That video makes me feel reeeeeeally uncomfortable.
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Kanayama strops - what's the deal?
- Thread starter blackhhawk
- Start date
That video makes me feel reeeeeeally uncomfortable.
Now that there video is funny but I have to ask- do you wear you wedding on your right hand? It is confusing to watch videos because it looks like everything is reversed in the picture.
Hope mine gets here in a timely fashion so I can make a silly but hysterical video of unwrapping and fondling it
I guess the real test of manliness is when you scrape a chunk out of it with the razor.... :-(
Brian
Hope mine gets here in a timely fashion so I can make a silly but hysterical video of unwrapping and fondling it
I guess the real test of manliness is when you scrape a chunk out of it with the razor.... :-(Brian
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As the numbers go up - things happen; lengths change, components change, and thickness changes.
I have a 70k and an 80k.
The 70k is a little thicker, was two components, leather & linen
The 80k is a hair thinner, was 3 components, leather, linen, suede.
Figuring out the range gave me a headache - I bought what was available and what I could afford.
The range does not progress in a linear manner. A higher number may or may not get you longer/thicker.
The leather is pretty sweet, I love the linen, and I seriously hate the suede; it does absolutely nothing for me.
Well - it looks good hanging there. That's about it though.
The linen, for me, is fantastic - and that's compared to having tried many, including Tony's, Walking Horse, and maybe 2-3 others.
Takes a bit to break in, sure. That's what i liked first - the density of the material.
I love the feel too - I bought a couple extras.
The leather - yeah, it's pretty sublime.
Value - it makes me happy. End of story.
I have a 70k and an 80k.
The 70k is a little thicker, was two components, leather & linen
The 80k is a hair thinner, was 3 components, leather, linen, suede.
Figuring out the range gave me a headache - I bought what was available and what I could afford.
The range does not progress in a linear manner. A higher number may or may not get you longer/thicker.
The leather is pretty sweet, I love the linen, and I seriously hate the suede; it does absolutely nothing for me.
Well - it looks good hanging there. That's about it though.
The linen, for me, is fantastic - and that's compared to having tried many, including Tony's, Walking Horse, and maybe 2-3 others.
Takes a bit to break in, sure. That's what i liked first - the density of the material.
I love the feel too - I bought a couple extras.
The leather - yeah, it's pretty sublime.
Value - it makes me happy. End of story.
I believe it's supposed to, though I may be mistaken. I want to say that at some point (before the #3 was released) I was looking at the lineup and the rated leather thicknesses did increase as the numbers went up. You most likely just have an unusually thick 70000.
Nevermind, I checked. And according to JCK, the 70k (and 60k) is 3.5-4.5mm thick and the 80 and 90k's are 4-5mm thick, so 80k's aren't necessarily thicker, but should average thicker. The #3 is rated at 3-4mm. Mine is exactly 3mm at one end and 4mm at the other.
Yes, I wear my wedding ring on my right hand. That is the Orthodox Christian tradition.Now that there video is funny but I have to ask- do you wear you wedding on your right hand? It is confusing to watch videos because it looks like everything is reversed in the picture.
Hope mine gets here in a timely fashion so I can make a silly but hysterical video of unwrapping and fondling it
Brian
Interesting. Germans wear their weddings on their right hands too, and the same ring worn on the left hand indicates engagement (both women and men). Unusual in the US I think and watching any kind of video taken from a mirror makes it confusing. By the way, there is a brand new Coptic church just down the road from me- beautiful building in a style I had never seen before.
Just so you know, your totally inappropriate fondling of that Kanoyama had no effect on me whatsoever.... mostly. Mine won't be here for a couple of days yet....
Brian
Just so you know, your totally inappropriate fondling of that Kanoyama had no effect on me whatsoever.... mostly. Mine won't be here for a couple of days yet....
Brian
Greybeard:
From doing research before I picked up my first Kanayama, this is what I gathered.
The feel of a Kanayama is unique. The feel appears to be the same with all the models except that the thicker strops have less flex.
The linen component is the same (except for length) for all models of Kanayama. The linen on new Kanayamas is supposed to be slightly softer than the previous linen used.
There is only one suede/secondary leather component and it is made from horsehide. All Kanayama finish components are supposed to be made from shell.
There are two grades of leather. The 10,000/20,000, the 30,000/40,000, and the 50,000/60,000 use one grade with the only difference between the 3 groups being the thickness of the leather. 1/2 to 1 mm difference between each group starting at 2 - 2.5mm with the 10,000/20,000. The 10,000/20,000 may be more prone to cupping/stretching over time due to the thinness of the leather. I haven't read of any owner experiencing either problem.
The 10,000, 30,000, 50,000 are 24" long, the 20,000, 40,000, 60,000 are 26" long.
The 70,000, 80,000, 90,000 use a supposedly better grade of leather with the 80,000/90,000 being thicker than the 70,000.
The 70,000 comes with linen only. The 80,000/90,000 are tri-strops with linen/suede/shell.
The 70,000, 80,000 are 24" long. The 90,000 is 26" long.
The 35,000 and 55,000 strops were made specifically for Easternsmooth. They were slightly wider, without the gold stamps and used suede instead of linen as the second component.
The #3 strop was originally a special order made for one of Kanayama's retail customers that substituted the suede component for the linen. The thickness of the leather appears to be definitely thicker than the 10,000/20,000 but not quite as thick as the 30,000/40,000.
The 4 digit codes (e.g. 2196) appear to be models that are made for specific retailers, or for Kanayama brands for specific market segments, or custom configurations (such as strops with handles). The thickness of the 2196 is in the 10,000 range. The 6300 is in the 30,000 range.
Last edited by Greybeard; 05-27-2012 at 07:01 PM.
Jim R. Northern Smooth
The Kanayama strops are all made of high quality cordovan leather, hand selected and finished by Yoshimasa Naomi. The different models are based on leather thickness/length. There are 2 grades of leather: #20000, #30000/#40000, #50000/#60000 and 70000/80000/90000 (for the #3/#4 and #5/#6, the first number denotes a 60cm strop, the second 66cm--for the #7/#8/#9, the #7/#8 are 60cm, #9 is 66cm).
The highest grade, the #7/#8/#9, are professional strops. They are made with the thickest, hardiest leather, meant to stand up to years of hard use every day by busy barbers, but with the same smooth, luxurious finish of all the strops. In addition, the 8/9 models are tri-strops, adding a second, slightly napped horsehide leather element [wrl: think suede-like] as an intermediate between the linen and the fine cordovan finisher.
The thinnest strops, the #10000 and #20000, are entry-level strops. Over a few years time, they may begin to stretch or warp under normal use. The midlevel strops are of course a balance between price and thickness (and thus, durability).
For a normal user, Yoshimasa-san recommends the #30000/#40000 as the best all-around strop. The #50000/#60000 leather is good for the heavy user, the edge hobbyist or honemeister. The professional strops are just that--professional grade, for the heaviest user (or for the perfectionist/completist...)
Excellent info hokahay. Thanks! I have a #3 and love it. I fondle it often!! ROFL.
I've been married a long time so that is not even a problem.... The only thing I am a bit wary of is that I won't like it more than I like English Bridle leather. Funny thing but after trying a handful of strops including raw horsehide as well as split horsehide (kinda'- sort of like Russian horsehide I guess) with various surface treatments to make them slicker, a bit slower and everything else, I still like English Bridle and find it does as good a job or better on my razors as far as I can tell. I am starting to think that this whole expensive strop thing is like the naked king- we are collective ohh and ahh about how much better something is when it is really not any better at all.
Still, a Kanoyama, actually a pair of Kanoyama strops, for the price offered is not bad and I am expecting the workmanship to be excellent so I am not really worried about it. And the Cordovan shell is beautiful looking in photos and appears to be quite supple, which I find horsebutt distinctly lacking- it is like thin wood in that regard. But at this point, a piece of cheap English Bridle sanded down and coated with Zymol cleaner is the nicest, smoothest and flattest strop I have tried and works at least as well as anything else I have tried.
I just got the e-mail that my strop shipped and should be here this week. Yippie (damn all you strop porn makers!).
Brian
Still, a Kanoyama, actually a pair of Kanoyama strops, for the price offered is not bad and I am expecting the workmanship to be excellent so I am not really worried about it. And the Cordovan shell is beautiful looking in photos and appears to be quite supple, which I find horsebutt distinctly lacking- it is like thin wood in that regard. But at this point, a piece of cheap English Bridle sanded down and coated with Zymol cleaner is the nicest, smoothest and flattest strop I have tried and works at least as well as anything else I have tried.
I just got the e-mail that my strop shipped and should be here this week. Yippie (damn all you strop porn makers!).
Brian
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I was not a believer either until I got my Kanayama. I am going to be very curious to your oppinion once you get it... Please let us know. In my oppinion, it really is something special. Much different than my English Bridle.
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Greybeard and Jim at Northern get the credit. I get the credit for archiving it local! I have a 2196. And a #3. And a 6300. And a 80 000. I use the #3.
Can I ask why you prefer the #3 to those other more expensive versions?
The biggest difference between the #3 and the 80 000 is 166 bucks. haha.
I also bought the #3 first.
I agree with others it's the best value in the kanayamas.
It also has the suede. For fooling with.
The #3 with a Kanayama linen second and my TM steerhide/linen and a cotton second get used. The others are still new.
Thanks!
So guess what the mailman brought today.... Yep, a new #3. Extremely well packaged, and a very nice strop. The leather is so supple it feels more like vinyl than anything natural. Beautiful surface finish on both pieces of hide. Even the hanging clasp, which frankly looks a little hokey in the photos, is much nicer in person and a lot sturdier than I thought it was going to be.
It is a nice stopping surface; fast but not zero draw like horse butt can be. All of my other strops have a D ring to draw them so it is a bit odd feeling to have to grasp the leather directly; I will try to get used to it before breaking down and attaching something to the end.
I know it is cordovan tanned but is the material itself the shell or the actual horse hide? I thought it was shell, and it has no discernible grain like shell but near the top there is a bit of a color pattern that reminds me of remnants of a hide's surface pattern.
Really a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and not all that expensive considering it does come with two pieces of leather. I am not sure if the pre- strop strop is going to replace the three inch linen that I like so much but like Seraphim's video shows, it ranks pretty high in the fondling department- in fact, it might be my new favorite thing to fondle....
It would be nice if it was just a touch wider but as it is more than 2 1/2", it really is wide enough not to have to X-stroke about any razor really.
Brian
It is a nice stopping surface; fast but not zero draw like horse butt can be. All of my other strops have a D ring to draw them so it is a bit odd feeling to have to grasp the leather directly; I will try to get used to it before breaking down and attaching something to the end.
I know it is cordovan tanned but is the material itself the shell or the actual horse hide? I thought it was shell, and it has no discernible grain like shell but near the top there is a bit of a color pattern that reminds me of remnants of a hide's surface pattern.
Really a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and not all that expensive considering it does come with two pieces of leather. I am not sure if the pre- strop strop is going to replace the three inch linen that I like so much but like Seraphim's video shows, it ranks pretty high in the fondling department- in fact, it might be my new favorite thing to fondle....
It would be nice if it was just a touch wider but as it is more than 2 1/2", it really is wide enough not to have to X-stroke about any razor really.
Brian
Everything BDF said is right on the money. The clasp does look hokey but is surprisingly decent. His thoughts on the draw are spot on (fast but definitely more substantial than my TM HH). And for the suede component, we're in absolute agreement, It takes a backseat to my TM 3" linen... but it still gets a fair bit of use.
I would guess it is shell just because the only strops I have that are anywhere near this type of draw are vintage cord/shell. The grain seems to disappear with wear/certain methods of surfacing. I have had a half dozen shell vintages that were as smooth as any leather you could imagine.
Really the only point I'd disagree with is your take on the width... I've actually grown to dislike 3" wide leather strops. The motion on a 2.5-2.75" wide strop gives stropping a much better feel for me. I'd actually pay a bit more to get this Kana over a 3" wide version at this point. I think with a bit of use, you'll learn to love the width of your #3, too.
I would guess it is shell just because the only strops I have that are anywhere near this type of draw are vintage cord/shell. The grain seems to disappear with wear/certain methods of surfacing. I have had a half dozen shell vintages that were as smooth as any leather you could imagine.
Really the only point I'd disagree with is your take on the width... I've actually grown to dislike 3" wide leather strops. The motion on a 2.5-2.75" wide strop gives stropping a much better feel for me. I'd actually pay a bit more to get this Kana over a 3" wide version at this point. I think with a bit of use, you'll learn to love the width of your #3, too.
You may be right on the width- that is why I mentioned the world seems to have determined that 2 1/2" is the 'right' size. Same exact thing with the barber's end on the strop- I would normally put a handle or D ring on it but am going to try to get used to it because it seems the entire rest of the world uses them (shell strops) this way.
Then again, if it were up to me, straight razors would be shorter. Not in overall length but I would move the heel toward the toe and extend the tang, sort of like some shoulderless razors are shaped. So perhaps the strop width is perfect but the razors' cutting length should be shortened a bit.
Brian
Then again, if it were up to me, straight razors would be shorter. Not in overall length but I would move the heel toward the toe and extend the tang, sort of like some shoulderless razors are shaped. So perhaps the strop width is perfect but the razors' cutting length should be shortened a bit.
Brian
Well you can do that if you're handy with a dremel.
I agree, it's too hard to start out with. I've been working mine using Bart's method of folding it over repeatedly and pressing the fold onto a clean surface to loosen it up. After I've done this a few times it's getting to be really nice.
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