Thread: cordovan shell strops

A few weeks ago I got one of the 2" Walkin' Horse cordovan shell strops from The Superior Shave, and it's a world-rocker in my experience. The only comparable experience was when I got my 12k Naniwa. The strop, like the hone, has opened up a new level of expectations from my blades. I like the linen back on the 2" version, too. The main selling point was that the 2" is cheaper, and to be honest, I don't miss the extra half-inch that all my other strops have.

It's hard to believe that anything so slick can do something to steel, but it really does. So far there's no draw to speak of. But there's something going on nonetheless.

Best wishes

I also have a Walking Horse horsebutt strop from The Superior Shave and agree with roughkype that it rocks. I got some neatsfoot oil from SRD, because the advice is to apply it lightly to reduce the slickness. However, I like the slick draw the way it is and have not used the neatsfoot. I strop 50 on cotton and 100 on leather. Lately I've been splitting the 100 on leather, doing 50 on the horsebutt and 50 on the shell cordovan. My reason is to just get a good comparison of the feel for each of them. Right now I can't tell you that I have a preference for the draw one or the other. I can tell you that they both have a great, very light draw (or perhaps no draw at all).

I ended up with two Tony Miller 2 1/2" horsehide strops. I used one daily for quite awhile and then, just for the heck of it, took a very light application of neatsfoot and applied it to that strop. I let it set for a couple of days and went to my other go to strop, an SRD premium 1. The premium 1 has a very light draw but it has some and is about just right for me. The light application of the neatsfoot gave a noticeable increase to the draw on the TM horsehide.

Noticeable but not so much that it suddenly became like a latigo. OTOH I was glad I had the other TM horse because I liked the original draw better than the increase on the other one. So IME the neats foot will definitely give a bit more draw. It will also darken the leather slightly so if you have a blond TM horse it will be as if it were in the 'tanning booth' for a couple of hours. I also applied neatsfoot to a strop I made. A HandAmerican piece of horse butt being the source of the material. Very slick with no draw at all until the neatsfoot application. Even with the neatsfoot it is still a bit slick so I have to get around to doing another round of it.

Finally, I used to do 50 and 50 linen and leather religiously. Of late I've been experimenting with less being adequate. I've found that, for me, 30 to 40 on each surface seems to bring the same results as the 50/50. Some years ago thebigspendur did a couple of threads on stropping. IIRC these threads are titled "the great experiment." TBS knows his strops and he found that going past 60 round trips seemed to be redundant. Anyway, to each his own. We can all do our own 'great experiment' if we are that serious about it.

AF Davis, another fellow who knows his strops, has said that stropping is one of the most important pieces of the straight razor puzzle ....(I'm paraphrasing) and I used to think that was an exageration. Of late I've been working harder on my stropping and I have found that AF is spot on.. Stropping really is as important as honing in the end result. Maybe even more so. IMHO.

Horween advises that the majority of the Cordovan leather goes to the Shoe industry, so we don't see much of it. It is more expensive and a little different animal from a modern day strop standpoint. From a results standpoint, it is no better than many of the other strops out there. I used to use a little neatsfoot oil on regular horsehide, because it starts off so slick, but have gotten away from it. I find that simply palm rubbing the strops until your palm is warm before use provides the best break in, use and maintenance these days.

I have a bunch of Cordovan strops and probably use English Bridle and Roo more than any others these days.

You should be guided by your own budget and preference when it comes to what strop you choose, but as Jimmy indicates, stropping is key to the every day success of wetshaving with a straight razor.

Have fun.

Back in the day a barber would never even think of taking a straight to someones face or even to trim some hair after a haircut unless the blade was stropped. So that shows you how important stropping is.

Thanks for the responses everyone.

there has been much talk on this thread about the draw, I would like to mention that I prefer a very light draw. But the most important thing to me is what the strop does to the edge, not the feedback.
Sure stropping on a light flexible 3 inch smooth strop with light draw is pleasant, but ultimately I care about the performance.

My original question is not about how cordovan shell horsehide strop feels. The question is if use of such strop makes for a superior edge over other types of leather.

Thanks again for advice

Dan

Originally Posted by danielghofrani

My original question is not about how cordovan shell horsehide strop feels. The question is if use of such strop makes for a superior edge over other types of leather.

IME horse, be it cordovan shell or 'regular' horse butt, gives a characteristically light draw. Latigo or bovine derived leathers give a more pronounced resistance or draw. My guess is you'll find guys use what they like the best, in terms of draw, and think they get the best results from whichever hide that strop came from, be it horse or bovine. I would venture that knowing how to strop to best advantage is more important than whether it is one hide or another ..... assuming it is a strop of decent quality and correct dimensions. Just IMHO.

Hi Dan,

The simple answer for me is that in my experience, yes, the cordovan shell strop gives my blades a better edge than either of my bovine strops.

As I've said many times, as long as the strop is quality it makes no difference the critter it comes from or the finishing they all do the same thing. I've seen no functional difference as far as the edge goes.

I base that claim on at one time having probably 30 or so strops including the kanayamara. They all feel different and look different but that's about it. probably if you pay a lot for one you think it should work better and you have the placebo effect. Maybe the differing feel. length, width and other things cause people to use them slightly different without them realizing it giving a different result but that's just a guess on my part.

What TBS said,amazing how much of this sport is purely mental.