The strop arrived today. I was expecting something similar to my DD cordovan, but this is an entirely different monster. The DD, is very slick and fast strop, less pliable, and very durable, tough. The DD, TM, and HA are obvious products of the western world. They're practical, utilitarian objects.
The Kanayama is much softer, has a slower velvety draw, more elegant, delicate. I stropped a Joseph Elliot on it and it almost felt like the stropping would hurt it, the wood-like surface of the leather scratch at any moment....it was a nerve-wracking experience.
I don't know what to make of this strop. I never minded scratching my TM or Hand American a little (felt it gave them character), and the Duck already came with a few generations of scratches.
There's a virginal quality to the Kanayama, a fragility which is disturbing to me. It is beauty for its own sake, and it fills me with apprehension because it seems so easy to ruin.
The Kanayama is much softer, has a slower velvety draw, more elegant, delicate. I stropped a Joseph Elliot on it and it almost felt like the stropping would hurt it, the wood-like surface of the leather scratch at any moment....it was a nerve-wracking experience.
I don't know what to make of this strop. I never minded scratching my TM or Hand American a little (felt it gave them character), and the Duck already came with a few generations of scratches.
There's a virginal quality to the Kanayama, a fragility which is disturbing to me. It is beauty for its own sake, and it fills me with apprehension because it seems so easy to ruin.
