Who is currently making a quality Shell strop these days. I was thinking of a Niel Miller, but it seems that he doesn't make them anymore. Thank you.
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Who is currently making a quality Shell strop these days. I was thinking of a Niel Miller, but it seems that he doesn't make them anymore. Thank you.
I think he is still making them. I frequent his website a lot and he's had some just recently. Looks like he's out right now. I bet he'll have some up again. Maybe pm him and see if he might have some ready soon.
you got be quick on your toes Neil's sell out fast. there is a guy in Norway but his name escapes me and on here
STROP for Razor i think you have to get 70k or over for decent shell though from what i have read
There's also a company called Bison strops. They make a shell strop and a horse hide. There are some reviews on them here if you do a search. They look like a quality strop.
Bison Black Shell Cordovan Razor Strop | Fendrihan Shaving Store
Nope - I amstill making them, my friend, but they go very fast. I have a few more to list in a few days, but as Harry said you can always pm me if you want something a bit different.Quote:
Originally Posted by Guarnera
What some folk seem to forget is that I am a one man outfit - I employ no one, nobody does any of the preliminary work for me, and I source the leather, test it, cut the hides, bevel and stripe them, make the padded handles, do all the stitching and rivetting, take the photos, list them, pack them and post them - this in addition to honing and restoring razors, cooking and keeping house. There are just not enough hours in tbe day to provide a regular supply, which is why they will always be a low volume, totally hand crafted, unique product.
I have never been a fan of the factory - I have worked in too many in my time, and the price one pays is usually cutting corners to make an ever cheaper product to chase ever falling profit margins. You read a lot about large concerns that can afford to treat employees well and be ever so helpfull to customers, but I know from personal experience that a multitude of smaller concerns treat both employees and customers alike - as objects standing in between the bosses and their money.
Things seemed to be getting better in the lst couple of decades, but the current economic environment, properly termed a depression in my humble opinion, is rapidly seeing things sliding back towards the good old bad old days. I have seen big conglomerates who once paid off their staff handsomely now paying them the bare minimum, and all sorts of legal loopholes being resorted to in order that the big cheeses dont have to face up to their responsibilities.
What has this rambling rant got to do with strops? In most cases, nothing. Will it put some people off regarding buying from me? Probably. But I am not a proper businessman, only a regular guy, and the forgoing is just something I have wanted to say - for a long time, in fact every time I see my name mentioned in conjunction with questions whether I am still active or not.
I am not pointing any fingers, especially not at the OP whose query is innocent enough. I just wanted to point out the difference between things that can be bought in a variety of outlets on both sides of the Atlantic which purport to be the efforts of one man and which clearly are not unless he never sleeps and has control over the dimesion of time to allow himself 48 hours or more in single day, and something made from scratch by one man labouring under the normal space/time continuum.
Apologies if this sticks some peoples craw, it is after all only my own, subjective, feelings on the matter. Its how I feel, and I am not seeking converts. If anyone doesnt like that, then ignore it, me, and this post, because in the immortal words of Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind, frankly ...well, I guess you know the rest.
Regards,
Neil
Send Neil the PM. The strop is well worth the $ and worth the wait. :tu
If it's quality that you want & you already have a name in mind, then it makes sense to "reach out" to that person.
I will have one of your strops some day Neil. I oogle at them constantly and from what I've read, they are lovely to use.
Neils Post is spot on,one man show dealing with natural materials is not an easy row to hoe.
Sorry I confused you with your grandad, Andrew!Quote:
Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY
Like you, I am a fan of real ales and micro breweries - so much so that my dear friend Tom will think I was wearing my Georgian hat while I penned that last amazingly off topic post! Fear not, Tom, only 23 hours to go...
Regards,
Neil
PS: a huge thanks to my other colleagues who have replied in support - quite honestly I regard you all as friends.
You can't rush art, IMHO. I don't have one of Neil's strops, yet............
Yes. it really is.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Bob
Great post Mr Miller, the throw away, low quality, high production society we all live in is sickening to me as well. Worst part is that im part of it, live it over and over, lay off the experienced employee and hired cheap help to get low quality products or services.
That said, there are very few like yourself that produce a quality products and more then likely not getting much in return.
Well said Neil, very well said my friend.
Mr Miller,
I apologize if I hit a nerve. I realize you are a one man shop. And I agree with your opinion of factory made mass produced junk. That is why I went to your sight. You have a great reputation, and seems you make a quality hand made product, with total control over every aspect of the process.It's the only way IMHO to get the product that you want. Be it quality or quantity, or what ever.As soon as you involve one other person, you loose total control, and have to make compromises because of decisions your helper made, that you would of made different. I've even found, when you try to commission a piece from an artist, and try to tell them exactly what you want, it will never be exactly what you envisioned. It will be that artists rendition of what you told them. So, I've found it best to look for a craftsman who make a great product, that just reaps of quality, and that you really like and buy it. Again, that's why I went to your sight. Your strops are a work of art. I don't know how I got the idea that you were not making shell strops anymore. So I will keep my eye's open and check your sight often. Hopefully, I will have some extra cash at the same time one come up.Thank you very much sir.
No need to apologise - my remarks were not directed at you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Guarnera
Regards,
Neil
Gentlemen,
I am a wee bit late to this conversation. Neil Miller strops are a work of art. A work of art produced by a genuine artist. That's the best of all worlds.