Thread: Illinois strop #32. Know anything about it?

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Nice score. Illinois is a very reputable strop maker and is still in business today. I'm certainly not a strop historian but the material component is likely canvas or linen.

Thank you for your answer! Both parts are leather, actually. I should have been a bit more specific, I apologize. The black seems stiffer, but I don't know if that's by design or merely neglect. I found it interesting both were leather and so I assumed that one side was meant to hold an abrasive although neither showed any evidence of it. But, then, all of my strops have a canvas side instead of an abrasive, so I'm not experienced there.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

The "hone on this side" makes me wonder if it was impregnated with sharpening paste - if so use it sparingly. Have fun, that strop looks like it has many more years of life left.

See, I agree with that sentiment except between the two the brown one that says 'hone on this side' is smoother. Plus, and this might be a little silly, but from a usability standpoint, I feel that the handle with the writing is the 'front' of the strop and I find it weird that the front is the side with more abrasive surface while the 'back' is the side meant for stropping.

It's a slight conundrum, for me.

If I were a bettin' man, I'd bet that one side is to be used with paste while the other side is for straight stropping. I have an Illinois strop, but it's linen and leather. Hope this helps.

They made the similar strop for many years and changed the number, I think, every time they got a new supplier. I have a 3462 if I remember correct with a bit of fancier hardware. The red side was jewelers rouge and the black was a fine emery. Dovo, among others has those pastes:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...rop-paste.html
~Richard