Thread: Kanayama Cordovan Strop 90000 - Not the quality it used to be

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

Since it's been a month I sent an e-mail to the vendor without hearing anything back, I would like to advise anyone that you order from japanesenaturalstones.com at your own risk. I do not wish to bad mouth anyone, but I will express my disappointment with that shop.

Quality control before shipping his product(s) didn't happen, as there was obvious damage to the box that housed the strop and no damage to the box it was shipped in, and after contacting him his customer service is non existent in my case.

I heard good things about Maxim in the past but I am highly disappointed with his service.
I didn't expect him to fix anything and I didn't request that he did, but just sending an e-mail back would've sufficed to acknowledge the problem with the strop.
Costly mistake.

Last time I emailed him he never responded. I thought his customer serviced was poor and it seems like once he has your sale he's not interested

I've heard from a few gents that Maxim is a charlatan.

Cannot disagree with the previous posts as I'm 100% positive he saw others and my mail and willingly ignored us.
Not responding is also a response.
All his orders and paypal payments go straight to his same e-mail as his contact e-mail, so yeah. Cannot recommend.

I’ve been following this thread and I’m not sure that I agree that the quality has decreased over time, so I will post the dissenting opinion for discussion sake.

There certainly is strop-to-strop variation in color and finish. As evidence, I offer 5 Kanoyama strops bought over a period of 10 years or so. All were bought new except the 80k on the left, so I don’t know if it’s had dressing put on it or not by the previous owner. I think that I’ve put a little Dovo strop paste on it maybe 7 years ago. Left to right, used 80k, 80k, 70k, 30k, 3k (Takeshi’s old basic model). I also have an ultra cheap $75-ish model with a handle from Fendrihan but it’s in a travel case somewhere.

Anyway, if your strop is grainy feeling, rub it with a nagura or sand it with 2k sandpaper or finer. Or both. It isn’t the leather, it’s the finish. If it’s too light in color, you could try rubbing it with a wet cloth then letting it dry. This will rise a nap so you’ll want to rub it with a nagura if you don’t like that but the nap will wear off with use.

If you see shiny specks on the surface, that could be the gold leaf coming off, especially around the edges of the imprint on a new strop. Wipe these off.

I have not had any issue with any Kanoyama strop over 10 years, though I know of some folks that have had some issues with a particular strop.

They were bought in this order over time; used 80k, about 10 years ago, #3 about 9 years ago as a backup, 70k and 30k about 5 years ago, and the last 80k about 2-3 years ago.

All of them are smooth and slick, but I do burnish them with a nagura. If your strop feels grainy, get out a nagura and give it a good polish. You’ll have to de-glaze your nagura after this. I keep an older nagura from Max just for strop duty and it works great.

A lot of things can affect the color of the leather, the horse naturally, but how fine the leather is finished to will affect the color too. If you’ve ever sanded a strop, you know that when you go to finer grits the leather darkens considerably, especially from 600 up. Fats will cause it to darken, so if you apply fats on a regular basis, even small amounts, the leather will darken over time. I also suspect that exposure to light might darken it too. BTW, none of these strops has ever had any fat on them except the 80k on the left, and they’re all in as-new condition. I never put any oil or fat on cordovan as recommended by Iwasaki and Naomi San.

You either like or dislike the finish of the strop. That is perfectly OK. But a wavy, cupped strop as Tristan received is an issue that shouldn't happen with an expensive high-end strop.

Originally Posted by Kees

You either like or dislike the finish of the strop. That is perfectly OK. But a wavy, cupped strop as Tristan received is an issue that shouldn't happen with an expensive high-end strop.

I very much agree!

I do wonder if the wavy/cupping is a transportation/storage thing.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Some sort of dressing seemed indeed an issue, although, with some work that worked out fine. Not sure why that happened, my other one didn't have this problem.
A lot of shiny little coats came off, and I mean a lot of it, but that seems gone now.
Little specks in the leather seem ok too. Still feels plastic-y to strop on though, not a fun feeling.
I had to literally scrape the strop with a razor, there was a proper layer of something that needed to be removed.

The leather itself was rough and damaged near the top half, I wish I had taken a picture to show. The other part is perfect nice leather.

I rubbed the rough part with a nagura, I scraped it with a razor, I did everything, but the leather was rough and grainy and I guarantee it was purely the leather itself. No way of fixing that. It was DEEP in the leather. clearly a leather issue. And even if it was a finish issue, which it could be, how unacceptable is that on the HIGHEST end strop they make? someone's QC has not done its job and it shouldn't be up to me to do it in their place.

I have cut off that piece and the rest is fine, although it's a much shorter strop now. and I feel I didn't get all of it, the difference when you hit the grainy leather is immediate while stropping.

My strop was certainly damaged because of faulty storing method by the seller.
The white box the strop came in was DAMAGED, while the box he shipped in was NOT. Go figure.
My strop had a fold / dent in it that pushed the edge of the strop in towards the middle, like it was sitting against something in storage; luckily the leather is so supple that it looks to not have done any permanent damage. But that's no way to send out a strop; quality control by the seller? Non-existent. Dude was just lucky he sold it and shipped it as quickly as he could.

My strop remains cupped and irregular over its length, holding it in my hand manipulating it while stropping takes decent care of it, but still.

It still feels night and day difference compared to my old Kanayama. I don't like this feeling in comparison. This feels like platic, while my other one feels velvety smooth.

My other one feels like a dream, perfectly smooth, perfect draw, a highly effective strop that delivers buttery smooth edges. This one does not, maybe after breaking in?

I have my eyes set on another 80K from a different seller; if it's still there next month I'm buying it. I'm very curious.

I bought the last 90K he had in stock, clearly something fishy was up with the strop.
The overall feel, fit and quality doesn't add up for me, at all.

I don't trust this seller in the slightest bit and will not recommended anyone to buy or deal with him. I'm more mad now than I was weeks ago.
He takes your money and runs, he doesn't reply or answer to your mails, has no responsibility and no honor. He simply ignores you, but takes your money without a problem. And he sells expensive stuff, too. I don't mind if the stuff he sells is at least quality checked and up to standards, but this was not and it maddens me. He hasn't made the slightest effort to do anything, which annoys me. Not even an e-mail back.
Who knows what happened or what he has done to the strop?

It's that I like my other Kanayama so much I'm willing to spend the money for another one. Although this has been a costly endeavor. And somehow the entire things does get me mad I notice now. But that's probably because I had a mishap with my old Kanayama strop.

That's tough to hear about your experience with Maxim... I have had opposite experiences where he quickly replaced a stone which developed a hairline crack, letting me keep the original which I repaired using CA glue.

I'm noticing a couple long term vendors seem to be struggling and resorting to desperation tactics (Jared's antics, etc.... can't help but notice his store TSS is no longer stocking the wide variety of items it used to...). Seems like hard times out there for some folks...

Originally Posted by HungeJ0e

That's tough to hear about your experience with Maxim... I have had opposite experiences where he quickly replaced a stone which developed a hairline crack, letting me keep the original which I repaired using CA glue.

I'm noticing a couple long term vendors seem to be struggling and resorting to desperation tactics (Jared's antics, etc.... can't help but notice his store TSS is no longer stocking the wide variety of items it used to...). Seems like hard times out there for some folks...

I can understand that, it's still no reason or excuse for their behavior.
They're killing their own business faster this way. IF that is even the problem.
It also forms my opinion about their person.

I sent him an e-mail with pictures and questions. I didn't even ask him to replace or fix anything. Just asked for his advice via e-mail and a simple acknowledgement that the strop was not up to standard. But nothing. I can't say our experiences have been similar with Maxim.

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

I can understand that, it's still no reason or excuse for their behavior.
They're killing their own business faster this way. IF that is even the problem.
It also forms my opinion about their person.

I sent him an e-mail with pictures and questions. I didn't even ask him to replace or fix anything. Just asked for his advice via e-mail and a simple acknowledgement that the strop was not up to standard. But nothing. I can't say our experiences have been similar with Maxim.

No that would sour my mouth too... My purchase was about 2 years ago... not trying to excuse the actions you are relaying...

Heck even Keith Johnson on Etsy is no longer stocking the wide variety of Nagura, and stone sets he used to...