers strop fround is 2 1/2" x 24" long overall. And almost the entire surface is usable except for where you are holding it. Those with attached handles usually have around 19" of usable surface. Most of the Rockwell and Zeepek strops on eBay say 15 1/2" length and they mean TOTAL length too. Some are longer but most are really too short. That said though I do own an older Rockwell strop, 16" long with suede surfaces that does make a nice little travel strop.

Tony Miller

Clam61,

I don't know about the Ebay strops. What I do know is that Tony Miller makes a heck of a nice strop. I just received my #1 Best hanging strop in Red Latigo leather today. Fit, finish and workmanship are topnotch...it was well worth the price. Tony will also throw in a Seconds strap with the #1 if you ask nicely. The Second will make a nice "starter" and travel strop (I'm not using the #1 untill I get real practiced on the Second!).

Hope that helps.

Ray

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

I don't know the quality of leather they are using but I know from my own business there is a big difference in price between the really smooth hides I buy and much of the average stuff that is offered to me.

More obvious is the size. The average vintage barbers strop fround is 2 1/2" x 24" long overall. And almost the entire surface is usable except for where you are holding it. Those with attached handles usually have around 19" of usable surface. Most of the Rockwell and Zeepek strops on eBay say 15 1/2" length and they mean TOTAL length too. Some are longer but most are really too short. That said though I do own an older Rockwell strop, 16" long with suede surfaces that does make a nice little travel strop.

Tony Miller

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the response. Aside from the size, what about the quality of the leather?

You can buy an old strop off of Ebay for cheap but you had best know how to restore it. That assumes that it is restorable.
I have at least 4 that could not be restored due to excessive cracking.

The new cheap strops on Ebay may have imperfections in the leather that your razor will not like, such as cracks or worse yet, ridges. It nmay also be of uneven grain. The finish may not be suitable for a razor. Some are either to slick or to nappy. You really need to buy from a reputable vendor and Tony Miller is one of them.

Believe me, If you are going to shave with a straight get a decent strop in the first place otherwise you will do what some of us have done - buy cheap and then order one of tony's strops or from another quality craftsman ( not to say that Tony's gear is expensive, they are actualy cheaper than mass produced crap here in Australia)

I quess my advice is that cheap is a false economy sometimes -buy well and but once.