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How to buy a strop- the complete guide.

ouch

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By a wide margin, the DE rules the roost on this site. But although it may play second fiddle here, the straight razor has its fans, whether it's the hard core aficionado, the casual user, or the curious. In any event, if you want a straight, you'll need a strop, and here's everything you need to know about acquiring one-

1) Contact Tony Miller.

The end.

Seriously. I know this may be somewhat anticlimactic, but it's really as simple as that. Case in point- an old friend of mine has been beset by all manner of misfortune. Job, marriage, family, the whole nine yards. I gave him some not very collectable but completely serviceable razors (late 50's SS, slim adjustable, etc.) and some half tubs of creams. Along with music, shaving became one of his few pleasures. It cheered him considerably. I have a decent straight razor that I picked up on abay a while back that I know I'll never use, and rather than sell it, I wanted to give it to him. I got it shave ready, and if it ever needs work I can re-hone it for him, but for day to day use a strop is an absolute necessity. Ebay? Some of the crap for sale looks like it's not fit for a suicide bomb belt. What to do? Someone (I forget who) suggested that Tony Miller, a mainstay of straightrazorplace.com, sometimes has "seconds". I figured what the hell- I'm just looking for a decent hunk of leather.

I contacted him and he hooked me up with a setup that went far beyond my expectations. What a terrific guy to deal with. I'll not mention the price, other than to say that for the item I received, it was a song. And here's the kicker- I "test stropped" this morning, and Tony's strop is even better than my own, overpriced strop. It's larger and nicer than my (fill in name of famous strop manufacturer) from (fill in name of very popular shaving supply house). Looks just as good, too.
Now, if you look verrrry closely, you can discern a teeny blemish or two, but, after all, we're talking about the hide of a living thing that will always have some imperfections. Overall, the level of craftmanship is very high. I'm sort of glad my friend isn't on this site, because he's going to think I was extremely generous when he gets this- far more than I actually was.

In short, I feel like a complete dick for having purchased a strop from another company for my own use. I'll not make that mistake again.:001_rolle
 
Yes, my next strop will be from Tony. I too purchased a "name brand" strop from classic shaving :bored: . Ugh, its so tiny, I was new and cut it up... Argh! I love the idea of a wide one where I don't have to worry about the more advanced strokes to strop the entire razor. I also want to get a paddle with pastes due to the steeeeep learning curve on hones! I have a norton and can't get a razor shave ready for the life of me! I think I get it close but never sharp enough and anyone who has tried straight shaving knows that having a sharp blade is of utmost importance.

-Brandon
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Hey now- I never said CC.:001_rolle I bet you're going to try and guess the strop, too. I will say this- they do make some lovely razors.:lol:
 
Tony, from what has been said about him, is a standup guy. People love his products. He also sells Belgian stones too. I've not tried any of his products because I've not the need for a new strop.

Yes, ebay has some very useless stuff for sale in the area of strops. However, it does have some very nice stuff that can be recognized by the trained eye. Some of the best strops ever produced are vintage. And it has to do with competing for a bigger portion of a shrinking pie type economics. As straight razor use declined in the 20th century the best strop makers won out. They won by producing the best strops they ever did right before they killed their competition. Now there's very little competition relatively speaking so they make the kind of quality they can afford. It's too bad.

Chris
 

Tony Miller

Speaking of horse butts…
Thank you gentlemen, I'm blushing.


Tony

BTW, I still laugh when I see the Illinois Strop Co. adverts of being the ONLY USA strop makers <g>. Had they made nicer strops, I never would.
 
roughrider said:
Tony's a great guy who's knowledgeable and always helpful.

And, he has a beautiful daughter who just graduated from high school and is soon off to college. Tony NEEDS us to buy strops!

Randy
 

Tony Miller

Speaking of horse butts…
Randy,
Thanks <g>. At $27K a year for tuition I can use the business.


Don't forget to mention your fine son, also a new High School Graduate and of to college himself this Fall !

Tony
 
rtaylor61 said:
And, he has a beautiful daughter who just graduated from high school and is soon off to college.
Tony Miller said:
Don't forget to mention your fine son, also a new High School Graduate and of to college himself this Fall !

Hmmm, I smell a B&B romance in the making.... :001_wub: :001_tt1: :c15: :em2200: :a37:

-Nick :thumbsup:
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Nick said:
Hmmm, I smell a B&B romance in the making.... :001_wub: :001_tt1: :c15: :em2200: :a37:

-Nick :thumbsup:

I guess we'll have to come up with a special fragrance for the occasion.:biggrin:
 
So for someone who's just getting into straight razor shaving & spent to much on the blade & didn't think about a strop (actually didn't think I needed one), what should I get, heard all you guys rave about Tony's but as alot of people nowadays financially I'm at the end. What should I do about a strop?
 
Great thread... I am toying with the idea of trying again to straight edge. ..I did many years ago but never got the sharpen down (I had a tiny strop from a German razor co. And I just cut it up trying.)
Ouch, thanks for sharing this story about your friend. ..thanks for helping him out. We all need a hand now an then. Way to step it up!
~NICE~[FILE][/FILE]
 
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