Advice on follow on strop. Illinois and mountain mike
Hey guys,
So i feel the time has come to upgrade my strop. I got a basic dovo strop from steve at invisible edge in the uk as part of my starter kit (great value, thanks steve), now that was around 2 to 3 months ago, and the razor included in the kit saw A LOT of use for the first 6 weeks (everyday 2 to 3 passes). Add to that the fact that i was learning (and am still perfecting) stropping and you have a recipe for a razor that's starting to get tired.
So I want to retire my dovo to become a pasted strop (CrO2) and get a linen/leather combo strop, as I'm hoping this combo will maximise the amount of time between honings (which i'm intimidated by tbh).
So, what I don't want to do is buy a tony miller or invisible edge handmade strop because as i say, my technique still needs refinement. Hands up, i still nick my strop once in a while (usually a flap) generally because i think i've got the technique and start going after speed.. I want to get something a little cheaper that i'm not going to feel quite as bad about if i nick them once in a while.
I was looking at Illinois strops and mountain mike strops. If i buy from the US, they're cheap enough that i won't have to pay customs charges on them. Mountain mike are available here but the markup is ridiculous.
Thoughts on these 2 makers? they look solid, well made, and do not look like they cost what they do. plus they all seem to have a linen component for the same price my dovo cost.
Looking for a 2.5 to 3" which they both seem to do, and they also seem quite long as well
Edit: Having searched the forums I've also found starshaving.com. Thoughts on these strops also?