Item Description
Quality/Workmanship/Design/F&F: The workmanship and quality of leather and hardware on the Ambrose Ebano strop are top notch. I find it to be a 'no frills' strop, but that belies its simple, clean elegance which I find appealing. The dark color of the leather (think Espresso roast) has a striking appearance. There is a tasteful, but discrete stamp with the maker's logo at the barber's end. This is a good-looking strop.
Feedback/Draw/Speed/Efficacy: The strop has a smooth and uniform draw along its entire length and width. It has considerably more draw than a relatively light English bridle that I have, but less than the Ambrose Spanish horsehide (Corto) strop that I have. This complements the Corto well and it has already quite noticably pushed several freshly-honed edges over the top. Tactile and audio feedback are direct and crisp with a firm, but not heavy 'grip' on the razor. With a fluid motion, this strop is good for high speed stropping if that's your thing. The leather felt a little stiff coming out of the package owing partly to its substantial thickness and will need sometime to break in.
Size (it matters): At 4 mm thick, it is sufficiently thick to feel substantial in my grip and also to minimize cupping. Total length is 64 cm (~24 in) which provides a very ample stropping length of ~50-55 cm (~20-22 in), even with the barber's end. This is a full 13 cm (5 in) longer than some earlier Ambrose strops and is a very welcome improvement. Strop width is 64 mm (~2.5 in) with a cotton canvas back that is only ~2mm less wide than the leather (1 mm each side). The canvas has a clean appearance, and although I find it to be quite stiff, it serves its purpose before going to the leather.
Overall value and Summary: The Ambrose Ebano is a no-frills high quality strop with an understated elegance that will soon become my daily strop. It looks great and feels great under a razor. I think it's quite reasonably priced compared to other strops on the market, especially considering its quality and performance. I expect this strop to last indefinately. Aside from the fact that I always seem to subconsciously call it the ‘Ebola’ strop, my only complaint is that it is not as supple as I would like and might take some time to break in. This is probably just my own personal aesthetic as the performance right out of the box and later has been very good. +1 for Jose.
I'll post a pic as soon as I can...
Feedback/Draw/Speed/Efficacy: The strop has a smooth and uniform draw along its entire length and width. It has considerably more draw than a relatively light English bridle that I have, but less than the Ambrose Spanish horsehide (Corto) strop that I have. This complements the Corto well and it has already quite noticably pushed several freshly-honed edges over the top. Tactile and audio feedback are direct and crisp with a firm, but not heavy 'grip' on the razor. With a fluid motion, this strop is good for high speed stropping if that's your thing. The leather felt a little stiff coming out of the package owing partly to its substantial thickness and will need sometime to break in.
Size (it matters): At 4 mm thick, it is sufficiently thick to feel substantial in my grip and also to minimize cupping. Total length is 64 cm (~24 in) which provides a very ample stropping length of ~50-55 cm (~20-22 in), even with the barber's end. This is a full 13 cm (5 in) longer than some earlier Ambrose strops and is a very welcome improvement. Strop width is 64 mm (~2.5 in) with a cotton canvas back that is only ~2mm less wide than the leather (1 mm each side). The canvas has a clean appearance, and although I find it to be quite stiff, it serves its purpose before going to the leather.
Overall value and Summary: The Ambrose Ebano is a no-frills high quality strop with an understated elegance that will soon become my daily strop. It looks great and feels great under a razor. I think it's quite reasonably priced compared to other strops on the market, especially considering its quality and performance. I expect this strop to last indefinately. Aside from the fact that I always seem to subconsciously call it the ‘Ebola’ strop, my only complaint is that it is not as supple as I would like and might take some time to break in. This is probably just my own personal aesthetic as the performance right out of the box and later has been very good. +1 for Jose.
I'll post a pic as soon as I can...
