If he can do it, so can you; do yourself a favor and make a JimboRoo
The first thing I noticed about Jimbo's kangaroo leather strop is the consistent, mild draw that is present along the entire length and width of the strop on every kind of shave ready razor I have. The full hollow does not get bogged down in the strop and yet the wedge has nearly the same feel. The feedback is neither overbearing nor subtle. The leather is effortlessly pulled taut without any noticeable springiness or stretch and really does put a nice smooth edge on a blade.
As the leather is so thin, the strop is lightweight. The leather is not as soft as my Well Shaved Gentleman latigo strop, but not as stiff as my Illinois strop. Stropping on it is wonderful. It feels somewhat slick even with the moderate draw which is an odd sensation. This seems to allow for high stropping speed without sacrificing the great contact with the razor edge. I haven't been counting the number of laps I've been using, but either because the strop is so light and easily pulled tight or because I am stropping faster or because the strop is just more efficient, I can tell the razor is good to go before I am ready to stop stropping!
I let out a groan this morning as I nicked one end of the strop. It was a curious experience, as the poked leather did not seem to want to peel away or flap up like my latigo strop always did. Rather, the cut seems more like a very thin and very shallow crack in the leather. Notice all the verys (veries?) I just used.
I am trying now to determine whether or not I still need my linen strop. I hope I will know within a month or two.
Thanks Jimbo
PS Jimbo's handiwork is not to be sneezed at either. It has a definite home-made feel without the sloppiness you might expect of a kindergartner. This one has welded D rings riveted into both ends, and is actually two separate attached strips of leather allowing two treated stropping surfaces.
AHSRS - Advanced Hoglahoo Strap Rating System (tm)
Feedback: !!!!!
Speed: !!!!!
Durability: !!!!
Portability: !!!!!
Size: 16" stropping length, 60 mm stropping width (~2.5"), and thickness 1 mm per strip
Craftsmanship: 100% Jimbo
Firsthand information about the making of the strop in this review may be found here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...-kangaroo.html
The review can also be found here with ratings: http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...-jimboroo.html
Thanks Jimbo!