Thread: Stropping Device

G'day guys,

I was visiting my father over the weekend and he was reminiscing about his father shaving with a SR and how he had this stropping contraption. Dad described it as looking a bit like a seatbelt coil with two belts coming out of it. My grandfather would stick the razor in it and then grab both belts and pull them back and forth in a punching, left-right-left kind of motion (does that make sense?).

Any idea what it was called - and more importantly, where I could get one?

Cheers,
Brad

Brad,
I have seen one in an old movie, but can't even remember which one. I don't have a clue as to what it is called. Hopefully someone can chime in with a bit more info...

I'm not sure what they are called either. They come up from time to time on the bay. Always wondered how well they worked.

I have one that was passed down. It still has the original paperwork with it. Mine is officialy called the "ELITE Razor Sharpener" made by the Elite Manufacturing Co. Toledo, Ohio. It is basically a leather strop wrapped around pins with a device in the center that swivels back and forth allowing the edge of the razor to contact the leather as it is being pulled toward you. If your interested I can email some pictures of the device and instructions. I don't know how well it works, I use a regular hanging strop and as old as this is it looks brand new. If someone used it they must not have liked it well enough to keep using it. I'll give it a try tomorrow and let you know.

http://jwissandsons.com/patents/US0982859.pdf

This is a link I found to the patent on this device. The one I have is the same as this but from a different manufacturer. Mine is stamped "Patent Pending" on the top. They claim they can strop any kind of razor blade as long as it will fit into the device.

Kinda cool, whether it works or not. I like old gadgets.

Brad, Sorry was out of town, but have had a chance to use this "auto strop" gadget now. I'm actually pleasantly surprised. It works quite well. I took an old carbon steel razor that had not been stropped or sharpened in 20 years or more. I ran it through the auto stropper and easily shaved a wide swath of hair off the back of my hand with one swipe. You could see a definate polish on the razor edge when i removed it from the device. The only negative I could see is the part that holds the blade is metal and could possibly scratch a fancy gold etched blade.

I was planning on selling to fund other razor supplies, but it is definately a keeper.

Originally Posted by Mack374

I was planning on selling to fund other razor supplies, but it is definately a keeper.

Hey Mack374,

Thanks for the PDF link and the run down of it. I'm even more intrigued now! If you do change your mind about selling it, you know where I am

Cheers,
Brad

Hi Mack ,

Any chance of a pic? Im just curious

cheers MW.

Originally Posted by MoreWhisky

Hi Mack ,

Any chance of a pic? Im just curious

cheers MW.

Actually, if you can be bothered, a video of it in action would also be appreciated