Thread: Ranking of strop materials

So, in the ongoing horween curiosity that only interests me, I see from the imperial page that horween actually *treats* the cordovan for imperial, a special treatment specifically for strops. So horween certainly doesn't just supply shell for the high $ shoe and wallet industry.

Of course, it's unlikely they'd sell such a thing to me, I wouldn't expect them to, even if they do get back to me and I win the lottery (i.e. they will sell me a couple of shells or tell me where to get them). It does prove that they still know strops, though.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Does anyone know where to get cordovan shells at this point? For someone who might like to make their own strop?

Allen Edmonds is still making shoes with cordovan last I looked, and getting shells from Horween. Will horween sell a small amount of it?

Kangaroo sounds fine, but it seems when barbers had the choice of anything and everything, they chose shell first and horse butt second.

Horween will actually sell in small quantities. You want to contact their retail division at Tannery Row - Contacts
I emailed Eric a while back and he got right back to me with pricing. From memory the largest size shell (what you'd need for strops) was somewhere around $250 for one. I'll stick with my Horse butt and vintage shell strops (didn't pay over $20 for any of them).

Matt

Thanks! I haven't yet found a vintage shell strop that wasn't used, and I have sort of a bugaboo about used strops.

$250 is pretty steep, but I guess they won't stay in business by giving things away.

It's either that or a kanayama or nothing. Curiosity is the only thing driving this, anyway.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Thanks! I haven't yet found a vintage shell strop that wasn't used, and I have sort of a bugaboo about used strops.

$250 is pretty steep, but I guess they won't stay in business by giving things away.

It's either that or a kanayama or nothing. Curiosity is the only thing driving this, anyway.

The last HandAmerican I'm aware of was a Horween cordovan that sold for $250. Classic carried them but IIRC Keith moved on and AFAIK isn't making strops. I guess he got a better deal on the shell because of volume and being a wholesale customer. For $250 to $350 you can get a top of the line Kanayama. Depends which end of the pecking order you go to.

If you go HERE: Kanayama Cordovan Strop 2196

You can pick up a kanayama for just over $100US

Is that one shell? why is it so cheap (it's $140 at current exchange rates, cheap is a relative term, I guess).

aframestokyo has cordovan and linen 60000s for $202, which I think is my favorite option, but they say they're out of stock. I emailed them, that's quite a bit cheaper than the JNS price of the same and shipping isn't too bad from hawaii. It does seem a little more sensible to buy a strop than to buy a $250+ shell and make several and really only need one, and still have to buy the linen. I see the kanayama 3 is only about $100 there, too, but it is described as being softer, which doesn't sound like my bag.

Imperial also makes a horween cordovan strop.

Here I thought I was just stirring the pot by actually answering the question at the beginning, and it turns out that I'm probably the one who benefitted the most from this thread. Well, that's debatable, I have enough horse butt left to make 3 more strops and I think it cost me $30 shipped, so benefitting is used without regard to reckless spending.

Originally Posted by DaveW

Is that one shell? why is it so cheap (it's $140 at current exchange rates, cheap is a relative term, I guess).

aframestokyo has cordovan and linen 60000s for $202, which I think is my favorite option, but they say they're out of stock. I emailed them, that's quite a bit cheaper than the JNS price of the same and shipping isn't too bad from hawaii. It does seem a little more sensible to buy a strop than to buy a $250+ shell and make several and really only need one, and still have to buy the linen. I see the kanayama 3 is only about $100 there, too, but it is described as being softer, which doesn't sound like my bag.

Imperial also makes a horween cordovan strop.

Here I thought I was just stirring the pot by actually answering the question at the beginning, and it turns out that I'm probably the one who benefitted the most from this thread. Well, that's debatable, I have enough horse butt left to make 3 more strops and I think it cost me $30 shipped, so benefitting is used without regard to reckless spending.

The 2196 is shell, it is what I use to strop on.
It is the cheapest because it is just the shell backed with thin leather, and fabric strop. The higher models have thicker backing and fabric, or another leather strop for pre-stropping before the shell as well as fabric strop.

WOW!!! Did not expect that kind of info from my question but it is fun to learn. Thanks a lot. I never even considered making a strop myself. It is good to know that personal preference is the biggest factor. I already have a Star Shaving Big Daddy Chestnut but thought that as my skills increased I might need to increase the hardware. It will be fun to try out different hides in the future.

I have a Vintage DD Cordovan Shell Strop. It's like glass. I have lot's of strops, but I have to say the Kanayama Cordovan is extremely nice. It's the nicest strop I've come across. TBH, I hardly use it because it's so nice. Seems silly, right?

If someone wanted a real nice strop, You wouldn't be disappointed with Kanayama. I have the old 90,000. I'm not sure what they call them now.

These days, like Jimmy, I lean towards the horse. I like minimal draw. I love SRD's premium #1, it's nice and supple, then their English Bridle. Both are excellent. Both are 3" wide. The English Bridle is extra long.

I also have Tony Miller's Steerhide in 2 1/2 wide, and he did a limited edition Horse for me about 2 years ago, 3 inches wide.

The Steerhide has a bit more draw than the Horse, but they're both really nice.

Originally Posted by mainaman

The 2196 is shell, it is what I use to strop on.
It is the cheapest because it is just the shell backed with thin leather, and fabric strop. The higher models have thicker backing and fabric, or another leather strop for pre-stropping before the shell as well as fabric strop.

I assume the review on JNS is from you? somewhat fascinating to me that the strop tell you when to stop because of the increase in draw.
Thats something i never experienced.