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!!

The strops that are being offered by SRD are very high quality strops. Excellent craftsmanship and they have a nice variety of 2.5 and 3” wide strops. I use a SRD English Bridle Long and it is a beautiful strop and really does a nice job. Light to medium draw.

Originally Posted by Legman

The strops that are being offered by SRD are very high quality strops. Excellent craftsmanship and they have a nice variety of 2.5 and 3” wide strops. I use a SRD English Bridle Long and it is a beautiful strop and really does a nice job. Light to medium draw.

Unless they've changed recently, SRD only offers 2" and 3" strops.

I have to agree. Have quite a few strops old and new from many vendors but I find I always attach one of Lynn's SRD 3 inch strops after trying something else out. I may have about 12 of his of various qualities and materials and they're all wonderful. Even after destroying a handful of them early on as I was learning all this I was able to recondition them all using a bit of sandpaper and some Neetsfoot oil. The price for replacement leathers is nice as well.

Alternatively I also built a few home made hanging strops. A little tough to find just the right hardware but once you've found a good source, it's simply a matter of finding the right leather, cutting it to size and poking the holes in the right places and then assemble it all. It's tough o go wrong with the 3 inch SRD strops.

Razor Emporium has all the parts you need for strops both 2" and 3" the holes line up perfectly with SRD strops. You can get handles, buckles, screws, clips, rings, etc. I recently ordered some parts from them and a piece of their fabric weave. I had replaced the leather on my SRD Long 3" English Bridle. It had some nicks and scratches etc. and I restored it same as you and added some Neatsfoot oil. Since my strop was the long version I had to cut it to regular length and punch new holes. I out it together for a friend who wants to begin shaving with a straight razor.