Illinois #835.fail?

Fellas, what are your thoughts on Illinois strops? I got an #835 that feels like the cheapest bonded leather a man could buy. Pretty sure I wasted $40.

1st) How do you guys feel about Illinois'?

2nd) Tell me...whats the best strop a man can buy? AND WHY???!!! Even Artisan strops...I want to know it all.

The BB bros! You guys rock! Thanks for the input!

dfresh said:

Fellas, what are your thoughts on Illinois strops? I got an #835 that feels like the cheapest bonded leather a man could buy. Pretty sure I wasted $40.

1st) How do you guys feel about Illinois'?
Have no idea-never used one.
2nd) Tell me...whats the best strop a man can buy? AND WHY???!!! Even Artisan strops...I want to know it all.

The BB bros! You guys rock! Thanks for the input!

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#2-I would say it is either a Kanayama or a TM-really depends on your preference. You CAN'T go wrong with either one.

I have never used a Neil Miller one, but they are also very highly regarded.

#1 - My first strop was an Illinois (127, i think?). The leather was....meh, good enough to learn on. But I haven't touched it since buying my other one.
The "fabric" piece was a joke, the stiffest, roughest piece of nylon weaving I've ever seen. Cut with a hot knife so the edges wouldn't fray, but that also left the edges kind of crispy, jagged and weird. The noise and feel from stropping on it literally made me cringe

#2 - I can't really say about "best" as I've only owned one other so far. But what I can say is I have no regrets at all about my choice for my second strop.
Walkin' Horse 3" Horse Hide with herringbone woven cotton for the fabric component. Everything feels so nice and smooth, craftsmanship is top notch. If anything happened to this one I'd buy another without hesitation.

Illinois Strops are just fine. Not fancy but will do the job nicely. +1 on Tony Miller Strops. I recently got one of his steer hide models and it is very nice indeed. I have never seen a Kanayama in person but they are highly thought of as well as highly priced. Straight Razor Designs has some very nice Strops as well. Not quite the workmanship of a Tony Miller but they are nice none the less.

How long have you been using a straight razor? It sounds like you might be a beginner. Perhaps you need to perfect your stropping technique. The Illinois strop should do the job about as well as anything else.

does tony miller have a website ? i googled came up blank,... and the Kanayama site says they are not offering them anymore i am looking at SRD myself weighing out some options

syngent said:

does tony miller have a website ? i googled came up blank,... and the Kanayama site says they are not offering them anymore i am looking at SRD myself weighing out some options

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http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.com/

I've got an 837, the so called "russian leather" Its fine. Nothing great, but fine to start out with. I still use it after honing. If I was gonna go cheap now I'd go with star shaving supplies, though.

I've got an 837, the so called "russian leather" Its fine. Nothing great, but fine to start out with. I still use it after honing. If I was gonna go cheap now I'd go with star shaving supplies, though.

LOL, so you got a 837?

thats one thing about pete.....

he don't say much but when he does he makes sure everyone understands what he said....

You know Pete if you wanna get your post count up heading to the check in and hall of fame is another way to go

I wonder what kind of strop Pete has...Anyone know?

Cheers,

M.

Heh, did it do that multi post thing again? Sorry mods. My browser really likes to do it here, its only done it that once before on another board. I'll close it and double check after posting. I even checked the other the other thread I posted in yesterday to make sure it wasn't doing that. For some reason didnt think to look at this one.

rider4life said:

I wonder what kind of strop Pete has...Anyone know?

Cheers,

M.

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I use a Tony Miller. But I may have mentioned that I also have an Illinois 837.

Double post

Well, it started doing it again. I think I know why now, I dont think it'll happen again. Least I hope not, if it does I'll have no idea whats going on.

Doc226 said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD3y43cyddI&t=0m31s

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Yeah, I think that dude wrote the code for my browser.

My 127 is okay.
It's nothing special. I pasted the linen component with CrOX, undecided whether that was a mistake or not.

I replaced it with a Mountain Mike's 3", but I never did care for the "nylon" 2nd component and ended up going back to the 127.
Couple of months ago, I bought a Kanayama 2196, and finally a Kanayama #3 and a TM.

My primary is now the TM, but I would not hesitate to take the Illinois with me on a trip.