Ambrose Strops - An Observation

[Gamma]

My original concept for a strop was basically ridiculous - an old belt-blank with a split ring in a hole I punched into it with a nail. Ok - time to rethink that.
I picked up a strop from Jose at Ambrose Shave this week.
This is horse hide? Ok - then I want a horsehide coat. This strop is gorgeous and it feels special. The knap or grain or whatever you call the texture on top seems to be just right. The hardware seems robust, the linen strop attached to the assembly is also well done.
So - out of the box I'm impressed, but what do I really know about strops?
Nada - I'm not a guru with sharpening/honing. i do know a sharp edge however. In fact - you might say I'm a bit fussy and even a little OCD in that area.
So I hit the linen with some Cro Ox, went about 4 laps, and put the edge under a loupe - nice. Very nice.
I cleaned up the green goo and then went to the leather - maybe 20 laps or so. I lost count because I got interrupted. Anyway - after that run I grabbed the loupe and the bevel was spot- on. I did another 20 laps for fun and then went to shave.
The shave was perfect - no knicks no burn. Just smooth skin.. very nice. In the past I had always had some tugging, but not this time.
Yeah - Jose's strop was just what I needed. The price was good and the service from Jose was over-the-top great.
I will definitely be getting another one from him.

 

[W_B_K]

Love his strops! The Spanish leather works so well for me I got rid of all my other ones. I love the simple/classic barber end strops

 

[Munxcub]

Does the spanish leather strop smell like the trumpers stuff? If so I will absolutely need to get a few...

 

[Montecristo #2]

You owe it to yourself to get an Ambrose strop.

 

[Danricgro]

I just recieved a Ambrose soft premium horsehide strop and couldn't be more impressed. I love it's simplicity, there is nothing here that is not functional, and the workmanship is top notch. Can't wait to get more strops from him.

 

[Danricgro]

I just recieved a Ambrose soft premium horsehide strop and couldn't be more impressed. I love it's simplicity, there is nothing here that is not functional, and the workmanship is top notch. Can't wait to get more strops from him.

 

[cityjim]

you owe it to yourself to get an ambrose strop.

+1

 

[Obiwan]

Jose is great to deal with. He does fantastic work!

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Jose's strops are top-notch quality at a very reasonable price, what's not to like?

 

[SliceOfLife]

Jose really impresses me. The quality and workmanship on his strops was top notch from the get go. The man is either a prodigy or he spent a lot of time practicing before he started selling. I still reach for my Spanish Leather Classico more than any other strop.

 

[ganboyi]

I have two strops from Ambrose, a Spanish horse (which is my absolute favourite and staple) and a soft horse. The soft horse really does bring the edge to another level, you can feel the difference in the edge whilst shaving and I do asbolutely reccomend this strop as a finishing strop after something with a nice heavy draw - just my personal opinion of course but this is what works extremely well for me.