Walkin Horse Horsebutt strop

[njtnjt]

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all well and doing well.
I have a Walkin Horse horsebutt strop that I never got the hang of using properly when I first started out straight shaving. I switched to a Kanayama and after a year or two finally got the hang of how to maintain an edge.
The Walkin Horse still hangs in the closet ~
I wonder what you all think about this strop and it’s effectiveness vs. anything else out there. Any tips on using this particular strop are also welcome. I wonder what happened to the people who used to make them too.
Thank you so much. Be well.

 

[Acmemfg]

That was/is one of the better strops ever made. If I remember, the guy who made them was doing so as a sideline and just quit doing so. Shame really....

 

[njtnjt]

That was/is one of the better strops ever made. If I remember, the guy who made them was doing so as a sideline and just quit doing so. Shame really....

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear he stopped making them. It is a very high quality piece. The brand was quite popular here for a while when I decided to buy mine. I plan to experiment with it and compare its performance to the Kanayama. Thanks again!

 

[Suhrim21]

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all well and doing well.
I have a Walkin Horse horsebutt strop that I never got the hang of using properly when I first started out straight shaving. I switched to a Kanayama and after a year or two finally got the hang of how to maintain an edge.
The Walkin Horse still hangs in the closet ~
I wonder what you all think about this strop and it’s effectiveness vs. anything else out there. Any tips on using this particular strop are also welcome. I wonder what happened to the people who used to make them too.
Thank you so much. Be well.

I would love to see some pictures of the strop.

 

[Acmemfg]

The Superior Shave and (I think) West Coast Shaving used to sell them. Perhaps they have pictures.
Truth be told, I don't see how they could be any better than a Tony Miller Strop.

 

[TheLegalRazor]

Walking Horse made nice strops. About ten years ago, I had them in horsebutt and shell cordovan. You're fortunate to have one.

 

[njtnjt]

I would love to see some pictures of the strop.

I remember watching a lot of videos in the beginning and I think they all looked like they were using a lot of pressure because of the deflection the spine was creating. And they were all going way to fast I slowed my passes way down and learned that the spine may have been deflecting the strop but the edge was barely making contact. It took me a long time to realize that though! Many, many hours of poor stropping and ruined edges...

Here are a few shots of this strop as it sits today. It took the brunt of my learning years; some minor nicks on either end and too much pressure in the middle. I used it this morning and really loved the linen component. The leather is much faster compared to my Kanayama and much thicker. I have a 60,000 Kanayama. I like the D rings; the hardware is top notch. I got great HHT with my Fili after the shave/strop.

 

[njtnjt]

I want to add that this strop has always had a little "peach fuzz" to the leather. I can't feel it with my fingers but in the right light I can brush it with a finger and see a change on the surface of the hide.

 

[macintoshBR]

I would assume this leather would be very close to Tony Miller’s Horween horse hide based on looks and light draw.

I have one of Tony’s and it’s a great strop, but not my favorite as I like to have a little more draw like Tony’s Notovan, Scrupleworks oil tanned, and of course Kanayama

 

[Alum of Potash]

I want to add that this strop has always had a little "peach fuzz" to the leather. I can't feel it with my fingers but in the right light I can brush it with a finger and see a change on the surface of the hide.

That's typical of horsehide.

 

[njtnjt]

That's typical of horsehide.

Very cool - thank you. I had no idea.

 

[Alum of Potash]

You're welcome. In my limited dealings with horsehide, I've noticed that the area that covers the spine on the back tends to have a mild crease where the spine is located. So I suppose that a lot of the "horse butt" strops that are sold are taken from the hind as the spine is not so prominent there--no crease in other words.

 

[njtnjt]

You're welcome. In my limited dealings with horsehide, I've noticed that the area that covers the spine on the back tends to have a mild crease where the spine is located. So I suppose that a lot of the "horse butt" strops that are sold are taken from the hind as the spine is not so prominent there--no crease in other words.

Makes sense. I don’t see any kind of crease but there is some subtle texture. The sun was coming in at just the right angle to see some regular “bumps” perhaps. I’m not sure how to describe the surface of the strop. It feels like glass but under the right lighting conditions I can see it’s not perfectly flat like a sheet of glass. My Kanayama looks “perfectly flat”. I put that in quotes because a machinist would laugh if I said it was perfectly flat. It just looks flatter than the Walkin Horse strop which has a kind of texture to it. As I draw the blade across I could see light moving under the edge whether I was doing X’s or straight passes.

Bottom line is it’s working really well no matter what I can see! I like the fast draw after I got the hang of it. It’s easier for me to kiss the edge on the passes when it doesn’t feel like the blade is getting sucked down into the leather. For reference I’m talking about my 14 Fili’s.
I'm looking forward to trying both strops on my half hollow Le Grelot’s.
Thank you all for your kind words and insights.