Item Description
First let me start off buy saying that I am not a veteran of straight razor shaving. I'm relatively new with straights, but was shaving with a DE for 6 years prior. I have a Tony Miller 2.5" Red Latigo, an SRD modular paddle, and Larry's poor man's strop.
Fit & Finish- I don't know what else can be said about the fit and finish on this strop that isn't in the photos. This strop feels like a piece of velvet when you run your hand over it. What I really like is the design at the end of this strop. You can tell when you see this strop in person that a lot of time and creativity went into crafting it.
Amount of Draw- Compared to my latigo the horse hide is much more smooth with a really quick draw. It's a very very light draw. I have horse hide on my SRD as well and in comparison the Ambrose is heavier. The SRD feels like I have very little control of the razor and can get away from me sometimes if I'm not careful. The Ambrose strop pulls the razor to it and gives me great control when performing the "x" pattern.
Thickness of Leather- Plenty thick and on par with my Tony Miller. Not sure what to say here other than it feels like a solid piece of leather that will last a lifetime.
Efficacy- I started out using a freshly honed razor from Jose (aka Ambrose) and I've been using nothing but the linen and the horse hide. Now being new to straights stropping is usually the make it or break it in maintaining the edge of a razor. More importantly incorrect stropping can dull a razor very quickly. I have had no dulling of my razor and it still shaves as sharp and smooth as the day I got it from Jose. It's just fun to use this strop. The draw and feel make it easy to use. As my first strop with a barbers end I wasn't sure how it was going to feel holding it. At first I didn't like it, I was holding between my thumb and forefinger and that would cramp my hand. Then I started holding the end like a handle and got much better results. I thought about getting my next Ambrose strop with D rings, but in the end decided to get it in the barbers end. It also looks better without D rings IMO.
Overall Value- I feel this strop is an excellent value. I find it to be the best looking strop I've seen. Added to that its functionality and its price. You can't beat it. I do like having the heavy draw of my TM latigo strop and I find Jose's work on par with Tony's. I'm very much looking forward to Jose's future offerings and experimenting with different draws and designs. From talking with Jose it doesn't sound like the soft horse hide strop is going to be around for long, so if you haven't I would drop an email to Jose and pick one up. I believe he just got some more horse hide leather in stock.
Jose is awesome at making strops and his honing skills are just as great. He is also fantastic to deal with. He is committed to making sure the people who buys his strops are satisfied with the end product and he stands behind that with his action and not just his word. You can buy from him with confidence and trust.
Fit & Finish- I don't know what else can be said about the fit and finish on this strop that isn't in the photos. This strop feels like a piece of velvet when you run your hand over it. What I really like is the design at the end of this strop. You can tell when you see this strop in person that a lot of time and creativity went into crafting it.
Amount of Draw- Compared to my latigo the horse hide is much more smooth with a really quick draw. It's a very very light draw. I have horse hide on my SRD as well and in comparison the Ambrose is heavier. The SRD feels like I have very little control of the razor and can get away from me sometimes if I'm not careful. The Ambrose strop pulls the razor to it and gives me great control when performing the "x" pattern.
Thickness of Leather- Plenty thick and on par with my Tony Miller. Not sure what to say here other than it feels like a solid piece of leather that will last a lifetime.
Efficacy- I started out using a freshly honed razor from Jose (aka Ambrose) and I've been using nothing but the linen and the horse hide. Now being new to straights stropping is usually the make it or break it in maintaining the edge of a razor. More importantly incorrect stropping can dull a razor very quickly. I have had no dulling of my razor and it still shaves as sharp and smooth as the day I got it from Jose. It's just fun to use this strop. The draw and feel make it easy to use. As my first strop with a barbers end I wasn't sure how it was going to feel holding it. At first I didn't like it, I was holding between my thumb and forefinger and that would cramp my hand. Then I started holding the end like a handle and got much better results. I thought about getting my next Ambrose strop with D rings, but in the end decided to get it in the barbers end. It also looks better without D rings IMO.
Overall Value- I feel this strop is an excellent value. I find it to be the best looking strop I've seen. Added to that its functionality and its price. You can't beat it. I do like having the heavy draw of my TM latigo strop and I find Jose's work on par with Tony's. I'm very much looking forward to Jose's future offerings and experimenting with different draws and designs. From talking with Jose it doesn't sound like the soft horse hide strop is going to be around for long, so if you haven't I would drop an email to Jose and pick one up. I believe he just got some more horse hide leather in stock.
Jose is awesome at making strops and his honing skills are just as great. He is also fantastic to deal with. He is committed to making sure the people who buys his strops are satisfied with the end product and he stands behind that with his action and not just his word. You can buy from him with confidence and trust.
