Wanting to buy a new strop... But which one?

[Tony Miller]

Regarding the Cordo recommendation: Under $70 for cordovan isn't gonna be easy. I bought a piece of cordo, made the strops myself with zero frills, and got basically the perfect size/shape piece of shell and I STILL barely hit that price. (4 good sized strops from a $225 piece of cordovan... plus linen and hardware costs.)
Also, I've never nicked my cordo strops, but the things are FAST and definitely a little scarier to use vs most other strops. Combined with their price, I always have a little worry that I WILL nick them... and you don't want that for your first "pricy" strop.


Regarding Tony's resistance to a Cordo run: As I recall, Tony's reason for not offering cordo is that with the amount of waste and difficulty getting consistent quality pieces, the necessary costs are beyond what he's willing to sell his strops for. (I may be misremembering, feel free to correct me). A few makers do sell cordo strops, but they tend to be in the $200-400 range.

You hit the nail on the head. If I used Cordovan it would be from Horween and their XL shell can easily run $350 or more, plus their usual hefty shipping costs which means a material cost alone (cordovan, hardware, cloth, caps, handles, etc...) of well more than I sell a finished strop for now.

Yes, I would love to try it sometime and probably will but I am not comfortable offering a strop at likely $200+. Cordovan is great stuff but I am not convinced the juice is worth the squeezing, right now.

I was asked in my vendor forum about this and will go into more detail there later as this is more vendor/selling info than general discussion stuff.

 

[Scrubby]

After i stopped nicking my cheap loom strop i wanted to upgrade and be done with it. As i own several (ahem…. Actually a lot) shell cordovan shoes, and also have shell cordovan watch straps the choice was easy: a shell cordovan strop. As a european i found the “local version” of the Kanayama 30 k in Germany (branded Schulz). Love the strop. Love the edges. Would buy again + recommend. Ps: Do not use the canvas, this killes the edges. Left that part out end my edges off a 12k naniwa + the strop allow an easy daily fools pass/ coupe de maître.

 

[Zhang Doe]

I'm planning on buying my first strop. Over in this part of the world, options are limited and expensive. I'm likely to opt for a Fromm / Illinois 361. Figure better more real estate in the case of nicking it.

 

[rbscebu]

I'm planning on buying my first strop. Over in this part of the world, options are limited and expensive. I'm likely to opt for a Fromm / Illinois 361. Figure better more real estate in the case of nicking it.

Heirloom Razor Strops in the US ship overseas. The shipping for mine to AU was USD 60. That's about the same cost as their strops but overall well worth it for what you get. I expect that it would cost about the same to ship to SG.

For a first strop to cut up. I would suggest a mid-range Chinese strop. I went through a few of these, cutting them up, during my first 200 SR shaves and later (after about 500 SR shaves got an Heirloom Razor Strop.

Chinese Generic 60mm (2-3/8") wide Dual Denim/Calf-hide Hanging Strop

A budget strop that gets the job done.

www.badgerandblade.com

They are currently available on AliExpress for about SGD 12 with free delivery.

 

[rbscebu]

@Zhang Doe my personal preference is for a strop about 65mm± wide. Others prefer there strops at about 75mm wide. The reason for my preference is that I am more use to stropping with a 65mm strop and I feel (no evidence) that a 75mm strop has a greater tendency to cup, particularly in a more tropical environment.

 

[Tony Miller]

@Zhang Doe my personal preference is for a strop about 65mm± wide. Others prefer there strops at about 75mm wide. The reason for my preference is that I am more use to stropping with a 65mm strop and I feel (no evidence) that a 75mm strop has a greater tendency to cup, particularly in a more tropical environment.

I agree with this. 2 1/2" was the traditional USA width strop for years with European strops usually 2" or even less. Our "bigger is better" USA thinking made 3" quite popular especially as it for the most part eliminates the need for doing an X-pattern, making learning even easier, so not only do they look more substantial, they get a little performance boost by being wider.

A narrower strop should in theory be more resistance to cupping, or at least not be as evident across the narrower width when it does happen. While heavy end caps and hardware do help control cupping a little they really only tend to stabilize the last few inches on a strop's total length and have much less to no effect towards the middle due to the flexibility of leather. The best way to combat cupping is a constant coaxing of the leather into a more convex profile every week or so by pinching the sides between the fingers and slowly drawing the hand down the length of the strop a few times until you get the desired effect you want.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I prefer 2.5" as well. I feel they're more effective with smiling and worn toe razors, and they are less prone to superficial scratches from microscopic burrs that slipped past the canvas. I also just like the feel/motion of a 2.5" strop better than a 3".

But like Tony said, 3" have become quite popular, especially among high end/hand crafted strops.

I actually owned a 3" TM and eventually got rid of it b/c it didn't get the use it deserved, so I replaced it with a 2.5" one.

 

[AdamAZ]

Heirloom Razor Strops in the US ship overseas. The shipping for mine to AU was USD 60. That's about the same cost as their strops but overall well worth it for what you get. I expect that it would cost about the same to ship to SG.

I purchased an Heirloom strop on your recommendation and just used it for the razor that I shaved with this morning. You are correct in your assessment of the quality. Top notch product and not some mass produced product where you might get a good one or might not. This guy really selects the leather and even e-mailed me after my order to offer me the option of two different leathers with slightly different characteristics. Great recommendation!

 

[dangerousrazor]

I've purchased a Tony miller strop. I really like it and need no more.

 

[Wid]

Been using Tony’s strop for years. No complaints at all. Had to replace the leather section a few years back when my grandson bit the darn thing lol.

 

[Tony Miller]

I'm planning on buying my first strop. Over in this part of the world, options are limited and expensive. I'm likely to opt for a Fromm / Illinois 361. Figure better more real estate in the case of nicking it.

The 361 is a nice strop as I recall. had one many years ago when I first started with a straight razor

 

[SliceOfLife]

Illinois these days are good enough strops. Leather is nothing special, but it works. The secondary is pretty bottom tier of "useful" secondaries in my book. A little plasticky and stiff as I recall, but still usable and not as bad as you'll find on some ~$10 strops. I used one for a year or more, just fine before I upgraded.

 

[Zhang Doe]

The Illinois isn't in stock for me, so I'm actually going with one I found on Etsy that is called Barber's Latigo Leather. The leather looks better than the other alternative I was considering (Windrose XL) and I can get it with free shipping. Seems a decent price and there are screws so I can potentially replace pieces as I feel more comfortable spending a bit more on better quality materials.