Strops on eBay? How to separate the good from the bad

Agree with the starshaving.com suggestion: they have very serviceable inexpensive strops. I got a big daddy (the width is good for a noobie) and it's pretty good. There are other reviews of the strop on this site too.

I just purchased two big mama from starshaving after ordered two others from Ebay (too short to strop when attached to a over-the-door hook with the length of 12"). Really not a very good place to buy serious stuff.

Just another recommendation for starshaving. I've had the big Daddy for around 6 mos, it durable, and with a little sandpaper and neats foot oil it been very forgiving to my newbie stropping technique. I've since upgraded to SRD strop but I continue to use the Big Daddy on a regular basis. I'm tempted to buy his newer latigo strop, it looks great !

If you felt the need to sand and oil your new strop, then you did NOT get a good strop.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

If you felt the need to sand and oil your new strop, then you did NOT get a good strop.

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I had to sand it because of all the nicks, small slices, and gouges caused to by my poor stropping skills.

I got in a 3" wide Big Daddy in the TAN leather. Very, very nice. I can hook it on an eyelet I put in the bathroom wall. Plyable and nice "felt" on the other side.
Definitely good piece of leather.

Here is the link: http://shop.starshaving.com/3-Big-Da...Strop-0003.htm

Treat yourself to a great start and look into the Strop Shop at SRD. You absolutely cannot go wrong. Great vendor. Great products. A relationship that you can count, and build on. You will not regret it.

Are you kidding? When I look at the strops offered on Ebay they look like they have been through WW-III! I definitely ignore any strop offerings there. My opinion, buy a good strop from someone who makes them professionally. Avoid the cheapies, good strops are $75 to $125 each and very worth spending the money on. Most other solutions you may be asking for trouble, why make it tougher than it has to be? I learned the hard way in this regard.
I currently own four strops from SRD and two from Tony Miller, they are very nice and have different surfaces to work with. There is a great deal of difference in materials and how they work on the blade. It's fun to see what makes the best edge on any given razor. Quality is important, skimping on the strop is a stumbling block to a nice shave in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by hasibb7

So I'm looking to buy my first strop and eBay seems to have a pretty wide range of things, I know not all strops are created equally but with that said, how do you guys recommend I go about separating the ones that will get the job done from ones that'll ruin my razor.

Note: I'm a student (pronounced "poor" haha) and eBay appears to be the cheapest source for strops, if you guys have a suggestion or a place I can get a good strop cheaper I'm all ears

Any suggestions would be immensely appreciated

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I know your situation! Find a nice decent well made strop by someone that likes to work leather. Nice thing about the one I have, made by Star Shaving.com is he makes them himself and made takes pride in them. Nice leathers and good felt secondary strop without breaking the bank. I grew up on a ranch where there was but one strop for all the years I watched them shave with their straights. Vendors here have nice strops, but so do a lot of other fine folks. You might even find the one from Starshaving.com on ebay, but it is just as easy to order from their website and being in Oklahoma, it's about central to the U.S. for shipping.

Don't even think about getting one on ebay, i made a big mistake of getting a "great deal" on a beauty and barber razor and strop for $20. IF you want a descent one look at the filly strop, or the poor mans strop at wippeddog.com. Yes they are cheap but the work, and if you cut your strop it won't be dramatic, when your starting off you want to be cheap and descent quality.