Thread: Ranking of strop materials

Originally Posted by Martin103

Neil Miller i believe still makes cordovan strops.

Right, but I'm looking for shell cordovan leather, not finished strops. I sent horween an email, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't respond because I did specify that I was only looking for a couple.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Horween might sell you a piece of cordovan but is it suitable for strops?

I think their early history was mostly strop leather. They'll know what makes a good strop, even if most of what they sell now is for shoes, belts, wallets, archery gloves etc.

Originally Posted by DaveW

I think their early history was mostly strop leather. They'll know what makes a good strop, even if most of what they sell now is for shoes, belts, wallets, archery gloves etc.

Keith DeGrau had a relationship with them due to the volume he would take. OTOH, he did say that it was few and far between because of Alden, Florshiem and the other shoe makers getting the majority of the shell cordovan.

I think the idea behind the 'roo is that it's a much more uniform grain than other strops. When we're looking at microscopic differences in scratch patterns caused by honing etc. I think this has some relevance. I'm not doubting that cordovan is a superior quality material for stropping purposes but the grain of horse and cow leather is definitely not as uniform or fine as 'roo. If the desired effect is achieved from using X material then that's all that matters. I doubt that anyone but the most experienced and discerning people would really care or notice a difference.

I personally use a vintage pigskin strop that I picked up at an antique shop and get excellent results from it as well. Pigskin, from what I understand is a much tougher leather than either horse or cow and was used, historically, for making leather soles for shoes.

If what you decide on is cordovan then that's a great choice and from what i've seen online, probably cheaper than any 'roo strop on the market.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The treatment is a big thing I think. I had talks with Keith DeGrau of HandAmerican about this. Of course "Russian" was a treatment rather than a hunk of material out of the old Soviet Union. I made a strop from a piece of horse shell that I got through Keith. He gave me some 'secret' treatment that I could do if I had wanted to buy a steam iron but I didn't bother. The strop that I made works.

I think a professionally made strop is probably better. They do some sort of treatment in the surface of the hide for the finished product. TBH , having strops by SRD, Kanayama, HandAmerican, Tony Miller ...... a dozen vintage horse and or shells, I can't see a discernible difference in results. OTOH, some of the aforementioned are favorites and others wall hangers. Maybe this is a subconscious recognition that some are really 'better' than others.

Very well said Jimmy exactly how I feel too.
I just checked Kangaroo hide can be found on e-Bay , seems enough for at least one hanging strop and several paddles, I think I'll give it a try to see how it is.

I know his name has come up a couple times in this thread already, but Obie's Conversation with Neil Miller has some great information about the leathers Neil likes and his selection process for a given purpose.

It's interesting that Neil dislikes most what I like most. I'm guessing a hard card-like leather with no draw could easily describe horse butt strips when you get them. They are hard, abrasive, and no draw.

But once broken in they become glassy, super smooth and with....no draw. I have not ever been a big fan of heavy drawing leather, though I do have a bunch of cowhide strops that I tried, some with heavy draw, and didn't like. Maybe I didn't let them break in long enough.

But I love what a glassy horse butt strop does for the edge of a razor. Everyone has their preference, of course. There's no way a strop maker could sell a rough hard horse butt strop untreated to a user where the cohort would include a lot of beginners. But I didn't do anything on mine other than bend it a few times, but about 10 drops of neatsfoot on it and use it over the course of a month. Within about 15 strops, it had lost enough aggression to surpass all of my cowhide strops and within a month, the cowhide strops went to the back of the closet for good.

I have seen other barber literature that described the horse butt undesirable because of the glossy surface and lack of draw. Maybe I'm too lazy for draw! I'm definitely too cheap to buy a pre-made shell strop.

I don't care for too much draw either. Of bovine strops the SRD premium 1 had the best feel for me. I prefer horse though and a very small amount of draw. The Tony Miller latigo felt like the razor was going to be pulled out of my hand but the horse has no draw. Maybe it is what we get used to. I know guys that love draw, the more the better.

None of that I said above is to be construed as me disagreeing with Neil, he knows a lot more about strops than I do. Just an instance of me deciding what I will use instead of me reading what other people like and deciding that I'll use that and I like it because everyone else does.

If horween doesn't get back to me (I wouldn't blame them if they didn't), then maybe I'll just request a kanayama strop from the wife for christmas.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I am curious about the kangaroo. When I was a teenager I did some amateur boxing and the boxing shoes were made from kangaroo leather. The uppers were so soft and thin. Really luxurious. I've just got so many strops and most really good that it doesn't make sense to add yet another ..... but I probably will eventually ..... I've never been known for having any sense when it comes to stuff.

Jimmy I'm curious about horse, maybe we can trade for a week or two, I'll give you my beloved Kangaroo and you can give me a horse strop to try. PM me or call me.

I had tried Latigo (lots of draw). SRD premium 1 with hardly any draw, but stiff (needs to be broken in). And my favorite, the Kangaroo with light draw, thin and suppled. I think form is key for good results with any leather strop. So what ever draw makes you have best form for speed, that would be your favorite (that's my opinion).

Pick one and learn it, thats what I did before venturing to the Kangaroo. I was sent the Premium 1 by mistake and was told to keep it, so Thanks to SRD (I hope I didn't get any one into trouble). You can get used to any leather really. The proof is in the shave! Double O