Thread: Oh Boy!

Wow I'm really excited.

I just got off the phone with my friend in Japan who just came home from his vacation. He's an avid mountain climber and was in Tibet to do some hiking and climbing. Over the years as fellow watch enthusiasts he has sourced many pieces for me and I've gotten him interested in wet shaving and actually it was he who got some of the first Tosukes to make it to these shores, but I digress.

He told me he was hiking through some small town and passed by this house and there was this elderly man shaving with a straight as he passed so he stopped and they struck up a conversation and while talking about straights he noticed the man's strop hanging there. It seemed like the most wonderful strop he had ever seen in his life. It was massively thick. A half an inch thick yet it was so soft and supple, almost an impossibility. As they talked the old man said he makes these strops. Not in any quantity but for his family and friends. He said the process goes back many generations in his family.

He uses Yak Hide and has some process where he combines hides so they actually wield themselves into one piece. Then after initial tanning he goes to his back yard where he has several dead animals and flogs the dead animals on and off for weeks. This is the special process. Apparently the blood and putrefaction process and bacteria and gases and oils is what really does the trick. Then he cleans it up and lovingly dresses the strop and hand tools the edges with local artwork. The strops are hanging strops about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. They have hangers purported to be from the gut of the yeti.

My friend always with an eye towards commerce said he would love to obtain some for sale. The old man said maybe he could produce a group of ten such beauties over a period of months.

So you guys have to move fast before one of those ever present, vigilant and nosy moderators remove this post as a sales thread.

The only problem is money has no value to this man where he lives everything is on a barter basis. He said what he'd do is if you have any familiy members who are young and can work hard in high altitude he'll take them for 3 months to work off the debt.

If your interested let me know asap.

Yak yak yak yak ......

I'd sign myself up but I'm going to be busy crawling around in a box full of fire ants. Sounds like big fun, though.

Only three months? Sounds like a bargain.

Yak hide. Hell, I'm interested. I guess you use what you have on hand pertaining to that region. So long as they don't start coming up with Yeti strops. We will require pics...

I'M in if OK.

Wait a while before you tell my kids that they have been committed......

Thanks!!

Lynn

3 months to work off the debt, heh?

Let me pull up the calculator here...

Holy Moly...that's an ~$80,000 strop!!!!!!!

Well, step aside Eschers. We have a new Winner.

OK ... I was really expecting you to say the guy was shaving with a Dubl Duck Vesuvius. Oh well ... you'll have to save that find for another exotic trip.

Anyway, with regard to the YAK Strop, I'll take one !!!

And now ... Strop all that Yakking!

I have three strops that were my Great Grandfather's, and one of them is Yak, or at least that is what is stamped on it. I'll take a closer look this evening.

I think I can do without the dead critter flogging. I believe our chain is being jerked.

My oldest son just spent a year studying in Nepal. 3 month's in Tibet! I'm in