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As the title says - please show me your strops that have been a trusty shaving companion for many years! One of the great things about straight shaving is that you only need to buy the right gear once, and can then use it for the rest of your life. Show me some strop 'porn'!
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HOFFRITZ Strop I have used for 30 years. It was old when I got it at a garage sale. Still plenty of life left.
This strop was left to me by my dad who never to my knowledge shaved with a straight razor so I do not know why he had it, but I’m glad I do.
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Great! Looks very well-loved... Don't the bits where the finished leather has worn away damage the edge?Quote:
Originally Posted by bouschie
Beautiful! Is it a sub-brand of Kanayama?Quote:
Originally Posted by DZEC
No. I sanded them down smooth. Those are from my early days so they have been there for some time. Had to restitch handles which are falling apart. It was my only Strop until 2 years ago when I found a clean Red Imp strop cheap on ebay.
There is some thought from members here that it was made by him for export. The butterfly clamp is kind of a giveaway. It is thick and has a very glassy draw. The linen is pristine.
I've got a handful of vintage strops over the years, these two are the only ones currently in use. The Alaskan Seal is really slick. The Timber Tanned has a nice light draw. The beau brummel linen was definitely from a different strop that I paired with the Seal.
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Amazing! Seal leather :dropjaw:
Haha right? I would very surprised if it were real seal skin. It looks and feels more like hide from a land dwelling animal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zwilling
Not that I use it much any more, but here's what I use to use...many O years ago.
My belt that I grew out of, when I was around 20 years old
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The suede side was pasted with red rouge, and Cr/Ox
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This is actually my second belt, I diced up the first one..real good. Better than chopping up a new strop when starting out.
I love it, stropping on your belt. Proper old school. Did you get decent results? Love the dual pastes.
You betcha. Wasn't anything called the web or internet when I started shaving. Was lucky enough to stumble across a straight, while cleaning out an old farmhands, house. I did it all on my own, honing, stropping and shaving. Haven't never looked back at cartridge's, since I was 17 years old.
Cool story outback! I have a strop that kind of looked like your belts. Well used in one spot. It took me months to even it out. Now it is my most used strop. Love the feel on that one. Will post a pic later.
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Here's one of the first strops I made, I guess about 10 years ago, and it has been my daily driver since. No bolster pieces, just fold-over construction. Cowhide, soaked and compressed, treated with neatsfoot, beeswax, and a dash of linseed oil. D rings were from an old climbing harness I had to condemn on a ship because it was past its expiration date, and I thought hey, these would make a real bad@$$ strop.
Whatcha mean soaked and compressed?Quote:
Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors
Just what it says. I soaked the leather for a couple of days. Then I rolled a beer bottle over it and rubbed it out good with a lot of pressure and repeated as the leather dried, and then introduced the mixture when it was nearly dry and before it could start curling. It makes a very nice surface on ordinary cow or steer leather. I cut to final size after aging the treated leather for a couple of weeks, generally. I don't always do that, of course, but I always do when making a strop for myself or for a gift.Quote:
Originally Posted by TwistedOak
Love the look of a well used vintage strop and those secondaries can be great too! They vary quite a bit but I have saved the ones in good condition. Three of them are double leather, the rest your different kinds of linen.Attachment 319803Attachment 319804
This is my most used one by me. Only because it is so smooth! Attachment 319805
40 laps and I'm done. Good o'le Idian pony shell! Original owner must have loved stroping and was very good at. Must have took a very long time to get it this smooth.
Kanoyama 80000, bought used about 6-7 years ago. It’s well polished and has had no ‘treatment’ - I even stopped hand rubbing it since that seemed to make it dirtier.
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Oooooh purty!Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve56
The hardware looks amazing! Nice size too. Impressive!Quote:
Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors
It's not very often that you see a seven day set of STROPS! Well nine, but who's counting... Great collection!Quote:
Originally Posted by Toroblanco
Like a mirror! A thing of beauty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toroblanco
That's it, I am starting a Kanayama piggy bank. I have to have one of these at some stage. Since I only really shave with kamisori's these days, it's the only right choice if I am to upgrade my strop!Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve56
Thanks! Shortly after making that one I started using the more common bolster style construction, with a piece of leather folded through the D ring and the end of the body piece sandwiched between the ends of the folded bolster. It is just more flexible and versatile, and looks better FWIW. Doesn't make it WORK any better tho.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zwilling
Yeah I would love to have a good source for that style D ring. I had a very limited supply and now that is totally dried up because I am retired. I suppose I could have something made in India or Pakistan or some place but meh. I usually manage to find regular heavy duty D rings for a decent price, on ebay or amazon or just searching the various leather vendors or saddle shops. I have never had to resort to flimsy D rings.
