Item Description
When I heard there was a fella making strops other than Tony, I just knew I had to have one. I bought some of Tony's strops back when he first started making them, and I haven't had a single regret since, so when I heard of the new fella in town, Damon - Proforma Strops, I quickly ordered up a 2.75 inch wide Red Latigo strop to see how it would compare.
My Proforma Red Latigo strop (on left) next to my now pasted (green chrome) Tony Miller Beginner strop. (Note: The beginner strop I have is an older model, whereby it does not have a handle "cut into" it as Tony's new beginner strops have)
So, without wasting any time - how does the Proforma strop stack up against the Tony Miller? Well... unfortunately, it doesn't. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad strop by any means, but the $6 less expensive Tony Miller just plumb beats the Proforma in every category. The Tony Miller has a much thicker/heavier cut of leather, the leather is much smoother and of higher quality, the red latigo stain/treatment is MUCH deeper/richer in color, and provides much greater draw, the strop has better mounting hardware (it has a handy leather loop by which you can hang the strop on a strop hook, or on a door handle, faucet, etc) and the Tony Miller strop stay much flatter when pulled taught. When taking all of the above into consideration, then factoring the thicker, nicer, better strop (The Tony Miller) is less expensive, at least for me it's simply a no brainer - the "Heirloom Starter" from The Well Shaved Gentleman is simply the enthusiasts choice. Also, when you figure for a mere $10 more than the cost of the proforma, you could get a Heirloom Original with red latigo AND linen - with MUCH superior, metal mounting hardware.
Nice handle, with extra rigidity added by a layer of black latigo on both sides...
Notice the Tony Miller Heirloom starter strop (on the right) is a much thicker cut, and there isn't any "rough" leather on the back sort of hanging out, almost as if it were "hairy"
Overall - It's a nice strop - look at the review percentage, and it works well... in fact I prefer it to a similarly priced Dovo strop, but with Tony's strops readily available, and providing greater value AND performance, the Proforma strops just can't cut the mustard. I would go as far as to say - if you own a Proforma, and you haven't tried a Tony Miller Red Latigo... you're missing out.
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