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Thread: Shell strops
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09-12-2013, 10:19 PM #1
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- Jul 2010
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- Lancaster, Ca. high desert
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- 92
Thanked: 4Shell strops
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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09-12-2013, 10:26 PM #2
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- Mar 2012
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- Baden, Ontario
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- 5,475
Thanked: 2284I 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.
Burls, Girls, and all things that Swirl....
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09-12-2013, 10:46 PM #3
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 readNet.Wt.7oz
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09-12-2013, 10:54 PM #4
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- Mar 2012
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- Baden, Ontario
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Thanked: 2284There'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 StoreBurls, Girls, and all things that Swirl....
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09-13-2013, 12:21 AM #5
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- Apr 2008
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- Essex, UK
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- 3,816
Thanked: 3164Nope - 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.
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
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The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to Neil Miller For This Useful Post:
Chevhead (09-13-2013), cudarunner (09-13-2013), HARRYWALLY (09-13-2013), Hirlau (09-13-2013), lz6 (09-13-2013), pixelfixed (09-13-2013), ScottGoodman (09-13-2013), Steel (07-02-2018)
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09-13-2013, 12:27 AM #6
Send Neil the PM. The strop is well worth the $ and worth the wait.
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The Following User Says Thank You to JimmyHAD For This Useful Post:
Neil Miller (09-13-2013)
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09-13-2013, 12:34 AM #7
If it's quality that you want & you already have a name in mind, then it makes sense to "reach out" to that person.
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The Following User Says Thank You to Hirlau For This Useful Post:
Neil Miller (09-13-2013)
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09-13-2013, 12:44 AM #8
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- Mar 2012
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- Baden, Ontario
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- 5,475
Thanked: 2284I 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.
Burls, Girls, and all things that Swirl....
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The Following User Says Thank You to HARRYWALLY For This Useful Post:
Neil Miller (09-13-2013)
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09-13-2013, 12:47 AM #9
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- Jan 2011
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- Roseville,Kali
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Thanked: 2027Neils Post is spot on,one man show dealing with natural materials is not an easy row to hoe.
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The Following User Says Thank You to pixelfixed For This Useful Post:
Neil Miller (09-13-2013)
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09-13-2013, 01:04 AM #10
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- Apr 2008
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- Essex, UK
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- 3,816
Thanked: 3164Sorry I confused you with your grandad, Andrew!
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.