Misaki strop - ever seen one?

[Tanuki]

Appears to be thick shell.
2 1/2" wide, ~23" overall, 15" stroppable length, quite thick and stiff at a little over 5mm.
Quite taciturn with only MISAKI on the handle, no boasts, promises, trademarks, certifications or registrations.

 

[PLANofMAN]

If it was horsehide shell, it would for sure say so, and cost more than $100. At best, it's most likely cowhide. If you're lucky, it's even vegetable tanned.

Where is it made?

 

[Tanuki]

In Japan, based on what little I've been able to glean. I have no idea what this model originally cost, but the new online Misaki strops are not top end items. Vintage strop pricing is even more erratic than vintage razor pricing. I don't know how old this strop is, just that it was little used and very dry.

I have vintage strops labeled shell that are similarly textured and thick, my Wester Bros. for example. But I suspect those vintage strops of being horsehide or even cowhide myself.

The alternative might be that there were lower grades of horse butt or ethics that allowed simple horsehide to be marked shell.

My strops that are "for sure" shell (Kanayama and a Red Imp) are thinner, more supple and have a shell feel even on the cut edges. But maybe the horses that contributed their butts to Wester Bros. "Russia Imported Shell" needed extra thick skin to sit in snow drifts and protect from wolf fangs.

Hey, @PLANofMAN are you still wantonly destroying things? I get a lot of enjoyment out of those slants.