Item Description
Here is a review thread on this strop begun by others, with nice photos and everything. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=154571 I did not see an actual review in the reviews of this strop, though. Hope this is not a repeat review. I agree with azmark and Barbash say in the above thread.
First a bit about my strop experience. I have a Tony Miller 2.5 inch wide latigo, with cotton webbing, Dovo white pasted strap--see below. I also have a vintage horse cordovan shell strop in great shape with a Hess Milk Labs Silk Finish strap. I also have a vintage shell strop in less great shape, that still does a pretty good job, which has been sanded down and oiled, and has quite a bit of draw for a horse shell strop. In the past I have owned and used lesser quality rawhide type strops. I have a decent barber's hone and a nice wood paddle strop covered with hard felt with diamond spray on one side and CrO on another. I also owned and used for a long time balsa strops with both separate diamond spray and CrO. I have never used a Japanese cordovan strop or, say, any of the Hand American products. On to the product!
Fit and Finish, Thickness of Leather, Overall Appearance--Workmanship and quality of leather is wonderful. Strop is a beautiful honey color. Very distinctive. Very thick, but not so stiff. Has a suppleness to it with without any tendency that I find for the leather to cup. Hardware is top notch. 2 inch wide cotton webbing strap is same as what I bought separately from Ambrose in the past and is very nice. I pasted mine with Dovo white paste and it seems ideal for doing that. Maker stamp is very nice.
Design--A beautiful design that is lavish in its use of stunning leather. Strop is one piece with a barber's end--my favorite and what my vintage strops have--and an elegant fold over top. Lots of square inches to use to strop. A long and elegant old school look. The one piece design and the excellent fit and finish give it stunningly clean, long lines. Luxurious.
Amount of Draw, Efficacy--Here is where this strop really shines, and I truly hope I am not exaggerating in what I say here, because I am skeptical myself as to whether any strop can make that much of a difference in an edge compared to any other strop. As others have said, it does not have the amount of draw of latigo, but has much more draw than most shell/horse strops, at least the ones I have used, even the one I sanded down quite a bit to remove damage. There is something very pleasant about that specifc level of draw. Also, very pleasant to touch the leather and hold it in one's hand. A substantial feeling tool in every respect. The part that seems to much to be true, is that I have (on loan to me) a Double Duck Wonderedge and a DD Special Wedge, which each had amazing edges on them to start with. I may not be the best stropper in the world, but I sure did not change technique for this strop, and as nice as the edges were before they took a noticeable step up--smoother and sharper--after being stropped on this strop as a finishing strop. I find that hard to believe, as I was not exactly using poor quality strops to begin with.
Value--I expect these strops to last forever. Craftsmanship is great. Quality of leather seems wonderful. The design is beautiful, but also the one piece aspect uses long pieces of very nice leather. A super value.
I have always taken exceptional pleasure in owning the TM latigo strop. Such a thing of craftsmanship and beauty to look at and use. I take equal (or more because of the additional elegance of the one piece design) pleasure in owning and using this strop.
Kudos.
Probably should use the thread above for comments that are not full reviews.
First a bit about my strop experience. I have a Tony Miller 2.5 inch wide latigo, with cotton webbing, Dovo white pasted strap--see below. I also have a vintage horse cordovan shell strop in great shape with a Hess Milk Labs Silk Finish strap. I also have a vintage shell strop in less great shape, that still does a pretty good job, which has been sanded down and oiled, and has quite a bit of draw for a horse shell strop. In the past I have owned and used lesser quality rawhide type strops. I have a decent barber's hone and a nice wood paddle strop covered with hard felt with diamond spray on one side and CrO on another. I also owned and used for a long time balsa strops with both separate diamond spray and CrO. I have never used a Japanese cordovan strop or, say, any of the Hand American products. On to the product!
Fit and Finish, Thickness of Leather, Overall Appearance--Workmanship and quality of leather is wonderful. Strop is a beautiful honey color. Very distinctive. Very thick, but not so stiff. Has a suppleness to it with without any tendency that I find for the leather to cup. Hardware is top notch. 2 inch wide cotton webbing strap is same as what I bought separately from Ambrose in the past and is very nice. I pasted mine with Dovo white paste and it seems ideal for doing that. Maker stamp is very nice.
Design--A beautiful design that is lavish in its use of stunning leather. Strop is one piece with a barber's end--my favorite and what my vintage strops have--and an elegant fold over top. Lots of square inches to use to strop. A long and elegant old school look. The one piece design and the excellent fit and finish give it stunningly clean, long lines. Luxurious.
Amount of Draw, Efficacy--Here is where this strop really shines, and I truly hope I am not exaggerating in what I say here, because I am skeptical myself as to whether any strop can make that much of a difference in an edge compared to any other strop. As others have said, it does not have the amount of draw of latigo, but has much more draw than most shell/horse strops, at least the ones I have used, even the one I sanded down quite a bit to remove damage. There is something very pleasant about that specifc level of draw. Also, very pleasant to touch the leather and hold it in one's hand. A substantial feeling tool in every respect. The part that seems to much to be true, is that I have (on loan to me) a Double Duck Wonderedge and a DD Special Wedge, which each had amazing edges on them to start with. I may not be the best stropper in the world, but I sure did not change technique for this strop, and as nice as the edges were before they took a noticeable step up--smoother and sharper--after being stropped on this strop as a finishing strop. I find that hard to believe, as I was not exactly using poor quality strops to begin with.
Value--I expect these strops to last forever. Craftsmanship is great. Quality of leather seems wonderful. The design is beautiful, but also the one piece aspect uses long pieces of very nice leather. A super value.
I have always taken exceptional pleasure in owning the TM latigo strop. Such a thing of craftsmanship and beauty to look at and use. I take equal (or more because of the additional elegance of the one piece design) pleasure in owning and using this strop.
Kudos.
Probably should use the thread above for comments that are not full reviews.
I like a strop with fast action like cordovan. Now this isn't as fast as that, but provides just enough draw to give you better feedback. Jose didn't advertise being able to use the back with paste, but I am happy to say the backside provides an excellent surface. You could even use it without paste as the slight texture it has should make it a good "sharpening" side. What I found happens is the little nooks and crannies do a great job filling up and holding the paste allowing the surface of the leather to be unpasted. Hard to explain, probably better to just look at the picture. Basically it allows for a more evenly pasted surface. It freshens up an edge real quick. 
