Thread: My new "Old No. 2" strop

I just thought I would share some photos of my new strop, an "Old No. 2" by Tony Miller (heirloomrazorstrop.com). I got the linen option (cotton is available too), and the handle (you can also get it with a D ring, or a plain square end). I'm very happy with it. The quality is superb.

Tony is a great guy who makes nice strops. He is a credit to the wet shaving community.

Yes he does great work, I have 2 of his strops and 2 extra linens lol.... enjoy it...

Matt...

I have that strop, used it for a number of years an excellent surface including the linen.

I picked up a 2-1/2"-wide "Plain Vanilla" strop that was on sale from him recently. It has a nice, light draw and feel. I removed the D-rings and the leather cap on the bottom of the leather piece to use it more like a traditional square-cut barber's strop. Works great like that, and Tony has been great about follow-up comments and questions.

Enjoy your strop. It looks great!

Thanks.

And Tony told me that the hardware on each end is easily changed. You can also switch from a handle at the bottom to the D-ring. And going to the "barbers' style" square end as you did sounds even easier.

You're welcome, fwiw, and my take on things of course. The reason I remove the D-rings is that they are quite heavy and cumbersome, held together. If one uses just the leather with the D-ring, leaving the cotton strop with D-ring to hang down, then the latter will start to swing like a pendulum during the leather-stropping process, providing a distraction. Best to hold the elements together for normal leather stropping, which benefits from a plain square-end. For touch-ups, when the cotton element is used on occasion, it's best to leave the leather to hang while pulling the cotton element a bit more taut than with the leather. Used this way, without D-rings or handles, the cotton element tends to fray at the bottom, so it seems better to keep the leather cap with it, minus the D-ring or handle, securing the leather cap with the Chicago screws.

I do use a seam sealer on my cloth components but with much handling the ends will eventually start to fray from wear.

For me, this is the last word in strops. The best.

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

I do use a seam sealer on my cloth components but with much handling the ends will eventually start to fray from wear.

Good to know. I'm still going to keep the leather cap on it as this protects it further.