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Lacking trust in budget strops, burned twice.

I have bought two £11 ish strops and they seem rubish. One was rock hard and the other is nothing like i see on youtube, stiff coarse leather on one side and suede on other. This one i bought for 11 quid ZY strop is now £17. Is there a budget strop that resembles real lleather??
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On the basis that if you buy cheap you buy twice (or even more times) I took the decision to splash out on a Benjamin Barber leather and canvas strop. The canvas strop is double sided and the leather strop has a coarse side and a fine side. It has very comfortable metal D-rings for holding.
 
On the basis that if you buy cheap you buy twice (or even more times) I took the decision to splash out on a Benjamin Barber leather and canvas strop. The canvas strop is double sided and the leather strop has a coarse side and a fine side. It has very comfortable metal D-rings for holding.
That does look gorgeous, if I get into SR shaving I would consider that. But now i am hoping to spend £30, but am worried I will spend that amouiunt on a £11 one that is marked up overpriced, how can you tell?
 
PS: the surface was a very fine suede rather than a polished gloss. VERY fine - nothing like as rough as you often see on the back side of a strop.
 
I have bought two £11 ish strops and they seem rubish. One was rock hard and the other is nothing like i see on youtube, stiff coarse leather on one side and suede on other. This one i bought for 11 quid ZY strop is now £17. Is there a budget strop that resembles real lleather??View attachment 1253702
The strop I used up until a few weeks ago looked just like that. Cheap. Hard and "lumpy" on 1 side, super fluffy suede on the other. Does not even look like real leather. I used the hard rough lumpy seeming side. I oiled it a bit a couple different times. (Mink oil). I rubbed the tarnation out of it. I used it and used it for quite some time. It kept getting better. It took some attention to get the edge to shave well, but maybe they all do. I only used that one ever until I got a Tony Miller recently. But I got good shaves. I got edges that passed HHT and TTT.

Anyway, I am not saying that will always be the case or that they are "good" strops. I am just trying to point out that if you have to use it, just because it is cheap does not necessarily mean it cannot get you buy until you can swing a Tony Miller :)
 
The strop I used up until a few weeks ago looked just like that. Cheap. Hard and "lumpy" on 1 side, super fluffy suede on the other. Does not even look like real leather. I used the hard rough lumpy seeming side. I oiled it a bit a couple different times. (Mink oil). I rubbed the tarnation out of it. I used it and used it for quite some time. It kept getting better. It took some attention to get the edge to shave well, but maybe they all do. I only used that one ever until I got a Tony Miller recently. But I got good shaves. I got edges that passed HHT and TTT.

Anyway, I am not saying that will always be the case or that they are "good" strops. I am just trying to point out that if you have to use it, just because it is cheap does not necessarily mean it cannot get you buy until you can swing a Tony Miller :)
Thanks, that was very helpful. Actually looking again the strop is not terrible, I have oiled, its kind of smooth despite being the inside of the skin, not like my first strop which was hard like a hide dog chew. been using a crappy paddle strop so far. Cant test as resharpening razor and have lost one of my stones, waiting for replacement.
 
That does look gorgeous, if I get into SR shaving I would consider that. But now i am hoping to spend £30, but am worried I will spend that amouiunt on a £11 one that is marked up overpriced, how can you tell?

James9000 - what type of blade are you wanting to strop? I only use my main strop on Western straight razors; I use a good quality wide leather belt (coarse and smooth sides with no embossing) for stropping an English symmetric kamisori, but also, because it lengthens blade life, a Böker barberette (half Dovo long blade) and a cheap Candure swing-lock shavette (half DE blade), each used once a week and have had the same blades for a year. Palm stropping is fun, but avoid palm honing...
 
James9000 - what type of blade are you wanting to strop? I only use my main strop on Western straight razors; I use a good quality wide leather belt (coarse and smooth sides with no embossing) for stropping an English symmetric kamisori, but also, because it lengthens blade life, a Böker barberette (half Dovo long blade) and a cheap Candure swing-lock shavette (half DE blade), each used once a week and have had the same blades for a year. Palm stropping is fun, but avoid palm honing...
L O L !
 
For a first strop you wouldn't buy a top of the range item. You will nick it while learning. I bought my son a cheap Frank Shave 3" strop. He'll become proficient, make mistakes then can start thinking about Tony Miller.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Have you tried ScrupleWorks?

For Larry's Whipped Dog strops, you won't find an ebay or amazon listing. Go to www.whippeddog.com. You can buy from him with complete confidence as he is a known and trusted member here of long standing with a solid reputation. Since you have presumably stropped a good bit on your SSO's, you may as well spring for his "Rich Man" strop and give the "Poor Man" strop a miss. Member @Tony Miller now sells a budget newbie model that is well worth looking into, IMHO. He is a reputable maker of strops and is one of the go-to guys here. Craftsmanship is good and quality control is good, too.

DIY is not a bad option. 2" is a bit small. I would go with a 2-1/2" to 3" wide strop.
 
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