Can you help me with Black Beauty strop information?

[Straight up]

Hey shavers,

I bought Black Beauty in August 98 and have used it exclusively ever since, shaving every week day of the week.

Not having seen another strop until this year, I was surprised to see strops with 2 handles and a canvas material side (even canvas hose material!). This seems to be the norm and mine seems to be the odd one out.

Can you tell me anything about this kind of strop? Does the leather look healthy & in good condition? Is it horse/bovine/other hide? I get a great shave of it, so as far as I know it's OK.

I know it was made by A. H. Christian & Son operating between 1916 to 1975 in New South Wales Australia . Given the clip is plastic I'm guessing it was made in the 70's. The strop is 400mm x 60mm double sided, 670mm long and the rear is imprinted with
"Linc
Genuine Hide
Hand crafted
Made in Australia"

You can see the remnants of green strop paste on the edges and thread.

Front and rear looks like this

Thanks for the look and any information you have.

 

[LJS]

If it is working for you then you have the main thing covered.

Looks like yours has seen much better days to be honest. Maybe it feels flatter/smoother than it looks in the pictures.

Some strops have a fabric secondary strop some don’t. Some like them and some folks don’t. I use linen for a secondary on my main strop but have seen cotton, canvas, nylon webbing, denim etc for cloth secondaries. I mostly stick to the leather personally but do like a secondary and use it when I feel compelled.

I cannot say for certain, but I think your strop is horse hide just based on the stamp. Many or most leathers work as long as they are flat, but they all have different feel to them when used.

Green paste was likely chromium oxide. For many years my edges where all CrOx-strop finished and maintained and they were actually great edges even though most here frown on that for some reason.

Secondaries, pastes, etc are all extras. A good leather strop (not pasted) is the key and must have. The extras are just that. Looking at your pics I personally would be getting or have gotten a new strop. If yours is working then nothing wrong with that and good for you. They can be sanded and resurfaced to some extent as well so that is something you can consider. But for not much money you can get a nice strop with better hardware and handles and if you have kept and used that one for 20+ years then you deserve to buy a really nice one for the next 20.

Hope this helps

 

[stone and strop]

Can you tell me anything about this kind of strop? Does the leather look healthy & in good condition? Is it horse/bovine/other hide? I get a great shave of it, so as far as I know it's OK.

Very hard to discern the type of leather from the photos.
No, the leather does not look healthy or in good condition. It looks pretty rough and worn out to be honest.
If it works for you then use it.
I personally would not use that strop in its condition.
You can get a much better looking/functional strop for reasonably little money.

 

[Straight up]

Thanks guys for your opinions, I value them as I have little experience with strops.

Looking at the surface it looks flat, but there are the different toned areas (light black, dark black) and I wondered about them. I have used CrOx on the "rough side" for many years, but I see posts about not using it. So I haven't applied any for about 1 year. Reading a bit about the company I suspect it is horse hide.

I get BBS shaves off my razors so I don't think the strop has been adversely affecting my performance. But having said that, I suspect my razors and performance could be enhanced by a new strop. Hence the post.

I don't know if I'll sand it down and try to restore it. I think I'll keep it as an old friend, a piece of nostalgia. Having nothing to compare it to, I don't know what a new strop will do to my razors and perhaps it may make a difference.

My son just started straight shaving in March and I need to get him a strop, so maybe I buy two. I'll be using it for at least another 20 years so it will be good value.

My question is "what am I looking for in a good strop?". Sounds like a dumb question after 22 years. I personally don't like the D ring handles and prefer a handle like I currently have, but I'm open to anything. Is any hide better than another? Is it an issue when they are rolled up when posted?

 

[Straight up]

Further reading and looking, I'm wondering if the spine work on my TI is responsible for some of the damage. I love the razor (my icon image) and have had it since 99.
Maybe I'll have to consider durability of the stop a little more.

 

[LJS]

Just a clean leather strop is what you need. Nice flat and smooth.

What it is made of, length, hardware type, handle type, any secondary strop, etc is all personal preference. If you don’t know what you prefer then pick an amount you want to spend and start talking to strop makers about what you want and they can help direct you better.

If you can keep and stick to just one for 20 years then I would say you splash out the cash for a nice kanoyama. Most would say they make about the best money can buy currently. Tony Miller strops seem to have great reputation as well. Maybe there are makers in AUS you can seek out. I have a bunch of different strops but I mostly use ones I made so I can’t offer a lot of brand suggestions for you.

But looking at your strop now, just about any New plain leather strop would be a big improvement.

 

[stone and strop]

Thanks guys for your opinions, I value them as I have little experience with strops.

Looking at the surface it looks flat, but there are the different toned areas (light black, dark black) and I wondered about them. I have used CrOx on the "rough side" for many years, but I see posts about not using it. So I haven't applied any for about 1 year. Reading a bit about the company I suspect it is horse hide.

I get BBS shaves off my razors so I don't think the strop has been adversely affecting my performance. But having said that, I suspect my razors and performance could be enhanced by a new strop. Hence the post.

I don't know if I'll sand it down and try to restore it. I think I'll keep it as an old friend, a piece of nostalgia. Having nothing to compare it to, I don't know what a new strop will do to my razors and perhaps it may make a difference.

My son just started straight shaving in March and I need to get him a strop, so maybe I buy two. I'll be using it for at least another 20 years so it will be good value.

My question is "what am I looking for in a good strop?". Sounds like a dumb question after 22 years. I personally don't like the D ring handles and prefer a handle like I currently have, but I'm open to anything. Is any hide better than another? Is it an issue when they are rolled up when posted?

No one hide is "better" than another only preferential to some.
Rolling one for post can be an issue as some here have found out the hard way.
Most credible vendors will either ship flat or rolled gently with the finish leather facing out.
If they ship it with the good surface in it may be a complete loss or even rolled too tight could be catastrophic.
Tony Miller has very good strops for good prices so I would start looking there.

 

[Straight up]

I have been on-line looking for a new strop but the ones I like are all from the US and will take some time to arrive (if at all). So I grabbed some 600,800, & 1200 sandpaper and tried the restoration option. As they say in the army "if you can't fix it, F**k it." meaning if you can't fix it you have nothing too lose, so give it your best shot.

I spent around an hour sanding, starting on the rough side. If I destroy one side of the strop I still have the other, and the smooth is the most valuable. I could survive with the smooth side until a new strop arrives. Fortunately the rough side seemed to come out well. So I then treated the finish side. The strop is flexibe/supple and the surface appears to be uniform & smoother than before. I finished after sundown and the laundry light was not great, so I need to see it in full sunlight to see the improvement. I'll take some 'after' photos if it looks good (I'm sure it will). I also look forward to trying on my favorite razor tomorrow morning.

 

[Straight up]

I felt the strop this morning and it still felt smooth and supple. So I stropped my TI razor and had a cracking shave. The draw felt different, previously it was very glassy but now there is a distinct "pull" when I strop. I'm guessing this is good

Here is the rear side

Here is the finish side

Thanks for the suggestion of refurbishing it, seems to have done wonders and gives me time to get a new one.

 

[stone and strop]

Looks great, nice job on it.

 

[LJS]

Good job!

 

[Straight up]

I'm concerned with the plastic clip and fastener. Is there somewhere I can get a D ring or suitable chrome fastener?

 

[Straight up]

So here is a cheap razor I use all the time (Comoy of London). When it arrived I couldn't use it for a full shave as it was so awful, so I honed it then stropped and now it's like all the other razors
Comoy Hair test (blink and you'll miss it!)

 

[Dave Sl8r]

I'm concerned with the plastic clip and fastener. Is there somewhere I can get a D ring or suitable chrome fastener?

Should be able to find what you’re looking for at a horse tack or saddlery supply store.

 

[duke762]

Man, that came out better than I thought possible. Good job!

 

[Straight up]

Should be able to find what you’re looking for at a horse tack or saddlery supply store.

Dave Sl8r,
thanks but I have found that I can get them on Ebay etc, they are called swivel snap hooks (50mm). They are typically used to hold bags to shoulder straps (laptop bags, camera bags, women's handbags, etc). They come in many materials and colours.
I'd probably get a chrome or gold (to match the strop's lettering), but am reluctant because I have to un-stitch the exising leather fastener, then re-sew it. Since the existing swivel is fine I'll stick with it until it breaks; it's been 22 years and still works so I think it'll be OK for a while. Should it give up then I know exactly what I want.

I also saw the the FS extra wide strop is back in stock for $50. I was so tempted to buy it for my son, but Black Beauty is doing such a stirlig job I'll let her work on his and my razors.

 

[Straight up]

I saw the extra wide FS strop for sale and it was so cheap I couldn't say no. Arrived today. It's OK for the price but I think Black Beauty is better. She's certainly heavier but slimmer and has two sides. I'll be interested to see how FS draws tomorrow morning. Depending on how it goes it most likely will be going to my son.

 

[Straight up]

I used it this morning and it was a very light draw compared to Black Beauty. I wasn't sure if it had done anything, so I did a HHT and it passed no worries. I'll give it a go for the next week on all my razors and see how it performs. I'm suspecting more and more this one is for my son.

 

[Seg85]

Following your experience with this one Mine seems to be stropping alright but then again I dont really have anything to compare with!!

 

[Straight up]

Seg85, do you do the HHT? After I have shaved the blade won't pass the test, unless I strop it. So take a 'dull' razor and see if it passes the test (also assumes it was well honed and capable of passing a HHT in the first place).

I'm guessing the take home message is that all strops fell different, but as long as they produce a nice edge it doesn't matter.