My firehose strop from Gabriel

I got this strop from Gabrielcr78 for about 2 months. This is my first hanging strop and is a massive upgrade over the basic bench strop I got from ClassicEdge. I'm a newbie, so my opinion is worth only so much, but here's what I think.

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It is a 2.5" fine cowhide with a flax linen firehose. It came with a few indentations in the linen, a by-product of the shipping.
As a side-effect of this discovery Gabriel told me he's sending strops flat from then on. Learning is not always fun. :banghead:

I really like that leather. It is very smooth but not too much - if that makes sense. I feel it does a great job on my razors and gives me a satisfying sound when I pull the strop juuuuust right.
I asked Gabriel not to burnish it, so it was 'only' sanded at roughly 2000 grit. This is on purpose, as I want a strop that will do its job faster (but may not leave the edge as smooth as it could).

I've flattened the linen and it is much better now I was glad it was made with Chicago screws at that moment!
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I'm not using the fire hose much yet (call that 'baby steps'). The hardware is sturdy and the hook pivots smoothly.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with my this strop. I consider it 'future proof' - I have great materials in place for when I'm ready for the next level of stropping.
I know that I can burnish it if I so choose. And I know I can fix it if I ever cut it (heavens forbid!)

Gabe is very knowledgeable of his craft. That made the ordering a bit difficult for me, since I'm a n00b and I just wanted 'a good strop' and as he was giving me ALL the options. But he was very patient and helped me understand what the choices meant. So I feel like I've actually gotten an optimal strop for its price point.

Very nice looking strop

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I like it, I might have to find one for myself someday. ;)
Should give you years of use and abuse!

Hopefully not too much abuse!

Very nice! :tu Gabe makes a very nice strop.

Nice strop there! Everything I've seen from Gabe on here so far has looked really nice. Happy stroppin'!

You got a great strop from Gabe. And you are correct in not moving to it until you feel comfortable doing it. That strop will serve you for a very, very long time.

You may want to consider just doing the daily palm rubbing on the leather even before you begin using a blade against the strop.

My personal preference is square cut ends or barbers ends if you will. But that is just how I learned to strop and have stuck with it.

Nice work Gabe.

Thanks Marc!, I'm glad you liked the strop, and yes, I apologize that the linen got some wrinkles.. it's because of your feedback that I completely changed the way I ship the strops now.. totally flat.

I'm really happy you could remove the piece of linen and flatten it down.. normally the Chicago screws make up for easy component replacement if cut.. but they prove again that it's a good deal all around!

And I agree with Bob and others in this thread. That thick piece of treated leather will serve you well for many years as well as the gold old vintage linen firehose!!

cheers!