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Kanoyama Strop - NYC

There's really nothing to check. It is awesome horse shell stropping action, and the ~$100 models are well worth it.

The >$150 ones.......

I wouldn't have gone for.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I think you will like it. The sensation of the draw is rather unique and enjoyable.
 
I figure - if it's not all that big a deal I can sell it pretty quickly. If it is a big deal... then. well.. here we go.
 

Isaac

B&B Tease-in-Residence
Where did you order the strop from? I know the gentleman on SRP stopped selling them, or that was the word quite some time ago.
 
There's really nothing to check. It is awesome horse shell stropping action, and the ~$100 models are well worth it.

The >$150 ones.......

I wouldn't have gone for.

haha. Right showing a little restraint in the face of raging acquisition.
 
The #3 Kanayama was, at one time and probably still, equivalent to what was sold as the 10000
 
The #3 Kanayama was, at one time and probably still, equivalent to what was sold as the 10000

I like the suede second. It has an incredible feel. I haven't stropped with any of them. They are just too cool for school! I haven't figured out the numbering scheme though. I have a 2196, a 3 and a 6300. You say a 10000, others have mentioned 80 000 and 90 000 and a legendary 100 000.
And so a 3 is a 10000? It seems cooler than the 2196 that is thin leather and a coarse linen. Enquiring minds want to know!
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Knowing the Japanese craftsman, the cheapest item he makes will be just as good in use as the most expensive one he makes. The price difference often comes from the material as well as the extra time he may spend on it. IMO of course.
 
I like the suede second. It has an incredible feel. I haven't stropped with any of them. They are just too cool for school! I haven't figured out the numbering scheme though. I have a 2196, a 3 and a 6300. You say a 10000, others have mentioned 80 000 and 90 000 and a legendary 100 000.
And so a 3 is a 10000? It seems cooler than the 2196 that is thin leather and a coarse linen. Enquiring minds want to know!

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.
 
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Greybeard:

Thank you for a a very thorough and interesting reply. For being advertised as a small shop there is certainly a lot going on. Given there are what looks to be a dozen different gold embossings besides.
 
I like the suede second. It has an incredible feel. I haven't stropped with any of them. They are just too cool for school! I haven't figured out the numbering scheme though. I have a 2196, a 3 and a 6300. You say a 10000, others have mentioned 80 000 and 90 000 and a legendary 100 000.
And so a 3 is a 10000? It seems cooler than the 2196 that is thin leather and a coarse linen. Enquiring minds want to know!

I read it on another forum once - I remember the thread because someone who posted bought the number 3 thinking it translated to 30k, and when he found out it was really a 10k he got upset. He bought something, he didn't know what it was, then he assumed it was something else, and when he found out his assumption was incorrect he claimed the seller had cheated him. Or something like that...I don't remember verbatim....

Having said that - I do not know for sure if the #3 is really a 10k or what. Greybeard has a nice list above, I'd guess it's as close to an accurate representation as anyone can give.
Hand made things vary quite bit quite often. I don't think I'll be putting a micrometer to my strop when it arrives..
 
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I read it on another forum once - I remember the thread because someone who posted bought the number 3 thinking it translated to 30k, and when he found out it was really a 10k he got upset. He bought something, he didn't know what it was, then he assumed it was something else, and when he found out his assumption was incorrect he claimed the seller had cheated him. Or something like that...I don't remember verbatim....

Having said that - I do not know for sure if the #3 is really a 10k or what. Greybeard has a nice list above, I'd guess it's as close to an accurate representation as anyone can give.
Hand made things vary quite bit quite often. I don't think I'll be putting a micrometer to my strop when it arrives..

I, in a fit of SAD, egged on by all the usual enablers have three of these bad boys. A 6300, the 3 and a 2196. I can confirm that, as usual, graybeard is right on the mark. The 2196 is slightly thinner than the 3 that is slightly thinner than the 6300. The linen on the 2196 and the 6300 is identical. The surface of of the leathers are all the same. I think the '3 Fine Stars' with a kanayama stamp is a reasonable buy.

My "Fine Stars" suffered a little from my first couple tries. Should have probably got a whipped dog.
$LP1.jpg

Just kidding.
 
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