Cheap strops. Do they work?

[SliceOfLife]

The $7 Chinese strop is here.

Bad news.


I came home to find an ~3x3" box in my driveway. "That can't be my strop" I said. Then I saw that it was. I opened it and the leather was quite pliable, so even though it was rolled the wrong way, I thought it might be ok.

Unfortunately... there are two big dents in the leather from the hardware being pressed into it, as well as a big cut in one of the dents.


Still, I'll give it a try.

The size? It's small... barely bigger than the $3 strop. But the hardware is Way, WAY better. Better than the X-bay... honestly not THAT much worse than a high end strop like a Tony Miller. It actually looks like they copied the hardware from my Old No 2 (but in cheaper and thinner brass vs heavier Stainless on the TM). For $7, this is some GREAT hardware. Also, the use of rivets to mount the hardware makes the surface area highly usable... so it doesn't feel quite as small as it looks.

The linen is literally dirty used jeans. Not kidding. There's stains (including one on the backside that may be blood). These are some cut up recycled jeans. Not a big deal, but may bother some people. The feedback and draw using them is actually pretty good. I may make a larger used jean linen strop for myself.

The Leather? Reminds me a little bit of an Illinois cowhide strop in feel... but thinner, more flexible, and even a little elastic (which is odd for a strop and a bit reminiscent of the $3 strop... definitely not a typical leather). The feel when stropping is much much better than either the $3 or the X-Bay... though still not anything I'd consider acceptable on a $30+ strop. I'll try a shave off it tomorrow and let you know how well it works.


Right now, the hardware on this strop is a CLEAR winner, with the Xbay being a decent step down and then the $3 strop being a Laughably huge step down from that.

I'm leaning towards the XBay being the best option though... as the shipping of and damage to this strop is unacceptable. That said... a different vendor may pack and ship differently*... so buying this strop for a few dollars more elsewhere may resolve that... and ASSUMING this hadn't been damaged like it was... I would probably be leaning towards this strop over the Xbay, given the inclusion of the linen secondary, superior hardware, and superior draw winning out over the extra size of the xBay.


With that said, the proof is in the pudding, so I'll shave tomorrow and update with how effective this strop is in use.


*I bought from "Virginia Shaving Proudct(sic) store", and given the packaging I would suggest if you buy this strop to pick a different vendor and hope they package it better.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Virginia Shaving Products? I wonder if that is Virginia Sheng. She was not so long ago producing fairly decent badger brushes for a very good price. Kind of stole the market after Frank Shaving dropped their quality and raised their prices. They used to be the leader in Chinese badger brushes. These days I suggest buying a silvertip preferably a big one, from Larry of Whipped Dog fame. Costs a couple bucks more, get it in days instead of weeks, from an American seller who stands behind his gear. Anyway thanks for reviewing the strops. This is important and valuable information.

 

[SliceOfLife]

It probably is. The vendor has a ton of brushes in their storefront that are sold as "VIGSHAVING" brushes.


Looking at aliexpress... no one is selling this exact strop for less than $15-20 anymore it looks like. One vendor (LE-MT) has a similar one with the same hardware but a white linen component for $8.50, and everyone else is $15+.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Final Roundup with a vintage I've restored standing in as the "premium" strop. These can be found anywhere from $25-100 depending on brand, how much restoration they need, etc. Don't think I've ever paid over $50.


Size:

Low end Chinese ($1-3) (12x2.375") 5
Xbay ($11) (16x2.5") 7
High end Chinese ($7-18) (12.75x2.375") 6
Vintage Restore (25-$50) (23x2.437") 10

Secondary:
Low end Chinese: (Elastic material) 5
Xbay (None) 0
HE Chinese: (Dirty Jeans) 6
Vintage Restore (Vintage woven linen) 10

Leather performance:

LE Chinese: (Elastic, ridged "leather", better than nothing but damages edge subtly) 5
Xbay(low quality leather sanded very coarse to obscure defects, creates a suede-like surface, Effective, but feedback not great, and shave comfort a little lower, sharpness also a slight touch below a quality strop) 7
He Chinese: (Semi-elastic, smooth Leather, Nearly as good as a true strop, but still slightly lower comfort in shave and feedback a step down) 8
Vintage: (A properly prepared and finished shell strop) 10

Hardware:

LE Chinese: (It hangs and not much else... wire hanger bent to shape) 3
x-Bay: (It works and feels like it'll last, but still bent wire. Stitching is amateurish, but strong): 6
HE Chinese: (Lower quality version of a good strops hardware, brass rivots, clip, etc) : 9
Vintage: (It's real strop hardware. It lasted a century and is good for a century more.): 10

Condition/shipping:

LE Chinese: Folded up in an envelope, but the low quality strop survived it fine 9
xBay: Packed properly, but leather had creases and punctures in it likely pre-existing shipment. Usable, but did remove ~2-3" of length from usability and possibly impacted performance. 6
HE Chinese: Rulled backwards in a shoddy 3x3" box, arrived quite significantly damaged, but usable 4
Vintage: Up to you to recognize one with no significant damage, ensure seller ships properly, and utilize eBays buyer protection or seller return policies if they don't. N/A



In the end, the Vintage makes up the perfect score 40/40 or 100%

The cheapest ($1-3) strop makes a score of 27/50 or 54%. F

The X-Bay made 26/40 if you don't require a secondary or 65%. D. If a secondary is a requirement, it's absence bumps the X-bay down to the worst score 26/50. F

The higher end Chinese strop Made a score of 36/50 or 66%. D The shipping damage kept this from being a C




All three strops DID work to some extent. Shaves off any of them were superior to an unstropped shave.

The cheapest strop damaged the edge

The X-bay didn't fully strop (performed more like a secondary component than a leather/shell strop), but came close. It also used the closest thing to a real strop leather, but was clearly using a grade of leather that was NOT suitable for a strop and used a very roughed up finish to obscure defects... this caused the strop to perform as it did (more like suede than shell).

The premium Chinese offering was arguably the most suitable substitute for a real strop, but shipping was very careless and it arrived heavily damaged. Even with the damage avoided, it was still not quite as successful at its task as a properly prepared piece of decent leather is.

That said, as short term substitutes or to learn on, either the x-bay or the premium chinese strop will do.

The Chinese strops prices have doubled since I bought mine for this thread on aliexpress, with one vendor selling a strop of this type for $8.50, but all others asking $16+ now. It's early to say if this is a temporary price spike or if this is the new going rate for these strops.

With the X-Bay $11 and the Chinese premium costing the same or less, between the two I'd recommend going with the Chinese strop and hoping yours arrives in better condition than mine did. Adjust the Chinese strops price closer to $20 and the xBay becomes the clear choice.

I believe WhippedDog has a visual defect "poor mans strop", which forgoes hardware entirely and has a kind of clasping mechanism cut into the leather for $10 + shipping ($13.67 shipped for me), and that may be a strong consideration (From the pictures it's about 2x16" Usable surface). If the leather on that is actually similar to what is normal for a strop and is not creased or damaged the way the x-Bays leather was... it would already be a big step ahead of all three strops tested here.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Nice test/review. Apparently, Xbay has reduced his quality considerably.

The hair side and flesh side, respectively. When I brought it out front and center today after neglecting it for some time, it was stiff as a board. So it is splotchy from applying a few drops of neats foot and a bit of beeswax a few minutes ago. Needs some more rubbing. It seems to do a pretty decent job on a razor. But clearly quality has slipped recently.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yeah, Yours has a couple small spots that'd worry me (circled them below), but mine had them all over once I refined the sanding job a bit, in addition to the creases at the bottom.

Might not be a drop in quality. At $10 to make it, ship it to US from Pakistan, Pay ~$2 to eBay/Paypal and then ship it to a buyer... there's no way they're able to be picky about the leather they are using... probably next to nothing gets binned. You might have gotten an especially clean piece and I got an especially poor piece. My guess is these are intended for knives, not razors.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I’ve been working on mine on and off for two days now. Sanded it up to 3K and tried to remove as much of the damaged spots as I could but you can see it’s still a pretty low quality leather underneath. I’ll probably shave off it tomorrow and see if it actually performs up to where I hope. But even if it does, this is 3 hrs work or more by now. I'd rather just buy one of Tony's basic strops, get a better strop and save the time. I'm only doing this to see if the leather is even salvageable or if I should have just left it with the suede-like 60grit finish they sent it with.

 

[rbscebu]

@SliceOfLife, an excellent review that has assisted me greatly in deciding on my next strop buying decision. All I need do now is save up my pesos.

Could this be my new rabbit hole to get me out of M7DS's?

Fortunately my HE Chinese strops have all been well packaged and arrived without any deficiencies. I expect that the price increase is partly due to the falling value of the USD.

I would be interested in a second review from you after each strip has been used a dozen or so times. I rub the underside of my forearm on my strops before and after each use.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Shaved today off the modified x-bay and it's still not up to par with a high quality strop. No better than it was with the rough finish in fact... seems their decision to leave it coarsely finished was quite reasonable, there's not good enough leather underneath that a proper finish does it any good. My time spent was wasted.

I'll continue with the damaged Chinese strop for a few more shaves to see if the difference between it and a regular strop is very noticeable over a week or so of use before switching back to one of my regular strops.

(edit: Took some measurements of the closeup I had of the x-Bay before I started the modification. It appears to have been sanded to 80 grit from the sanding scars that are visible in the closeup... may return it to that grit and consider using it as a suede secondary).

 

[SliceOfLife]

So I've almost got the X-Bay stripped down to the suede. Looks like it might actually make a nice clean suede strop once I'm done. Fingers crossed. I'll post pictures by the weekend of the finished product.

I feel like I'm ragging on the X-bay a lot due to its not being able to be finished the way I've been trying to and I want to reiterate that it was pretty successful as a strop as it came. There was a bit of creasing near one end... but for the most part it was a good-enough looking strop that worked.

The edge it produced wasn't perfect, but it was definitely usable, and the draw was not to my taste, but for $10, I'd say you can't be picky about draw. I wouldn't recommend it as a permanent solution, and I think the higher end of the Chinese strops is a bit of a better option (pending a few more uses), assuming the price returns to be competitive again (Right now it's 50-75% more)... but both are in the same boat in my opinion as an option for a razor user. Better than nothing, and certainly better than the $3 strop, but you will still want to replace them once you are comfortable with the stropping motion. There's just too many reasons to want to upgrade to a nicer quality strop, even if the shave off it is only a little bit better.

I sanded it down because once I confirmed how it performed, having a $10 strop served no purpose for me and I wanted to see if it could be modified to perform just as well as a $40 strop, and in the case of my strop it can not. They were already too thin in the "skin" portion and there were too many pits, pockmarks, and flaws hidden under the coarse finish... I was sanding into flesh before I got through all the leather flaws that become a problem at a higher finish than what they used.

On the other hand, it is looking promising to be converted into a suede strop (albeit with a lot of effort) at least suitable for pasting (though I'm hoping viable as a clean secondary component)... so it might remain useful for some people after an upgrade. I may use it as a little tool/knife strop. I've never had a dedicated strop for knives.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Ok, I'm putting away the strops now. I had a couple more shaves off the HE Chinese, and honestly, it's pretty hard to tell I stropped on it instead of one of my "real" strops.

The higher end Chinese was the winner. For a $10 strop it's quite good, but it is a bit small, leather feels flimsy/cheap and almost fake (it's elastic like a strop shouldn't be), and mine arrived VERY damaged. On the plus side, it's almost as effective as a higher end strop. It has decent hardware and is a true 2-component (leather and cloth) strop. It's NOT worth the current price of nearly $20, but if it dips back down to <$10, definitely worthwhile as a beginner strop to learn on.

The XBay fits that bill as well, but I think slightly less so. It's size is much nicer. The leather actually seems like real leather. Hardware while a step down is still perfectly functional. Efficacy is slightly lower than the higher end Chinese strop, no real secondary component, and mine came with minor damage (creases near one end). Since it's still $10, I'd say it's a viable option for a starter strop, but I'd probably lean towards going with an imperfect Poor Man's (for like $13 shipped iirc) over it, just based on their reputation (I will have to try one sooner or later), as the leather on the xBay was a bit subpar in quality.

Avoid the low end chinese strop. The extra $5 or so is well worth it to step up to an Xbay or higher end chinese strop.

 

[MO1]

Interesting read! Thank you!

 

[Slash McCoy]

Try McMaster-Carr or Grainger for strips of various weight leather and various lengths and widths. Be sure to get veg tanned. Usually you can make a pretty decent strop out of it. You can just sew a bolster on each end, folded so both ends are sewn to the body of the strop, and set a grommet in it, if you don't go over about 2-1/2" wide. Then hang it with some paracord or something. You can make a strop much better than the Chinese or Paki cheapies. Almost as nice as a professionally made strop, even. Good D rings can be hard to find but you could try saddle shops.

 

[SliceOfLife]

So I bought a dupe copy of the "nicer" Chinese strop on eBay, with a gold dollar razor for ~$25 shipped.

It was a different leather to the first one, textured... like boar strops. It did not work as well. It did arrive undamaged though... but still the smooth one definitely functioned better. I wrote a few comments on it in the Gold dollar thread I have in general straight razor section... but basically it worked about as well as I feel linen/canvas strops do... definitely didn't work like a leather strop should.

I got rid of the massacred xbay and the other two chinese strops in a junk lot on eBay awhile back.

Bumping because I just ordered this:

24" Extra Long Barber Strop | eBay

Extra long horsehide and canvas strop. Includes swivel with nut and bolt, and hang clip. We will reply you within 24 hours.

www.ebay.com

I need a new set of strop hardware to repair a vintage strop, and they sell for $5 plus shipping the only place I could find them. This seller accepted $6.50 shipped best offer (My guess is ~ 6.38 is his min price, as that's where his bulk purchase price is set)... anyway, I'll update when it gets here... worst case I got a set of hardware and a maybe functional canvas strop for less than the hardware would have cost me.

 

[trentr]

I have a cheap ($10ish) off amazon. It was quite rough and dry. I know nothing about strops fyi. I oiled it a time or 2, rub it everytime I use it. It is smoothing out just from use. I definitely feel like I get a better edge now than when knew. How much of that is the strop "breaking in" and how much is my technique improving IDK. With a TTT you can tell a DEFINITE improvement after, as compared to before, stropping. It may not perform as a strop "should" but it does improve my edge and I get what I co sider to be very good shaves off of it. So for now, for me, my cheapo strop is doing the job. If I ever hack into it I will likely read up on some of everyone elses experience and pick a mid range strop to replace it. Thanks for all your testing and reviews. Helps the rest of us, who are to lazy to do so, pick better products.

 

[Slash McCoy]

So I bought a dupe copy of the "nicer" Chinese strop on eBay, with a gold dollar razor for ~$25 shipped.

It was a different leather to the first one, textured... like boar strops. It did not work as well. It did arrive undamaged though... but still the smooth one definitely functioned better. I wrote a few comments on it in the Gold dollar thread I have in general straight razor section... but basically it worked about as well as I feel linen/canvas strops do... definitely didn't work like a leather strop should.

I got rid of the massacred xbay and the other two chinese strops in a junk lot on eBay awhile back.

Bumping because I just ordered this:

24" Extra Long Barber Strop | eBay

Extra long horsehide and canvas strop. Includes swivel with nut and bolt, and hang clip. We will reply you within 24 hours.

www.ebay.com

I need a new set of strop hardware to repair a vintage strop, and they sell for $5 plus shipping the only place I could find them. This seller accepted $6.50 shipped best offer (My guess is ~ 6.38 is his min price, as that's where his bulk purchase price is set)... anyway, I'll update when it gets here... worst case I got a set of hardware and a maybe functional canvas strop for less than the hardware would have cost me.

Let us know how the Paki horsehide strop works for you. I may want to get a bunch of them.

 

[LJS]

I need a new set of strop hardware to repair a vintage strop, and they sell for $5 plus shipping the only place I could find them.

That’s funny because I tried the same sometime this past year thinking, how bad could it be. Well, it was bad It is barely gold-toned thin, pressed metal and literally used a bent “brass” nail to attach the extremely flimsy clip. And used lamp thumb screw to hold together. That was just the hardware which looked maybe okish to me in the pics. The strop and slick synthetic “canvas” were extremely unusable. At first I put it in my shop figuring I could repurpose and then actually just threw away a few weeks ago. Not a big loss!

 

[Slash McCoy]

That’s funny because I tried the same sometime this past year thinking, how bad could it be. Well, it was bad It is barely gold-toned thin, pressed metal and literally used a bent “brass” nail to attach the extremely flimsy clip. And used lamp thumb screw to hold together. That was just the hardware which looked maybe okish to me in the pics. The strop and slick synthetic “canvas” were extremely unusable. At first I put it in my shop figuring I could repurpose and then actually just threw away a few weeks ago. Not a big loss!

Hmmm... maybe I DON'T want to get a whole bunch of them, after all.

 

[LJS]

Hmmm... maybe I DON'T want to get a whole bunch of them, after all.

Id suggest trying just one first Not a big hit if you toss it.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I'll put up some good pictures when it gets here.