Thread: Straight Razor Design's (SRD) 3" Roo Strop

Ok so I have had the Straight Razor Design's (SRD) 3" Roo Strop for a while now, and figure I would write a little review but note... as the statement above my avatar so clearly points out, "I still know nothing."



(Photo stolen from SRD - for obvious reasons once you see the photos of mine in he wild lol)


I am not going to lie. The first thing that drew me to this strop is it's incredible aesthetics. I mean look at the thing! Two tone leathers, great hardware, a beautiful logo placement and stamp... and those handles! All perfectly cut and symmetric. If one were to buy it simply to have it hang for looks, I could see it! Unfortunately, that's exactly what mine did for some time...


(logo)


When first handling the strop, the incredible thinness of the strop or Roo leather was off putting to me. Moreover, I found the draw rather course and "pulling." I had never owned a 3" before this, and the added width along with a strop that was so thin and pulling had me worried. Rightfully so as I have gone through more strops than I care to admit. Add that I shave with 4/8's, this behemoth just seemed unwieldy as it dwarfed my razors!! So it sat there hanging on my wall looking great... but nothing more for quite some time... I mean I used it from time to time, but not enough to truly understand it.


(the Roo "eating" my little 4/8 Dovo)


Anyway as you can see in the photo's (even my lousy photo's), this strop is beautiful. Hence, I didn't mind that it was just sitting on my wall looking good. I put diamond paste on the canvas side and simply used it for that application for some time. And then one day I just got a little flustered one day having such a beautiful strop hanging and it not being used - that and truth be told, I nicked my other strop and couldn't be bothered sanding it down a bit. So I vowed come what may... I was going to use the leather exclusively.

How do I like it now that I am using it exclusively?

Well let me tell you. Like I said, I have had a few strops before this one and yes, this strop doesn't feel like any of them. The draw is course I find, but once you get used to the draw... you can almost feel it whipping the blade into shape and creating a heat of sorts allowing the blade to be more malleable to correction.

I am sure that's all BS, but it sure feels that way and once you get to understanding or accepting the feel, the strop is simply awesome. It's a very tactile experience. But more importantly, I think it actually does the job of stopping more effectively, and hence in less time than any of my other strops! I don't know if that's 100% true as I enjoy using it so much that I do my full regiment almost religiously.

Moreover, it didn't take long to become used to working a wider strop either. It actually came naturally. It almost feels like cheating !

The SRD Roo strop may not be the cheapest strop out there but for what you get not only in looks,but what I'll call effectiveness, it's under priced. I am truly enjoying this strop now and wish I had been more honest with it from the beginning!

Stropping is fun !