Thread: Kanayama stroppers happy??

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.