Thread: 1st Post - 1st Strop - Black Beauty Horse Hide

Hi all, 1st Post

I am a DE user but am pretty keen on getting into real traditional shaving. I have a feather Artist DE but want to go old school.

Anyway,I was in an antique shop today and found a strop that looked in new or almost new condition. A bit of rust on the metal fittings and the leather on both sides looks almost unused.

THe labeling says - Black beauty on the top, Genuine Horse Hide on the front side, and Junior on the handle. The back side has an embossed type feels to it. Dots and line gradation.

I paid $20 Australian

THere are no cracks but I think it needs a bit of leather conditioner, I have some good quality leather preservative - should I use this?

Cheers

Jase

Hi Jase

first short answer : Yes

but here is the longer one : every first strop will eventually be kinda ruined!

the strop technique/motion has to be acquired, and it often result in nicks and cuts on the leather.
Moreover, to tweak a leather to make it "strop ready" (i think i just forged the expression!) is kinda difficult.
what i mean is that u want an even, kinda soft surface.
You could apply some leather product, but be careful, i just answered to a guy who applied too much Neatsfoot (neetsfoot?) oil and wondered what to do. uhhh, well, it also happened to me before so......

The best way to help yourself would be to compare to a good quality new strop. Then you would have a benchmark.

Remember you can also always palm strop with your hand (look for my "palm stropping" thread)

I have had a couple of Black Beauties - really good strops they are too! I believe they are/were made in Australia? The older ones all seem to be made of heavyweight horse hide, quite thick, with leather on both sides like the one you have described, with yellow contrast-stiching. Some had abrasive grit impressed into the leather on one side, while the other ("finish") side is smooth.

The ones I have seen all appear to have been pre-conditioned and were more supple and pliant than you would expect ordinary horse hide to be, which is a good thing. If the leather looks new you don't have to worry about nicks or cuts, but you will want to bend it about a bit to make sure that there are no cracks - you can't remedy cracks and crazing.

Regards,
Neil

Welcome to the world of straight shaving!

The strop sounds like a good catch, lucky guy! Good luck and have fun.

Originally Posted by LesPoils

Hi Jase

first short answer : Yes

but here is the longer one : every first strop will eventually be kinda ruined!

the strop technique/motion has to be acquired, and it often result in nicks and cuts on the leather.
Moreover, to tweak a leather to make it "strop ready" (i think i just forged the expression!) is kinda difficult.
what i mean is that u want an even, kinda soft surface.
You could apply some leather product, but be careful, i just answered to a guy who applied too much Neatsfoot (neetsfoot?) oil and wondered what to do. uhhh, well, it also happened to me before so......

The best way to help yourself would be to compare to a good quality new strop. Then you would have a benchmark.

Remember you can also always palm strop with your hand (look for my "palm stropping" thread)

I disagree, honestly... If you take it slow, and practice with a butterknife/dull razor, you don't always ruin the first... I started on a TM Practice strop (nothing before that) and it was in mint condition (except for flexing) when I sent it to Fletcherfam, mar-less. I moved off of that one after using it for a month, now I use a TM Latigo, TM Horsehide and SRD Bridle, and -since it's been a few months- each has a nick or two at the extreme edges, but I have yet to ruin a strop....

Now that I've posted that, I'll probably end up cheese-grating a strop tomorrow on accident >.<

*knock on wood*

Sorry to derail the topic, but that strop sounds like a great find... I'd say rub in a little Neat's Foot Oil if it is kinda stiff or dry, but that should be all it needs...

Good luck!

Welcome to SRP. I hang my strop on a door knob with a cable tie, or zip tie as it is sometimes called. This puts it waist high for me which is about where a professional barber would hang theirs.

Here is an excerpt from a 1961 barber manual the last couple of pages are devoted to stropping and if you follow the suggestions it should be very helpful.

Rubbing the strop with the palm of the hand imparts natural oils and may be all that it needs.... or maybe it may need cleaning and moisturizing . You'll have to be the judge of that.

Here is the SRP Wiki where you'll find the beginner's guide and more.

Thanks for the info Gentlemen.

Hey, JimR - I like your avatar, did you know that apparently Musashi had such bad exma he couldn't shave or wear a top-knot??

Cheers

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I have had a couple of Black Beauties - really good strops they are too! I believe they are/were made in Australia? The older ones all seem to be made of heavyweight horse hide, quite thick, with leather on both sides like the one you have described, with yellow contrast-stiching. Some had abrasive grit impressed into the leather on one side, while the other ("finish") side is smooth.

Regards,
Neil

Yup, made in Oz. Mine is stamped "A.H. Christian & Son N.S.W. Solid Hide"
Not horse, but served me well since 1983 It's retired now