Thread: New Strop in the House

I just picked up a Kanayama 70000 for a very good price. Actually, I wasn't looking for one since I recently bought a horsehide strop from SRD. I really like the horsehide strop; SRD sells a great strop. But the Kanayama showed itself and I had to have it.

There is a real difference in horsehides. The horsehide strop has the typically draw - very little with a very tight surface. When the blade is sharp, the strop has the slightest draw to it. From what I read about the Kanayama, I was expecting it to have even less draw. This is not the case with this Kanayama.

The leather is supple and beautiful and when you pull a sharp blade against it, it has a nice draw to it. In fact, it has more draw than my SRD horsehide strop. It is just a nice, even pull - I like it!!

Well my friend as far as i know thats the king of strop!! is there a linen side or canvas as well!!!

The 70000 has both a leather component, and a linen component. Two pieces. The 80000 and 90000 have 3 pieces, Two pieces of leather, and one linen.

It's two pieces with the hard linen on the back. Actually, the linen is not bad at all. It has the same feel and sound as the premium linen at SRD. I understand that it should soften up with use.

From what I've heard they're top of the line as far as strops are concerned. I was looking at them as well, but decided to go for the slightly cheaper (and what I've heard) pretty much equally top quality Scrupleworks strop (different hardware - all steel, T-bar grip - and worsted wool backing), which incidentally also has quite a bit of draw to it. I'm set for life and I believe you are too. Strop away happily for the rest of your days!

It has been nice stropping on the Kanayama. The draw is totally different than my old Latigo or horsehide. It's on par with bridle, but this is a thick piece of leather, so it has a bit of bounce or cushion to the draw.

Here is a follow-up after using the Kanayama for awhile.

The Kanayama is my 4th strop and definitely different from the others. I used a Latigo for a long time; it has a nice draw on it. It was a basic leather strop and served it's purpose. From there, I purchased a paddle strop from SRD; it came with bridle leather. Bridle is my preferred leather since it has a good draw and is relatively inexpensive. This was my first paddle strop; they are okay, but I now know that I prefer a hanging strop. So, I ordered the horsehide hanging strop from SRD. I had ordered the strop with hard felt but changed it our for the premium linen. I also reconfigured the hardware to put on D rings and a different clasp at the top. This is the strop that I still go to. Horsehide doesn't have a lot of draw, but it works well with the straight razor. In the meantime, I acquired the 70000.

So, if I were to compare the first three, it would go bridle, Latigo, horsehide as far as decreasing draw. If I had a hanging Bridle, it would be a toss-up between the horsehide and bridle.

So, where does the Kanayama fit in here? My Kanayama has more draw than my bridle, but it is a different type of draw. The surface appears slick since it is so dense, but the leather just grabs the blade when it is sharp and the metal is warm. The other thing which is different from the other strops is the thickness; it provides a lot of cushion and bounce. When I draw on the horsehide, I know where my blade is on the leather. On the Kanayama with all of the cushion, it took a little while to figure out how much to press or how taunt the leather should be. And with the bounce, you don't notice the blade flips. With the horsehide, it is a definite slap when you flip the blade.

So, right now I have both the Kanayama and the horsehide on the hook in the bathroom. I'm still trying to figure out which blade goes with which strop. Personally, I want to narrow it down to one strop. I typically use a near-wedge to 1/2 hollow. I ran a full hollow on the horsehide and it skipped along without much draw; it ran much better on the Kanayama. The 1/4 hollows like either strop; the near-wedges like the horsehide.

I'm a D-ring type of guy, so I prefer using the horsehide, but the open end is also easy to use once you get your grip straight. I thought about committing sacrilege and changing out the hardware on the Kanayama; I would like to see D-rings and a beefier clasp. I don't think I will go down that route yet.

I hope this gives some insight. Or maybe, I just stirred the SAD for some.