Thread: Ranking of strop materials

Originally Posted by brooksie967

From all the reading i've done on different strop materials i'm starting to lean towards a kangaroo leather with a nylon webbing.

Kangaroo apparently has the finest grain of leather used for this purpose. Because of this it is extremely strong and can be made thinner.

I thought that shell cordovan is probably the finest leather you can get on a strop?
For me cotton webbing is the best, nylon is ok but nothing special.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I thought that shell cordovan is probably the finest leather you can get on a strop?
For me cotton webbing is the best, nylon is ok but nothing special.

Here's an explanation of the properties of Kangaroo Leather. Take from it what you will!

Studies conducted by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) confirm that kangaroo is one of the strongest leathers of similar substance available.[5][9]

Similarly when split into thinner substances kangaroo retains considerably more of the original tensile strength of the unsplit leather than does calf. When split to 20% of original thickness kangaroo retains between 30 to 60% of the tensile strength of the unsplit hide. Calf on the other hand split to 20% of original thickness retains only 1-4% of original strength.[9]

Kangaroo leather is lighter and stronger than the hide of a cow or goat. It has 10 times the tensile strength of cowhide and is 50% stronger than goatskin.[10]

Studies of the morphology of kangaroo leather help explain its particular properties.

The collagen fibre bundles in cattle hide are arranged in a complex weaving pattern. The fibres are often at angles as much as 90 degrees to the skin surface. Cattle hide also contain sweat glands, erector pili muscles and a distinct gradation in elastin levels, concentrated in the upper part of the skin. Kangaroo on the other hand has been shown to have a highly uniform orientation of fibre bundles in parallel with the skin surface. It does not contain sweat glands or erector pili muscles and elastin is evenly distributed throughout the skin thickness [11]. This structural uniformity explains both the greater tensile strength of the whole leather and the greater retention of strength in splits. Bovine skin is much more complex in cross section. Hence in whole section it has many more weak points from which tears can start when placed under tension. In addition when sliced into splits the collagen fibres running at significant angles to the skin surface will be cut. These then become weak points in the structural strength.

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.

I imagine that getting Kangaroo leather in North America and throughout most of Europe might have been pretty difficult. I don't think that just because that's what they used to choose means that it is the best NOW.

Why would it have been difficult? Barbers could get natural stones from Japan, quite good ones back then.

Presumably australians tanned kangaroos for the last several hundred years.

It's possible that it may have been difficult at the retail level, but the trades have always had access to nearly anything accessible from around the world. I can't find anything about it, though, only barber guides that suggest shell cordovan is the best leather for a strop.

Out of curiosity, I checked some of the manuals listed in the library here. It does list kangaroo as being readily available at any barber shop (and says it is a good choice, along with some other oddballs), but it does also specify that russian leather and horsehide are favorites, which is easy to see going through any antique dealer shop where there is old barber stuff present.

I'm guessing the reason that shell was used was because it was preferred. Horween's site is goofed right now, and I have no idea where an individual would get shells. I've been using horse butt strops for a while and like them much better than any cowhide, but I'd like to give cordovan a try without spending $100-$300 on a single strop.

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?

.

Horween still makes cordovan here a nice article about the process.
Cordovan Leather from Horween

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.

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

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.