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Kanayama strops - what's the deal?

Actually I have gotten used to my Kanoyama w/out any type of handle because the material is so soft. Easy to hold in the off hand and tension the strop for stropping. I don't think I would like a horse hide strop with a barber end but on shell it is not a problem.

Brian

I kinda think handles are overrated but at the beginning you just don't know if you'll like them or not.
 
I used to care about handles.
I used to think they were an advantage when pulling the leather taught.

Now I don't care. I use either (barber's end/handles/d-rings) without issue or concern.
 
My hide is so tough and leathery, I often just strop on my bare leg! Makes a Kanayama look like a piece of an old Army pup tent ..
 
I prefer no D-ring or handles. I fasten my strop to my towel bar and did not like metal hitting my tile wall when I let go of my strop. A barber end (leather/linen) hits gentilly.
 
I used to care about handles.
I used to think they were an advantage when pulling the leather taught.

Now I don't care. I use either (barber's end/handles/d-rings) without issue or concern.

Agreed. Handles are the least of my concern.
 
I like barber ends, they have the benefit ot naturally curving the strop slightly and preventing the upside down cupping
 
Just my thought here but everything on that site has a 'regular' price and a 'sale' price and neither one of them seem to change. Put another way, the sale is open ended. I think all of us got ours for the 'sale' price.

That said, a Kanoyama strop is truly a beautiful thing. I don't use mine much as I prefer horse hide (not shell) and linen but still, both pieces of that strop are truly excellent. I have never seen a piece of Horween Shell but the piece that Mr. Naomi makes feels like some kind of rubbery vinyl. That may sound like an insult but it is not; that stuff is the softest, most supple natural material I have ever touched.

This is a video about Mr. Naomi actually making these strops here: http://bizdoga.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-1397.html The Kanoyama part starts at 30 minutes into the video, there is some kind of panel discussing honing methods with them all acknowledging film edges are best at 31:56, some possibly NSFW strop fondling at 38>50 and the whole thing ends with an Akita puppy at about 41 minutes.

Brian

Got one on the way for 104.00. There is a sale on.
 
I found that if a strop had a handle I ended up gripping just above the handle like I would with a barber's end anyway. So, I don't really care if a strop has a handle or not... if it does I just ignore it. If it saves me money I would go for a barber's end.
 
Handle, D rings, or barbers end. I don't notice the difference. I just grab it and strop. I do think the barbers end looks better.
 
Walkin' Horse. They are limited on stock and so are only available at times.

I have the 3" but if I had to do it all over again, I think I would go with a 2 1/2". Horse hide is very tough and hard; it is difficult to get flat and keep it there. A 3" works well for me in cowhide (any of them, with split hide being my favorite I think) but horse hide tends to curl a bit and often in different directions w/in the same strop.

Brian

Brian, you've probably mentioned it before, but what is the brand and source of your horse hide strop?
 
I just got my number 3 and I am loving it! The leather feels so smooth. I am almost afraid to use because of the chance I damage it.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
Question for the Kanayama experienced - I see several mentions of a "linen" component, but at the website I see availability of only "canvas" as the second material. Does their "canvas" equal "linen"?
 
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