Thread: Update to Ready to Graduate - Review of Paladin

I made my decision and got a RR Paladin. All the contenders were great, but I had to make a choice and figured the Filly served me so well why not stick with Ken.

I was surprised to see how the strop was packaged, pulled straight in a triangular box the length of the strop -- no curls or folds. The strop didn't come with the canvas strop, which I ordered, but an email to Ken set that straight in a couple of days.

I dont know if the Paladin is a great strop, as I don't have much to compare it to, but it seems to do a great job on my razors, and I took Lynn's advice and went for the 3", which I think is more than a luxury these days. Much easier when you don't have to follow an X pattern.

The draw on the strop is very light, but I tried it on a Gold Dollar, which has never been sharpened since I got it, and it definitely made a difference. I've heard the draw will get a little heavier over time, which is fine with me.

I got the D-rings, which are great, and the construction leads me to believe this strop will easily outlive me. Both the quality of the leather and the hardware is top notch.

I also like the swivals compared to the Filly, which allows the strop to rotate and stay in contact with the blade. The hole in the Filly with the leather ties work, but just doesn't cut it.

The backside of the strop is well finished, and the canvas is really nice. Rather than make a decision among dozens of fabrics, Ken supplies a really nice canvas strop. Looks nice, too, but only comes in a 2" width.

I know there are a lot of really great strops out there, which is what made the decision so hard, but I think I made a good choice, and hopefully my blades will think so too. I still have the pasted backside of the Filly, and I'm open to suggestions as to what to do with the frontside.

Oh, yeah. It also came with a stone and a brush -- nice touch.

I bet it smelt great too!

Just wondering how you are finding it after a few weeks. I have Filly and Paladin too but these days just use the Filly. I found the leather became a bit too stiff and went out of shape. I oiled it and that improved things but decided the filly was less hassle.
I'm going to clean the Paladin and try the lather and glass bottle so if anyone is interested I can report back on the difference.

Cheers,

How was the Filly shipped? Was it pulled straight too?

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

I bet it smelt great too!

Just wondering how you are finding it after a few weeks...

Cheers,

It's still a bit stiff. I agree that the Filly has a much more broken in feel and was much softer out of the box, but the stiffness is supposed to be normal for horsehide, and the strop still works fine.

I'm just gonna rub it with my hand everyday and assume it will break in as everyone has said in other posts.

Originally Posted by Sigurd Aaset

How was the Filly shipped? Was it pulled straight too?

If I remember correctly the Filly was shipped rolled, but it's a lot softer than the Paladin so that wasn't a problem. I've read posts here that claim because the Filly is so soft it makes a good travel strop as it returns to shape quickly.