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eBay starshavingsupplies strop...

I bought one a couple of days ago. I received it very quickly, and was impressed that I had a tracking number only hours after ordering it. As discussed, it seems to be of good build quality. I've never had a hanging strop before, I have been using a leather scrap from Larry Andro's whippeddog.com. I'm sure it will be a mighty step up, and am about to go use it now!
 
I just received one of these this weekend past. I bought the Big Daddy, the 3" wide one. I'm very pleased with it...it isn't fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but I got my best straight shave to date after using it. :thumbup:
 
...it isn't fancy by any stretch of the imagination,

Probably not an opinion shared by many here, but I don't think a strop has to be fancy. Think of the men of old, do you think they were stropping with a $400 strop made from fancy leather?? Probably not, the strop was a tool, and didn't need to be a thing of beauty.

I am sure I am in the minority, but I really have no interest in high end strops that cost hundreds of dollars.

The strops from StarShavingSupplies are very functional, and that is good enough for me. :tongue_sm:biggrin1:
 
I got mine today; it's pretty well bent up. I'm wondering about the best way to straighten it out. And what's this bit about applying lather?
 
I got mine today; it's pretty well bent up. I'm wondering about the best way to straighten it out. And what's this bit about applying lather?

mine had a bend too with an interesting "feel" in the middle. I stropped on it dry a couple of times and then applied some williams lather and the feel kinda disappeared and it's striaghtened out.
 
I'm really not digging this single screw top. I think I'm going to hack it off and use the top as the bottom. Loose barber's ends! That'll REALLY free up both sides for future paste/spray endeavors.
 
I'm really not digging this single screw top. I think I'm going to hack it off and use the top as the bottom. Loose barber's ends! That'll REALLY free up both sides for future paste/spray endeavors.

I have limited experience with strops, can you kinda explain why you don't like it? Does it teist too much?
 
Yeah, it feels unstable - like a flat-bottom kayak. The basic engineering is flawed here. One point allows for too much twist (and in the long run, cupping). The two-screw D-handle end makes for a much better top. When I get home, I am SO doing this. My Ambrose strop has me sort of in love with barber's ends now.
 
I'm really not digging this single screw top. I think I'm going to hack it off and use the top as the bottom. Loose barber's ends! That'll REALLY free up both sides for future paste/spray endeavors.

That is what I ended up doing with mine. :thumbup1: I've been meaning to update this thread with how the strop has been holding up, so I'll give a quick update:

Still holding up great. Unfortunately the back side of the leather can't be finished in a way for it to be used as a pasted surface as I had initially hoped. The wool felt is proving to be pretty durable. The unpasted side is starting to raise a bit of a nap but is not in any way impacting performance.

I am in the process of refinishing this strop. Needless to say at this price point you are giving up some aesthetics. That is fine really since it is perfectly functional as it is, but I prefer a finished look. In addition to converting it to barber's ends I have burnished the edges of the leather to get away from the "rough cut" look. Over time those unburnished edges of the strop raised a bit and gave the appearance of a slight cupping starting just at the edge. It is now perfectly flat again.

One thing I did notice as I am refinishing is the grain has gotten a little tighter in some spots. This resulted in some low areas. After sanding with a pumice and some sandpaper it is all level. This is not something that "needed" to be done, really just cosmetic. The only reason I was sanding is because I will be refinishing it in a different color. I'll post up pics once I get around to finishing it, but here is a shot of how it looks with barber's ends.

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Picked up one of these strops after nicking my Ambrose strop. I wasn't about to ruin the strop I got from Jose so I ordered up the "Big Momma". Quite honestly this is a pretty darn good strop for the money. Put together pretty darn good and I do like the D rings to hold on to.
 
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