Thread: Need new strop

Hi guys,

Yesterday I unsuccessfully hooked my Scrupleworks strop, respectively, now in search of a new good one.
I have a Mastro Livi loom strop, but I want a classic strop to replace the Scrupleworks.
I wrote to Alastair (Westholme), he replied that he busy repairing the house and unfortunately he did not take orders until the end of the year.
I think about Kanayama, but there are questions. If Kanayama, which one 70,000/80,000/90,000?
Maybe it's worth the wait, Alastair sometimes lays out his strops for sale on Facebook, but not the fact that that's what I want.
According to Westholme, what is the difference between Westholme Kangaroo strop and Shell Cordovan?

There are many questions, but a strop is needed...

Dimitri, other members with substantial experience will likely weigh in on Kanayamas.

Phrank may be a good resource on Alastair's 'roo strop, as he recently acquired one.

While I know Alastair is pretty much out of commission for the next year while he's working on his house, I have both his Cordovan and new Heavy Horse Horween strops. Both are superb strops, the linen they come with is fantastic, and I love using both strops--they are a joy to use and Alastair's craftsmanship is impeccable!

His Cordovan has a light, fast draw while his Heavy Horse (HH) is a medium. The Cordovan finish tends to show use far easier than the HH (for example, I only strop razors with spine work on my HH).

He came out with his HH not long before he started his recent strop sabbatical, so not many are floating around that I know of.



If you decide not to do Kanayama, I'd suggest finding a decent filler strop and waiting until Alastair is up and running again...from my point of view, it's truly worth the wait. Plus, he'll customize, which isn't possible with a Kanayama.

I have tried all of the strops that Alastair has and currently have one of his cordovan and love it, I also have an older Kanayama 50 and love it as well, I have seen where some of the newer Kanayama strops have some quality issues but not all of them so check with the vendor on returns if you go that route, tony miller also produces a great strop for a great price

The Kanayama strops are all the same quality as far as the surface goes. As you go up the line they become thicker and you get a second leather strop and then they become longer with the 90K. I have the #3 and the 90K and there is absolutely no difference in quality. His fabric strop leaves much to be desired in my opinion.

I highly recommend Tim Miller as well and hope to be on the waitlist for a Westholme Cordovan when Alastair gets going again.

Why not another Scrupleworks? I absolutely love mine!!

Originally Posted by Robini

Why not another Scrupleworks? I absolutely love mine!!

I had one and like it a lot but then Torolf changed hardware and I don’t care for the hardware he uses, Tony Miller has great strops

Hi

I just received my new Kanayama 70k strop today. I can say that the quality looks excellent and there aren’t any obvious defects. I am relatively new to straight razor shaving so I am not as qualified as others on the board, but I really like my strop so far....

Steve

Originally Posted by Robini

Why not another Scrupleworks? I absolutely love mine!!

Scrupleworks I have and this is the strop that I cut a little. Although I think that the strop can be repaired, the cuts are not very deep. In addition, I want to try the strop of another master, too.
I guess I'll wait for Alastair when he starts taking orders, but for now I have a Mastro Livi loom strop, and I'll also try to repair my Scrupleworks .

Originally Posted by Navarrsky

Scrupleworks I have and this is the strop that I cut a little. Although I think that the strop can be repaired, the cuts are not very deep. In addition, I want to try the strop of another master, too.
I guess I'll wait for Alastair when he starts taking orders, but for now I have a Mastro Livi loom strop, and I'll also try to repair my Scrupleworks .

Dmitri, strops are like everything else in shaving, they are all different and different people will have a preference for the one they prefer. I have several (Livi, Neil Miller Shell, Scrupleworks, Tony Miller, Westholme, and Kanayama) and enjoy using each one. Any one wold be enough to get the job done, but like razors, soaps, and brushes, I enjoy using a variety. Bison also makes a quality strop, and the Pegasus strops from The Imperial Shave are about as good as you can get. If I didn't already have a quality cordovan shell, I'd get one of theirs.