Lynn, I'm just curious, do you mean (from your post two above) that you wouldn't mind using a felt strop in place of leather? Like I mentioned earlier, I found that just using the felt on my Bengall - only the Bengall - worked just fine by itself. I chalked it up to the harder (I'm guessing) steel used in its production. At the end of the day, it was a very good shaver and I have enjoyed shaving with it. Any thoughts? Thanks.