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No more Tony Miller Strops what now?

Gafer

Gafer

I'm looking to upgrade my strop and apparently I showed up too late to the party to pick up a legendary Tony Miller strop so what now?

Is RupRazor the best option? If so, El Toro or spring for the Paladin? What's the difference between the 1 & 2 D-Ring handle options? I don't get it.

I'm open to suggestions. Too bad I missed out on the Artisan Strops from TM sounds like those were THE strop.
 
luvmysuper

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Gafer said:
I'm looking to upgrade my strop and apparently I showed up too late to the party to pick up a legendary Tony Miller strop so what now?

Is RupRazor the best option? If so, El Toro or spring for the Paladin? What's the difference between the 1 & 2 D-Ring handle options? I don't get it.

I'm open to suggestions. Too bad I missed out on the Artisan Strops from TM sounds like those were THE strop.
Click to expand...

I waited as well, and now that SWMBO is away, and I'm ready to spring, I can't get one! :crying:

He did say in his Book Post that he wasn't stopping, only that he was not making them full time to devote more time to the books.

I'm still hoping for a TM. That's top of the line baby!
 
Gafer

Gafer

luvmysuper said:
I waited as well, and now that SWMBO is away, and I'm ready to spring, I can't get one! :crying:

He did say in his Book Post that he wasn't stopping, only that he was not making them full time to devote more time to the books.

I'm still hoping for a TM. That's top of the line baby!
Click to expand...

He had some horsehide travel strops up over the weekend. I hesitated and by the time I decided to go for it they were gone!

You are correct, his website indicates he'll offer strops from time to time. When he does I suspect it'll be like throwing fresh meat into a piranha tank.
 
Blue_2

Blue_2

I only own one of his two part horsehides in 2", but I love it. It's a true piece of great artisan work.

From what I gather, Tony is taking a break from strops and not giving them up altogether. It was taking him away from his family, to a detrimental level and that's not a good thing. I'm sure that at some point he will make some more, but never to the scale and demand that it was. I'm sure most of us here are both friendly and understanding, but I can only imagine the how ignorant and demanding some of his customers might have been.

Some things are more important in life than just making a buck, and I applaud Tony for putting his family first.

That said, there are a lot of great strops out there and they are more than simply acceptable. For example Straightrazordesigns.com has some excellent strops right now.
 
Gafer

Gafer

Blue_2 said:
I only own one of his two part horsehides in 2", but I love it. It's a true piece of great artisan work.

From what I gather, Tony is taking a break from strops and not giving them up altogether. It was taking him away from his family, to a detrimental level and that's not a good thing. I'm sure that at some point he will make some more, but never to the scale and demand that it was. I'm sure most of us here are both friendly and understanding, but I can only imagine the how ignorant and demanding some of his customers might have been.

Some things are more important in life than just making a buck, and I applaud Tony for putting his family first.

That said, there are a lot of great strops out there and they are more than simply acceptable. For example Straightrazordesigns.com has some excellent strops right now.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with him and don't fault Tony one bit for scaling back. I suspect he wasn't making that much money off this hobby that went awry anyways so you have to ask yourself "why?" with the constant pressure to fill orders. I agree too, straightrazordesigns has some nice looking strops too but somehow they just don't have the hand-made appearance of the TM's or
RupRazor strops. I figure if it's something use every day I'd better like the look of it.
 
whitebar

whitebar

I want to add that dealing with Tony was always such a pleasure. Having purchased from him several times over the years, I always walked away extremely satisfied with the interaction. The product was always first rate quality and I knew that Tony poured his heart into creating it. I wish him nothing but the best!
 
Blue_2

Blue_2

Gafer said:
I agree too, straightrazordesigns has some nice looking strops too but somehow they just don't have the hand-made appearance of the TM's or RupRazor strops. I figure if it's something use every day I'd better like the look of it.
Click to expand...
The SRD strops don't look all that shabby and are excellent performers. I have a Filly but not a Paladin from RupRazor but I still like it from time to time, especially since its pasted on the backside and travels so well.

I believe in the saying "Good things come to those who wait". A TM Heirloom Strop will come along eventually for me someday, just not today. :001_smile
 
B

Basset

If you are looking for horse, I think you will like the Rup Paladin. It has a suede-y texture, and is extra long. Quite affordable, but not anything cheap or flimsy.
 
Walker

Walker

I have never owned a TM strop and I want one badly but looks like I will ahve to wait a bit longer to get one. Congrats to Tony for not letting the almighty dollar rule his life :thumbup1: With that being said I do own an SRD Red Latigo strop and I must say I love it. I'm a rookie at this so I know very little but I do know I love this strop. And the craftsmanship is really good.
 
ouch

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
When it comes to my ability to delay gratification, I'm right up there with the typical two year old. Still, I've come to realize that when you're talking about an item that will serve you for years and years, it's worth whataver amount of time you have to wait.
 
N

Neurotopia

Ruprazor Paladin. If I don't like it, I'm selling it and getting the Toro. I bought a Filly and I absolutely love the thing, so one of Ken's should work perfectly.
 
dmcconnell

dmcconnell

Gafer said:
Is RupRazor the best option? If so, El Toro or spring for the Paladin? What's the difference between the 1 & 2 D-Ring handle options? I don't get it.
Click to expand...

I recommend the Paladin (I have 2), 2.5". Smooth, suede draw very long strop. Well made, I love mine. 1 D-ring for the horsehide, 2nd D-ring for the attached. cotton strop.
 
huntmol

huntmol

I would recommend RupRazor and if you're OK with spending a bit more, a Kanayama.

This is a very tough subject for me. When events like this happen, such as a great stropmaker scaling back, a hone mine closing, or a popular DE blade company letting quality slide, I wonder if it will keep getting harder and harder to source wetshaving gear as the decades go by.
 
Noswad

Noswad

whitebar said:
I want to add that dealing with Tony was always such a pleasure. Having purchased from him several times over the years, I always walked away extremely satisfied with the interaction. The product was always first rate quality and I knew that Tony poured his heart into creating it. I wish him nothing but the best!
Click to expand...

+1

I have only had the pleasure of buying one strop from Tony, but I totally agree with what you said about him. Here is to wishing Tony the best of luck in his future endeavors.
 
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