Kanayama Strops

[Southbound1]

Hello,

Im thinking of purchasing a Kanayama 30000 or a 50000 cordovan shell strop. Is there a lot af difference between the two. As far as length width? Are they much difference in the thickness between the 2?
Some sites state they are 65mm wide and another states they are 68mm wide.Is the fabric component genuine flax linen? Theirs some stop makers call their fabric cotton linen. Im just wandering if the Kanayama is real flax linen, because i find genuine linen works better.

I read somewhere that the qualiy isn't what it used to be. Im not sure if its true, because you cant believe everything you read on the net. Is this true? I was wondering if aframesTokyo is a reputable place to buy these strops? They have great prices, but i bet shipping to the U.S would be expensive.

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[Bobski]

I recently bought a #50000 Kanayama strop. Kanayama tend to grade their strops by the thickness of the cordovan leather. The #50000 does not come with a suede piece. Their higher end strops, (The #70,#80, #90) come with a 3rd piece, being a suede piece. The quality indicators also relate to the number, the cheapest and lower spec strop is the #2196 at $89 to the #80000 which is over $250 USD. Aframes Tokyo have the #50000 for $160.00. I have a number of Kanayama's (#70000 & #80000) and I had a suede piece left over from last year so I mated it to the #50000 strop which I have used the last few weeks.
The #50000 I received was exceptional, and was 4mm thick, placing it IMHO as the equal to the expensive #80000 as far as the cordovan stropping surface is concerned. So if you are not concerned about the 3rd piece (Suede) then I would suggest that the #50000 Kanayama is the best of their range, in the category of it being a two piece strop. I could not fault the cordovan piece on it, and I was comparing it directly to the #70000 and #80000.
I'd say it's a great buy if you don't care about the 3rd piece. And as far as quality and consistency is concerned, they are still a tremendous strop. Beautifully made, and from #50000 to #80000 are a sight to behold and a pleasure to use. Can't recommend them highly enough. Whichever one you choose I would be astonished if you didn't like it. As to the #30000, I've never owned one, but once again, I've not heard anyone say a bad thing about that model. Takeshi Aoki is the proprietor of AframesTokyo, and he is a lovely bloke and has the best prices I've seen. The alternative is Fendrihan in Canada. They too stock them, but are a little more costly. ie: The #50000 is priced at $160.00 USD from Aframes, and $195.00USD from Fendrihan. Postage from both is around the $40 mark for international destinations, Fendrihan will get it to you in 5 days, Aframes about 8 work days. Both are reputable. I have no connection to Kanayama, or either retailer, I am just a Kanayama fan, strop acquisition disorder....lol

 

[Southbound1]

I recently bought a #50000 Kanayama strop. Kanayama tend to grade their strops by the thickness of the cordovan leather. The #50000 does not come with a suede piece. Their higher end strops, (The #70,#80, #90) come with a 3rd piece, being a suede piece. The quality indicators also relate to the number, the cheapest and lower spec strop is the #2196 at $89 to the #80000 which is over $250 USD. Aframes Tokyo have the #50000 for $160.00. I have a number of Kanayama's (#70000 & #80000) and I had a suede piece left over from last year so I mated it to the #50000 strop which I have used the last few weeks.
The #50000 I received was exceptional, and was 4mm thick, placing it IMHO as the equal to the expensive #80000 as far as the cordovan stropping surface is concerned. So if you are not concerned about the 3rd piece (Suede) then I would suggest that the #50000 Kanayama is the best of their range, in the category of it being a two piece strop. I could not fault the cordovan piece on it, and I was comparing it directly to the #70000 and #80000.
I'd say it's a great buy if you don't care about the 3rd piece. And as far as quality and consistency is concerned, they are still a tremendous strop. Beautifully made, and from #50000 to #80000 are a sight to behold and a pleasure to use. Can't recommend them highly enough. Whichever one you choose I would be astonished if you didn't like it. As to the #30000, I've never owned one, but once again, I've not heard anyone say a bad thing about that model. Takeshi Aoki is the proprietor of AframesTokyo, and he is a lovely bloke and has the best prices I've seen. The alternative is Fendrihan in Canada. They too stock them, but are a little more costly. ie: The #50000 is priced at $160.00 USD from Aframes, and $195.00USD from Fendrihan. Postage from both is around the $40 mark for international destinations, Fendrihan will get it to you in 5 days, Aframes about 8 work days. Both are reputable. I have no connection to Kanayama, or either retailer, I am just a Kanayama fan, strop acquisition disorder....lol

How wide is your 50000? What is the draw like? Is the fabric component 100% flax linen?

 

[alpster]

I have three cheapest #3, 20000 and a 60000. They are all excellent and identical except for length. The cloth component is cotton canvas, but it is excellent IMHO. It is NOT flax linen and has no resemblance to linen. The suede is a novelty, used mostly for drying the blade post shave. You will get a lot of opinions about strops but, you will be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like a Kanayama. Aframes is good to deal with and postage is not a big deal, but you will have a little wait time.

 

[Glaze3]

I have the 30000 and don't know if any of the other higher priced models are thicker, but I can't imagine they are. It's nearly twice as thick as my TM Notovan. I know others seem to love the canvas but I don't really like it and most times I use the upgraded genuine linen on my TM and then hit the Kanayama. The leather is the softest that I have ever felt ( almost cushiony) and provides an excellent light draw on par or better than most horsehides.

 

[David]

I've had many dealings with Aframes and can say that the owner, Takeshi, is a top notch vendor and a great person to deal with.

 

[Bobski]

As far as strop dimensions are concerned, all of the range are 68mm wide and 600mm long. (Exceptions are the #60000 and #90000 which are 660mm long) The advertising information says 65mm wide but this is wrong. The #50000 strop is for the Cordovan leather part 68mm, however in the 2nd, the canvas piece is 65mm. Yes, the canvas is 65 and the leather 68. It is the same with #70000, #80000 and I believe all the others leather piece is 68mm wide too. When you buy a Kanayama the canvas piece is wrapped in 'Red Imp' livery, stating 'US' made. It is definitely 65mm wide, 3mm less than the cordovan leather piece. I have no idea why. In my opinion the only drawback to Kanayama is the canvas is stiff, hard, and requires significant breaking in. I personally wash mine in the washing machine for a couple of cycles. I have nothing to suggest the canvas part of these strops is anything else but canvas. Nothing has been said about flax, linen or anything else. It is Canvas, that's it. And in my view is not the best 2nd piece around. Some like the canvas. I am not a huge fan of it. It should be 68mm wide like the leather component, but I suspect that Kanoyama buy the canvas from a 3rd party and add it to their cordovan. I don't believe Kanoyama have any role in the making of the canvas, they just add it to their own product. Also worth noting is that Kanayama's 3rd piece, the leather suede piece on the high end models is definitely made by Kanayama and is 68mm wide, same as the cordovan stropping piece.

 

[Bobski]

Just further to the suede piece available on the #70000, #80000 and #90000 and available as an extra piece you can add to any of the range. It is more than a novelty. It isn't necessarily going to make a huge difference but it fits in nicely when actually stropping a razor. My use of it is not after a shave to dry it. I use it immediately prior to shaving and I do 20 laps on the canvas, 30 laps on the suede and 100 laps on the cordovan leather surface. I have used this configuration for a while now and I have nothing but good results to show from it. If I were to drop any of the pieces, I'd leave the canvas out and use the suede. It feels lovely to strop on, and seems to be 'just right' in practice. If you did buy a #30000 and later decided you would rather have had the suede piece. It is $40 on it's own from Aframes, and as I mentioned I did that and added a suede piece to my #50000, making it in my eyes an #80000.

 

[Jnatcat]

I have the 70 and the suede I use primarily for drying the blade so for me lately it's been using the cotton/leather for pre shave and suede only on post and so far so good

 

[njtnjt]

Aframes is great to deal with. Bought a stone and a Kanayama from him. Both are excellent.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Whichever one you choose you'll be over the moon when it arrives. AFrames was my vendor for my simple #3 that approaches 3 years of ownership.

 

[vmspb]

I use the Kanayama 30k which is my first and the only strop so far. I have treated the canvas strop according to the instruction, it became smoother and more even. The leather 30k strop is pretty slick.

Is a suede strop needed? Could I get any sensible advantage for a razor edge using some coarser leather strop after my canvas strop, prior to the leather Kanayama 30k? Which one to choose for that?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[shyster512]

I' m with jcatnat. I use mine post shave to clean and polish. I use the canvas and leather preshave. By the way, I did not "treat" my canvas and it works wonderfully.

 

[alpster]

I' m with jcatnat. I use mine post shave to clean and polish. I use the canvas and leather preshave. By the way, I did not "treat" my canvas and it works wonderfully.

This^

 

[vmspb]

If the suede strop main application is just a post shave razor cleaning, would the main leather strop underside do the same?

 

[alpster]

If the suede strop main application is just a post shave razor cleaning, would the main leather strop underside do the same?

By golly, I bet it would. I am also guessing that the suede component was intended to have some sort of abrasive paste or spray such as crox, feox or diamond emulsion added for edge refreshing. I plan to try this at some point.

 

[Lmarkow]

I would not put anything on the K suede. That's like putting ketchup on filet mignon. But I guess it's your meat.

 

[Bobski]

Totally agree. In my view, the only part of a Kanayama strop that needs anything done to it is the canvas. When new it's stiff, hard and requires breaking in. As I said the washing machine did the trick with mine and I've got a number of them. As far as the leather, don't do anything to it, nothing, put no leather conditioners or stuff on it. The only thing/maintenance a Kanayama Cordovan leather piece will ever need is a palm rub every now and then. Some say clean it with cloth and warm water. I have no idea why, none of mine have required it.

 

[pigmypuncher]

<snip> The only thing/maintenance a Kanayama Cordovan leather piece will ever need is a palm rub every now and then. Some say clean it with cloth and warm water. I have no idea why, none of mine have required it.

^Thanks - I have one on order and was wondering what (if anything) needed to be done for maintenance.

 

[Old Frog]

I purchased an 80k from Maksim @ Japanese Natural Stones, shipping (fast!) include to US and VAT free. Very happy; inventory comes and goes like everywhere