I just received my Big Daddy today. Up until now, I've been using the poor man's strop from Whipped Dog. Taking it out of the box, I was first taken aback by its size compared to my poor man's strop. Now, I'm still rather inexperienced with straights and I'm sure that my stropping technique on the poor man's strop wasn't the best (as evidenced by the nicks & cuts in it). So, I'm sure that the edge on my razor wasn't exactly 100% shave ready by the time the Big Daddy arrived. Knowing this, I went straight to the felt for forty laps. Then another forty laps on the black latigo. Let me just say that this strop is just fantastic! The draw on the leather is so satisfying and the combination of the felt & leather took my not-so-shave-ready-straight and put it right back in line. So much so that my shave with it resulted in a perfect BBS - my first with a straight razor (and with very little irritation too). In fact, while typing this, I've caught myself checking my face several times. I'm still amazed! As for the width, a 3" strop is just so much easier now that the leather covers the length of the blade without having to rely on X strokes. I'm still not going to recommend that a newbie go straight to a nice strop like this right off the bat. I'm still happy that I got my start on the poor man's strop until I became comfortable with it. But now that the training wheels are off, I can't ever see myself going back to a 2" strop again.
A Relatively New Straight Shaver's Impression of the Big Daddy
- Thread starter JonM
- Start date
I'm glad you wrote a review like this. I was looking at the Big Daddy, and opted for #181WJ (like to support my local shop) but the 3" made such a huge difference for me! Frankly, for the money, I'd tell a newbie to go ahead and order the Big Daddy since it's still relatively inexpensive and of high quality and skip the PMS...as I just found it to frustrate me.
I have been thinking about getting one, but your review put me over the line. Order placed!
The Big Daddy is a great strop. I love the draw. It's probably the best one in its price bracket.
I have it and an Illinois 127 and I give the BD the slight nod. They are both wonderful strops for $40. The BD has the better leather and the 127 has the better second component, imho. Even though stropping on the 127's "linen" is reminiscent of nails on a chalk board, it works.
I have it and an Illinois 127 and I give the BD the slight nod. They are both wonderful strops for $40. The BD has the better leather and the 127 has the better second component, imho. Even though stropping on the 127's "linen" is reminiscent of nails on a chalk board, it works.
- Thread starter
- #5
I guess that depends on someone's definition of "expensive". The black latigo BD ends up being closer to $50 with shipping included - about as much as the whole sight unseen kit. For someone who has never used a straight before, the sight unseen deal is still the best bargain in town. Personally, I consider $50 to be a lot of money. I can only imagine the heartbreak I'd feel if I cut it to ribbons when learning to strop.
Good point. However, for my wallet, I found the 2" PMS to be more cumbersome and frustrating than spending a few more bucks. To each his own, and everyone has a different budget - but I do agree with the heartbreak - I felt that on the PMS the first 5-10x's!
I really love Ron L. and starshavingsupplies, not to brag but it own, just because of my own Strop AD, not less than half dozen of his strops including a couple of Big Daddy's both in cowhide and latigo, I just think they are all great strops well made and more afordable than some, of course when you buy as many as I have, the price thing becomes a bit of a moot point!!!
Enjoy you new strop, you may want to buy more strops in the future, but with what you have it won't be really needed.
Sincerely, tinkersd
Enjoy you new strop, you may want to buy more strops in the future, but with what you have it won't be really needed.
Sincerely, tinkersd
my first strop was a 2" wide strop..ruined it a longtime ago...since then 3" wide all the way...just makes stropping a bit easier..
- Thread starter
- #9
Yeah. I'm really loving this thing. For the price, I don't think I could have done much better than this.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
The BD is a viable first leather strop IF the newbie will strop the first half dozen times on newspaper. Otherwise I think in general the PMSK is better for a first strop. However they do sell replacement leather so maybe buying a spare leather piece with a first Big Daddy would be a good option. Oh and don't forget diamond paste and a piece of balsa.
Would the felt component of the BD be a good base for diamond paste/spray or would it be better to stick with balsa? Bade on what I have read diamond seems to be preferable to CRox, so I am thinking of ordering some when I run out of the powder that came with the whipped dog set.
I use .5 diamond spray on the very same felt. It works real good for diamond sprays.
i have 2 of the BD's.... i find them to be excellent....
IF YOU WILL LOOK ON THE SITE... they have a "poor man" strop... it runs ~14$..... i had one and it was great... i PIF'd it not long back and wished i still had it....
an excellent travel strop ...
hell... an excellent only strop...
and starshaving has excellent customer service also....
just sayin...
IF YOU WILL LOOK ON THE SITE... they have a "poor man" strop... it runs ~14$..... i had one and it was great... i PIF'd it not long back and wished i still had it....
an excellent travel strop ...
hell... an excellent only strop...
and starshaving has excellent customer service also....
just sayin...
I like the BD strops. I don't think I have a problem, but I did get 3 of them before I switched to horse leather. They are really nice easy strops to use, supple. You may move yourself to a harder strop when you get down the road a little, but it's hard to complain about $40 and a couple dollars for a huge strop with a felt back and hardware.
Mine should arrive this week.
I just got a BD about a week ago and I absolutely love it. I have only used the PMS that came with my sight unseen deal so far. For the price I feel like it's a no brainer.
I would definitely recommend the BD to anyone wanting a quality strop and not wanting to pay the premium price.
I really wanted a Tony Miller strop but I still have the occasional mishap with my stropping so maybe next year I will go for the best and get a TM.
I would definitely recommend the BD to anyone wanting a quality strop and not wanting to pay the premium price.
I really wanted a Tony Miller strop but I still have the occasional mishap with my stropping so maybe next year I will go for the best and get a TM.
- Thread starter
- #17
Noob question here. I see a lot of folks talking about the Tony Miller strops. What is it about them that makes them superior to the BD?
I just ordered a burgundy big daddy a few minutes ago after reading this. Both PMS I have look a little worse for wear but they served their purpose. Pretty excited to see the difference though.
tony does spectacular work.. the fit and finish are top notch and he uses HIGH quality components....
and their handmade....
really impressive work he does...
I used a Big Mama for quite a while, then (after much reading here in the Forum) the Strop AD virus struck. I now have two Tony Miller strops (2 1/2" Heirloom Steerhide "Old No. 2 and Heirloom Artisan 2 1/2" Premium Bridle). The TM's are much more attractive (quality is obvious) and have less draw than the Big Mama. The Mama gets the job done, but the TM adds a touch of luxury to the process.
