Help me with strop choices please.

To start with. I have a Kanayama. I know, big money for a piece of leather. When I learned to strop without cutting it any more I figured I'd go all out and get a really good one. Now I love my Kanayama 70K but I'd like to find something that has a bit more draw and something I can use when I'm restoring razors so that the Kana can be protected from scratches and not over worked and need cleaned as much and last for years.

I've been eyeballing the choices at SRD. I've figured what has the most draw and such and have contacted them and they said I had it right. Here is what I've come up with...
Most draw is the Premium 3
Step down is Latigo
Even less is Premium 1
And for fast, ROO.

I'd love to buy all 4 but at the price of 350 bucks I just cant swing it. Plus its just getting stupid to buy them all. Well, a serious case or SAD. ha.

So wanting a strop with a little more draw than the Kana, what do you recommend. I guess this should be answered by folks that have a couple of the SRD strops and a few more and possible lots more. LOL

Help.

I have the SRD Latigo and it has a good amount of draw/heavy.

I got to quit looking at the site. Now I'm thinking the Prem 1 and 4 plus the Natural and the Roo. 320 bucks. Price is going down. Ha.
Thanks ejmolitor37 for saying it has heavy draw.

Lately i've had some good luck finding vintage shell strops in great condition on the bay. just a thought

Aloha!

I never could bring myself to paying full boat for a quality strop. I know they are worth the money, but the bargain hunter in me just wouldn't let me spend that kind of coin on a piece of cut leather. I have had very good luck on Craigslist and eBay with used strops. Found a nice slightly used Roo in excellent contition on CL for pennies on the dollar. I don't think the seller knew what he had. Either that or he just wanted it gone at any price. Got my Latigo the same way. An excellent strop in stellar shape for next to nothing. Again, some guys just want them out of the house and/or they don't know what they have.

Because I travel, I check Craigslist whenever I hit a new town to see what's up with strops/razors/accessories and vintage audio (stereo) equipment from the 60s and 70s. This is my other passion. I've been very lucky with this over the years. I've found great shaving equipment and stereo equipment on CL at bargain basement prices while traveling.

But it's up to you, OP. If you just want a quality strop that you know is from a quality seller, that is pristine when you get it, then it's money well spent. If you have some patience, you may get lucky on eBay or CL.

-Zip

I have the premium IV and it has a decent amount of draw but I can only compare it to my Illinois 127 which is slick (I like that as well). You could always buy 1 strop, then buy a replacement leather for the other strops you want to test out. For say a roo strop with premium 3 and latigo replacements is 260. Although I personally would just get a 2" latigo strop if I was in your position

I have a Premium IV. In my opinion it's a very heavy draw. As I've used it the surface has gotten smoother and the draw has increased somewhat over time. Palm oil increases the draw as well. If you're looking for pull the IV should do it.

Thanks guys for the reply's.
Zip, I didn't have much luck on the Bay. Sometimes I get lucky like on the last razor I scored. As you say, he had no idea what he had. But strops ore not going my way as of yet.
Christian, You got a good point there. Buying replacement strops and one full one. I could test a few out this way. I wonder if SRD sells the hardware so I could put together my own with there leather? Bet I could come up with the stuff to do it in town. HUMMMM. Something to think about.

Does anyone know (I didn't see it listed) any horse,Cordoban?

I have the SRD latigo and it's got plenty of draw. Anymore and it would take the razor right out of my hand while stropping. (It actually did a few times).

Gasman:

I have a Cordovan strop. I'd classify the draw as full medium.

I've had more luck by far with Craigslist than with eBay. If you travel make sure you check CL in towns you hit along the way. Much higher chance of finding a great strop or razor or hone for an amazing price on CL than you do on eBay where the bidding process alone will drive up the price.

-Zip

If it's heavy draw you are after, I can recommend napped leather (french style). I have a paddle strop with this kind of surface, and the draw is very heavy indeed.

IF you are going to use it as a workshop strop. get the heavy stuff. The zippy poly secondary.
I go on heavier stuff after honing before going to lighter. Makes a marked difference in first-shave quality.

What width would you get?

Westholme veggie tanned leather has a nice medium to medium light draw. The linen is awesome. It is the same linen as my scruple works linen strop.

sharptonn, I was thinking 3" but all I've used is 2.5 inch and its worked just fine for me so I might just go with the 2.5".

Rez, I'll look into it. Thanks for the recommendation. Guessing you mean vegetable tanned horse hide from Spain? I had gotten a price sheet from them a week ago. Wondering what they consider Barber ends? as you can get it that way or D rings or Handles. In 2.5 110.00 to 160.00. But in 3" its 130.00 to 165.00. Ouch!

Your Kanayama has a "barber end", aka no handle of any kind.

If you want just a little more draw than your Kanayama, I think the SRD English Bridle would fit the bill. When I got mine, she was pretty slick, but with use, the draw has increased slightly... or perhaps it's me?!?! I do have a vintage shell strop that is like greased glass.... slick as all get out. I have a hard time controlling the razor on it.

I used to use Latigo and an Illinois 827 russian (rough side out leather), the latter worked a treat for a freshly honed razor. That Illinois strop took some work to get all the nap off it... I used a sharp blade, sharp edged stick... and finally my DMT 325 which did the trick. If I would have had a coarser diamond hone, I would have used that instead. Once all the semi attached nap is removed, you are left with a tough suede surface that is very nice to strop on. The zippy plastic coated fabric strop also responds very nicely to being thoroughly scrubbed with the DMT 325 which wears off some of the plastic coating and makes it much nicer to strop on. The 827 does have a fair amount of draw, but it's still not as heavy as my latigo strops.

The SRD strops are held together with Chicago screws and regular saddle hardware from what I can see. It should not be difficult to make things up yourself and just buy the strop surfaces from SRD, but I'd ask if I could buy the bits from them anyway.

My SRD strop is 3" and all my other strops are 2.5". Either work fine for me, though I might lean towards the 2.5", just because I'm so used to using that size. Having said that, these days I reach for my 3" SRD English Bridle.... the rest of my strops tend to get ignored.

Regards

Christian

Well, Thanks for your reply Christian. That kind of info is what I'm looking for. Not the the others info wasn't of use. I too am leaning towards the 2.5" as thats what I've used since I started. Still got to mow over a few more things but my choices are getting better now. Not sure that I need a ROO strop. They are very fast but I got the Kanayama for fast if I want.
Lots to think about. I'm still listening if other want to give there report on there SRD strop.
I just realized they only have 2" or 3". No 2.5". Bummer.

I watch his eBay page and occasionally something pops up. I have a veg tanned cow hide. It was less than anything you listed and it has Barber ends. It is very nicely made. I also have a strop by DryGulch that was very affordable.

I have strops of varying draw from Kanayama to an SRD Latigo. If you want heavy, Latigo is nice and inexpensive plus as mentioned you can buy a roo or English bridle piece an exchange as wanted. After honing, I like Neil Miller's linen or the canvas piece from my Kanayama.
For a nice medium draw leather with a linen second I really like Scrupleworks horse.

The Roo and 'Yama are a different kind of 'fast'. The Roo has a lighter, dryer feeling to it if you will.. almost scratchy. I honestly think a well used Kanayama has a medium draw.. at least compared to the Roo or a TM strop.

I think of you grabbed the IV w/poly backing and the Roo w/felt you would have some fairly well varied stropping options.

All IMHO

I bought the SRD 3" Red Latigo with the premium SRD fabric, I'm very pleased with it, had an Illinois strop, no comparison!, I also like the fact that you can order replacement leather and fabric! this strop should last a lifetime! Its worth the investment, I would say the draw on the red latigo is medium-heavy, I think is just right!

Well, this is what i did. Then hid my card for the rest of the year. Ha.
A member here on the site offered me a Tony Miller Bridal #2 with sheath/cover at a decent price. Then i ordered the Latigo, Buffalo and Roo from SRD.
I will have all the stropping covered and at different draws, i hope. Should be good to go now. The secondarys that are with the SRD are 2 of the standard zippy stuff and one of the cloth. Opted out on the felt.

Anyway, thanks to all who posted comments on what they have and now to wait on the mail man. Then to build a rack for the wall behind the door for my strops.

Pics when im done.

Please report when they come in. I'd be most interested in your reviews.

I got them and will be hanging a rack tonight. Found a Tie rack that will hang them nice. I have a hook I use for stropping already. With these being so new, they are just slick! No draw at all. I think they will need stropped on a while before they start to be anything other than slick. Thought about treating them with something but... Dont want to mess anything up right away.
I'll post a pic later tonight when I get this done. This is my Friday on a Friday. Only happens once every 7 weeks.

So, to others that have SRD strops. Where yours slick too when new? Did you treat them with anything or just keep using and only hand rub to break-in?

I recently ordered an Illinois 361. Sitting at home unopened. I return next week. I plan to put a very light rubbing of Neetsfoot oil on it and rub vigorously with my palm. We'll see. Then again, I might only rub with Palm only.

Here is a quick pic of my strops now hanging. I read that no conditioning is needed on a new strop but... I'll hold off and see if they break-in slowly. Good luck on your 361. I thought about going that route (Illinois) but I wanted to give SRD a good try and now I have. I will say that they went above and beyond. Not sure they would want me to share this but...
When I made my order of 3 strops I wanted to try all 3 of the secondary pieces they offer with the strops. But when I made my order, I didn't include the Felt in my order. I contacted them the next say by eMail as it was a Sunday and asked if they could change my order by replacing one of the poly's with the felt. They did this at no extra charge to me. Then it should have been delivered on a Thursday. But I got it on Wednesday. I will be going to them to check if they sell whatever I might be looking for first before looking for the cheapest cost. Fine Folks!Attachment 271897 Attachment 271898
BTW, The lower hook is for stropping. The upper just for storage. Next is to make some of those shocking colored sleeves for them!

I don't want to forget Sharptonn for parting with a English Bridal Tony Miller. It was very kind of him to help me with my StAD.
Now if I can figure out what to do with the 7 secondary strops I have besides leather. Ha. Don't think they make that many types of Cr0x, lead, Diamond paste, ETC... Maybe they do but I'm not sure what to do with them all now. Might give the Lead a try if I can figure out how it works.

I will post a pic on the "what are you working on" thread as i just made socks/sleaves for all my strops.

As far as how the strops are working right now...
The Latigo 8s starting to have a nice draw to it. Not a bunch or excessive but its getting more and more all the time.
The Buffalo (#3) is still silky smooth with no draw. Ive done around 500 laps on it so far.
The Roo, slick as snot. No drag at all and sounds crispy.

Now im no pro when it comes to strops but im thinking things will get more draw with time. I still happy with my purchases and i have to say that the hardware used in these are top notch. I couldnt have found so nice of hardware myself and love how they are working out.

JMHO...

Hey Gasman, after a year with your variety of strops, how do you feel about them?

Wow, i guess it has been about a year. Huh.
I have two favorites. The boar i got from Tom and the Buffalo from SRD. The boar being a 2.5 inch makes it a little more slow to strop on as i have to pay attension to get the X stroke right. The draw is minimal and that is what i find i like. The Buffalo is also a fast strop but being 3" wide i dont have to do the X's so I strop freely at the speed i enjoy. Im not a slow stropper but im not the fastest either. As long as i get it right i do what feels right.

My next fav would be the kanayama 70k. But i try to leave it alone as much as i can. It will last forever this way and i can still enjoy it from time to time. The feel of the 70k strop is like velvet. Hard to imagine a piece of leather feeling this way. And with the old man who makes them getting older all the time, he isnt going to be around for a lot of more years zo im saving it as much as i can. I keep thinking of getting another and keeping it in the box unused, but thats just not me.

So there you go. My opiniin.for what its worth. Im come to the conclusion that stropping and what strop to use is a personnal perferance. What i enjoy may not make the next guy as happy when stropping. I like a fast strop as long as it still holds me back (draw) just a touch. The Roo is just too fast so I do have a limit.

For a while i was trying the progressive stropping. And with me and the fact i can do 300 laps without tiring.worked out fine but i really wasnt seeing any difference in the outcome. Start with a lot of draw and finish with none. Then to the 70k kamayama for the soft finish. It was just a lot of stropping and no help. But as they say, its a personnal opinion. Maybe it works for others, but not me.

With time, that Roo will become like your 70k.
Silky smooth, and fast with a light draw. The plus side of it for me is, it conforms to a smiling razor and eliminates the need to do X strokes.

If you want to lessen the amount of space on your rack, Jerry. Just double your strops together...like this.

Attachment 294103

As for a leaded strop, I prefer flax linen, some prefer it on leather. Its the least aggressive medium, like Cr/Ox. Just polishes the very apex of the bevel. It can be seen in a loupe, and I only use it after a fresh honing, just before the leather progression. ( heavy-fast ). But I've been finding myself going to a Unknown Russian Tanned strop, after the leaded linen, then progressing to others to finish.

Typically 80-100 passes, each strop.

BTW. my Red Latigo has the heaviest draw, next to my Vladimir Savin, Russian strop. Of course its Russian tanned..

Attachment 294104

Like said...to each his own. :tu

My leaded strop is an extra linen piece i got with my kamayama. Ordered an extra one when i bought my 70k. Its been washed and softened up a lot. Hard to get the lead to take to it. Some are not happy with the idea of using lead, but i found it helped calm my edge very nicely lately. I promise i wont lick my razor. Ha.

The Roo is nice for the smiling edge. That is about the only time i use it. Was thinking i might rub a little oil on it. As its pretty dry.

I have two vintage imported shell strops. A Koken & a Jager Barber supply The Koken is thicker & has more draw than the Jager I will do 50 laps on the Koken then 50 on the Jager. The Koken came with a fire hose linen back strop & the Jager with a treated rough out leather strop that I really like. I have treated both the shell strops with Ballistol with fine results. The Jager was very dried out when I paid $5.00 for it at a friends Garage sale.It had hung in his wood shop for 30 years. I slowly treated it with the Ballistol taking about 6 weeks to finish the project. It feels like a new strop no as does the Koken. The secret I have found with dried strops is to take your time. Really take your time!

Dave Huffman

One strop that has a good slick draw is scrupleworks oil tanned torolf describes it has magnetic draw it’s very nice and his linen is lush to use

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gary haywood

One strop that has a good slick draw is scrupleworks oil tanned torolf describes it has magnetic draw it’s very nice and his linen is lush to use

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Just received a 3” version with really nice metal handle and a unique clasp to connect to mounting hardware. I find the linen a bit stiff and imagine it will soften up with use, but the leather is gorgeous. The draw on the leather is heavier than on my Japanese shell, but that one is quite slick. Torolf’s strop will fit perfectly into my stropping sequence.

My Scruppleworks horse hide is very slick also, gotta love them

I wonder if he is using a different source of linen . Linen will get better with use.

Jeez-Now I want some more vintage shell strops to add to my whole row of them-I just want to get as many as Tom.:)

I guess I'm just really discovering this thread. The 1st couple of weeks of school startup before Labor Day is intense but a rush at the same time-suffice to say I've been distracted (and much less stressed than last year!). So if the cool kids are showing off their strop racks, I'll show off mine:
Attachment 294650
I made it last summer from an old rosewood plank and cup hooks from Home Depot. I'm definitely looking to get some more vintage shell, no kidding. I consider myself a great and experienced stropper (to make up for my mediocre honing skills lol); shell is by far my favorite surface, as it is for many guys. Vintage is much less expensive and has the cool factor to boot (please forget this sentence before going back on ebay!) God-are we old geezers or what?:p

It would be interesting to have the history of stropping & what made it popular. Going from stone to leather & cloth is a jump that has never really been talked about much.
Any thoughts or ideas out there??

Dave"Slawman"Huffman

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slawman

It would be interesting to have the history of stropping & what made it popular. Going from stone to leather & cloth is a jump that has never really been talked about much.
Any thoughts or ideas out there??

Dave"Slawman"Huffman

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That would be a great idea for a thread-I have no idea, but I would lose a bet if bronze-age or even stone age (with obsidian flaked blades) peoples weren't dragging edged tools backwards across animal hides to extend their utility. Maybe they even used ash from their fires or some other fine abrasive? :shrug:

Do any of you old guys remember doing this?:p