Thread: Kanayama stroppers happy??

Originally Posted by ReardenSteel

If I maybe so bold to type this for some of the other members who have already posted their thoughts on these strops, to each their own and no harm, no foul.

Although my first post in this thread was very cynical I never said that these strops are not worth it to some people, only that they are not worth it to me.

Originally Posted by doolie

Actually I do agree that "value comes when something is more than just the sum of its parts." The Voice of Fire is a very black and white example and if you look up the painting I'm talking about I think you'll agree. If a Picasso were worth more than $50m to me then of course it would be worth me spending my hard earned $50m on it. The thing is the Picasso isn't worth $50m to me and I'm not going to agree that something is worth it's selling price solely based on someone else's opinion.

If it's worth more than the selling price to you, buy it and bask in the happiness of your purchase. If it's worth less than the selling price to you, don't buy it and enjoy the money in your pocket. And personally, I wouldn't buy one of these even if I had a ton of disposable income.

I think in a roundabout way, we may be saying the same thing .I understand where you are coming from Doolie. If you ever get the chance to see or feel this strop, I encourage you to do so...no need to buy or commit or anything, just feel it.

It's all good .

We are saying the same thing, that value or worth is of personal opinion; just from different sides of the fence. To you the value outweighs the price, to me the price outweighs the value. Maybe if I saw and felt one of these strops I would be floored and my opinion of it would change. But until then....

Honestly, I felt the same exact way Doolie, and money wasn't an issue at the time. 400.00 for a strip of leather 3in wide and 66cm long? I could buy an entire Jacket for that..and a really nice jacket at that...I was very happy with my other strops, Yes, I have other strops. I have a problem..
Don't get me started on Filarmonica, Dubl Ducks, and Puma's..Forget about Customs...

.Anyway...All that changed when I broke down and bought a Kanayama. I'm no stranger to going overboard, splurging, whatever you want to call it. I like nice things...I went back and forth pm'ing some guy in Oz, preaching to me about Kanayama...I told him, I didn't care how nice it was, I'm not spending 400 bucks on a strop, but I did, I had to see for myself...

I'm the first to admit when I'm wrong, and I was. The Kanayama strop is a thing of beauty. It's so nice, I don't want to use it. Sounds silly, but it's true...When you see the little old Japanese man who creates them, it's awe inspiring...Men like Naomi san take great pride in their work and it shows in these strops. He is true master craftman. When you spend that much money on a strop, and you get it, You know immediately that it's worth every penny and you wind up thanking them....

Rich

Kanoyama strops are very nice. Like Lynn said, they have a nice vintage quality to them due to the fact that they are made by a person that made strops back when straight razor shaving was more prevalent.

They are expensive for a number of reasons: the leather is a premium leather (said to be "Cordovan"), they are made by hand in small numbers, and they are shipped out of Japan (this adds cost to those in the US and elsewhere). For the premium models, you are getting two strops and a linen component, with the "Cordovan" strop being made of a rarer, thicker piece of leather.

Some people like that these strops are very unique. The tanning process is completely unique to these strops. Also, I am sure some people like that the strops are made in Japan. These people may be Japanophiles, or just like the "exotic" aspect of owning a Western style product made in an Eastern country.

Most people that buy these strops do not buy one of the premium models (70K, 80K, 90K). The maker sells strops that seem to cost between $150-$400 from what I have seen, which gives a little leeway for different budgets.

I am not sure I buy the "love and care" argument for making purchases, as I believe this is a mind trick a person plays on their self to justify a purchase. It is very hard to tell if a manufacturer (from a single person to a large operation) loved or cared about their work. It is far better to judge the quality of a product, as no assumptions are made by doing so. Typically, a quality product is made by people who somewhat care about their work, but you'll never know to what extent they cared about their work. Judging whether a person loves their work is impossible unless you interact with that person.

Personally, I like the strops just for their vintage qualities. I do, however, believe that the strops should be used instead of collected, but I do understand why some people just have them to have them.

As with any hyped product, it is always good to ask if the product is what you want the product to be. The answer to that question can only be answered by each individual and will be unique to each individual.

I would so love to buy one. I have four strops now, and dont really need another one. but to spend $350 on a strop and constantly be worried that im going to nick or discolour the thing is to much pressure. My Hand American is absolutely beautiful dark cordovan leather. It started to wear at the bottom right of the strop discoloring it. I almost died of a heart attack. Needless to say, that I have overcome that dispair and started using it. So far no nicks though.

damm my file work on my custom livi spine has scratched my kanayama leather slightly.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

damm my file work on my custom livi spine has scratched my kanayama leather slightly.

I learned the hard way on my Premium 1. I have a default strop for all worked spines that might possibly damage the surface of the strop.

Originally Posted by altshaver

Kanoyama strops are very nice. Like Lynn said, they have a nice vintage quality to them due to the fact that they are made by a person that made strops back when straight razor shaving was more prevalent.

They are expensive for a number of reasons: the leather is a premium leather (said to be "Cordovan"), they are made by hand in small numbers, and they are shipped out of Japan (this adds cost to those in the US and elsewhere). For the premium models, you are getting two strops and a linen component, with the "Cordovan" strop being made of a rarer, thicker piece of leather.

Some people like that these strops are very unique. The tanning process is completely unique to these strops. Also, I am sure some people like that the strops are made in Japan. These people may be Japanophiles, or just like the "exotic" aspect of owning a Western style product made in an Eastern country.

Most people that buy these strops do not buy one of the premium models (70K, 80K, 90K). The maker sells strops that seem to cost between $150-$400 from what I have seen, which gives a little leeway for different budgets.

I am not sure I buy the "love and care" argument for making purchases, as I believe this is a mind trick a person plays on their self to justify a purchase. It is very hard to tell if a manufacturer (from a single person to a large operation) loved or cared about their work. It is far better to judge the quality of a product, as no assumptions are made by doing so. Typically, a quality product is made by people who somewhat care about their work, but you'll never know to what extent they cared about their work. Judging whether a person loves their work is impossible unless you interact with that person.

Personally, I like the strops just for their vintage qualities. I do, however, believe that the strops should be used instead of collected, but I do understand why some people just have them to have them.

As with any hyped product, it is always good to ask if the product is what you want the product to be. The answer to that question can only be answered by each individual and will be unique to each individual.

I am curious as to the rational behind some of these posts. Kanoyama strops have their own identity, but to say that their process is unique is a very long stretch and not really factual. Cordovan tanning was developed in Cordoba Spain long before the the Kanayama makers were alive. Horween also makes Shell cordovan which is different form the horse butts used by Kanayama, and they are older than the makers of the Kanayama strops. However, they don't claim to be the only cordovan tanners in the world, nor do they make strops. Horween also makes a chrome tanned leather that is use in certain shoes that feels almost exactly like the Kanayamas, it scratches easily also, but Horween shaves the weight of them down to 5-7oz whereas the Kanayama strops in the higher numbers are just thicker peices of fine horse butt. NOne the less, they feel very similar. Let's not also forget that Hand American has Horween make a cordovan tanned horse butt (not shell) that is used to produce the Old Dog 905, which to me is as beautiful as any Kanayama, SRD, Miller, or any other strop out there. But, his strops take just as much care, but you don't have to pay $400 to get his best strop.
It would seem we should call things as they are. Kanayama strops have a limited production, are made from horse cutts similar to what you could get from Horween, are hand made like many other strop makers, and are pretty to look at. They use there own tannign process, but the process certainly was not invented by them, they just do it their own way. They have a unique feel and a really nice cloth part. However, the money comes into the cost of materials (minimal), labor, shipping and the big money is the name. I searches far and wide when I pruchased the no name Walkin Horse Cordovan strop. It doesnt scratch and puts a great edge on a razor, but it has no name recognition that I can see, and it's cotton portion could be viewed as nice, but nothing special. My budget was around $200 and it was all I could find in a 3" cordovan at the time that I liked.

All in all, I probably should have bought the premium IV at razordesigns because the one I saw was as beautiful as anything I have seen and I can't believe the Kanayama at an additional $300 can be proven to give you a better edge. Probably my next $100 is going to be for that strops as everyone has nice thigns to say about it. It just seems from my immaturity in the strops knowlege that their is a fascination with these strops that drives their prices way up. Not actual hard core costs of materials and labor that drive the costs.

Kanoyama strops do not use the same tanning method the the Moors use. I have talked with JimR about this, and he says the tanning that is used on these strops is unique to this maker. He told me that it took Mr. Naomi 10 years to refine the tanning process. I am not 100% convinced that the leather used in these strops is Shell leather. Jim says it is, and I trust him.

If you recall, I did respond to your thread a while back, JDeviere:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...-question.html

Why do people keep saying they are $300 dollars? That's only for the higher models. I bought a 70K for less than $300, and got a free razor to go with it that would probably fetch $100 easy if I wanted to sell it. I believe the 30K strops go for ~$160. The 10K and 20K will be cheaper still.

By the way, I am not sure shoe leather makes the best strop leather. Even Keith De'Grau's "cordovan" leather is tanned using a modified process from Horween's shoe leather tanning. I really hate the word "cordovan" because it can be warped in any way a person wants.