Strop's in the Mail

[RayG]

I've been trying to get a hold of a HandAmerican strop for a looong time, but the site's been inactive, as most of you know.

Well, Monday morning I called and Keith picks up. As the strop gods have it, he was just making a batch, and my new horsehide strop was mailed today, 2 days later!

Full review to follow... but I just know this is gonna be good.

[niftyshaving]

Well a strop like that needs six months of breaking in to know if
it is realy a good one. Just so happens I have six months to help....

Seriously do not pass judgement until you give it some time to mellow.

[ZethLent]

Ray you are going to love love love it!!

I have two Hand American strops, one of the Chicago Special ones and a Signature Strop that is Cordovan and English Bridle.

I have to say that I love them more than the Kanayama Llama 70000 and the Tony Miller Latigo or Horsehide.

The length and the width and the look and the feel.... Keith's products are second to none.

There is a different feel to his cordovan compared to Naomi san's cordovan, but both are great.

Like I said you are going to love it! Enjoy.

[superbleu]

Good to see you were finally able to get one of these Ray. Eager to see what you think of it.

[altshaver]

I have been waiting for my strop to be mailed as well. I can't wait to get it. I really like the traditional styling and the diamond embossed Russian style strop.

The HandAmerican "Cordovan" is not what people think it is. It is actually horse butt strip or "North of Cordovan". Keith considers Cordovan leather to be leather that went through a vegetable tanning process similar to what is used by Horween for their "Cordovan" shoe leather production. The leather used in "Cordovan" shoes is actually from the shells of a horse, not the horse butt strip. Keith told me that the "Cordovan" leather he uses is from Horween and is tanned in a process similar to their horse shell tanning process, with steps added and removed as required for suitable strop material.

Kanayama Strops are advertised as being "Cordovan" as well. However, it is a question mark to me as to what that really means. Most people think those strops are made from the horse shells, but I can't say for sure. Those strops have a unique tanning to them that is a trade secret. Certainly, those strops are not tanned using the process derived by the Moors from Cordoba, Spain. Horween's "Cordovan" process is derived from the process developed by the Moors. Another thing to note is that horse shell leather is usually thin ~2mm. I am not sure if that is before or after processing though. Kanayama strops can get up to ~5mm in thickness if I recall correctly. Regardless of what these strops are made of, they are fabulous.

Keith gave me a mini history lesson on horse leather strops when I was talking with him. Back in the day, leather companies like Horween didn't really discriminate between horse shell leather and horse butt strip when they made strops. Often times, strops would contain both leathers. You'll see many vintage strops labeled as "Shell" strops. This is probably due to the strops having some, but maybe not all, of the leather from the shell area of a horse. To me, I think it is more of an advertising thing with those strops back then.

I used to kind of have this Cordovan fetish when I was searching for strops. I have gotten over that. Anymore, I just see it all as horse.

The take home points:
"Cordovan" is a loaded word. It can mean many things - a tanning process, shell leather, shell leather tanned in a certain process, and a color. Know what your manufacturer considers "Cordovan" before you buy.

The leather used in "Cordovan" shoes is probably not the leather anyone makes strops from.

I am definitely looking forward to my Signature strop; it's going to be awesome!

[JimmyHAD]

The leather used in "Cordovan" shoes is probably not the leather anyone makes strops from.

Back in the '80s a good friend of mine managed a Florsheim Shoe store. At the time I wanted a pair of shell cordovan wing tips like the old guys used to wear when I was a kid. My friend knew about shoe leather and told me that they would wear forever but they don't breath and would be uncomfortable in that sense. I never did get a pair to find out for myself. As a side note I was talking with a strop vendor who told me that with these leather suppliers the shoe companies get pick of the litter when it comes to the horse shell and the strop guys get to choose from what is left. Frequent flier privilages I guess. Congrats on the HA strop Ray, Keith makes quality stuff and I am happy with all of the HA strops I have.

[altshaver]

@JimmyHAD

You might be right about the leather sourcing thing. To me it is a bit of a mystery.

I talked with Nick Horween about shell leather in emails. I guess processed shells are pretty small 18-20 inches long, although some can be bigger, with those being pretty rare. He mentioned to me that shells were larger in the past. I am not sure why that would be. Perhaps larger farm horses like Belgians were more widespread and contributed to the leather source. He also mentioned to me that shell leather is getting more rare and, thus, harder to source.

As I understand it, the Kanayama strop leather is sourced from a leather tannery in Osaka, Japan. Over there, they consume horses. I would be curious to know what types of horses they consume.

Maybe JimR will add something.

[JimmyHAD]

I bought one of the 90,000 strops when Rasage Poulin imported all that Kanayama had. It is a beautiful piece of workmanship but I have never hung it or put a razor on it. The thought that I might scuff or worse yet nick it ....... I know it is nuts but I can't bring myself to use it.

Interesting info about the Moors and their tanning process. If it is accurate that it is some sort of 'secret' process at least it was handed down. I think of the Damascus forging of the Moors in Toledo, Spain that legend has it was lost forever.

[altshaver]

To be completely clear, the tanning on the Kanayama strops is a trade secret. What Mr. Naomi does is completely unique. In conversations with Jim Rion, he told me that it took 10 years to figure out the right formula for tanning his strops.

I believe the Cordovan process has been used since the time of the Moors in Spain and is not necessarily a secret. The Moors basically used a long vegetable tanning process to tan leather. I am not absolutely clear if they specialized in horse shell leather. Horween certainly uses a process that is derived from what the Moors used so long ago. Horween also jacks their shell leather by stacking and rotating the leather, further compressing an already dense material.

I am certainly looking forward to RayG's impressions of his strop. I might leave some of my impressions and pictures of the strop that I receive also.

[matt321]

Congrats Ray. Wish I had one!

By the way, here is a cool cordovan-process video from the Horween web site.
Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan on Vimeo