Strop Advice

I've been mulling over a new strop for a while. Longterm plan was to live with what I had until I could shell out for a custom Neil Miller but Neil is gone now, I'm not rich yet, and what I have isn't making me happy.

I've been using a Tony Miller Latigo & Ambrose Ebano for several years now. I find the latigo still hard and unforgiving after years of use......hand rubbing, and the odd drop of neatsfoot oil don't help much. The ebano came to me second hand, started off well but has degraded somewhat over the years with use. I've used paddles and looms quite a bit but for day to day shaving I like a hanger.

I'm in the UK and looking for a daily driver strop, I'd like to keep the budget to ~£50 tops, 2.5 inch width would be ideal. Fabric component not really required as the one on the Ambrose strop works, but all in one would be nice.

any suggestions?

Unless it's damaged, you will never beat a Tony Miller latigo and stay inside of your budget. My suggestion is double your budget and get a Kanayama #3 or 10000. This is the best strop for the money anywhere. Pure luxury and performance. IMHO

Scrupleworks.com. Torolfs 2.5 strops will cost about £50.

Scrupleworks or if you were thinking about Neil Miller and one of his Horween cordovan beauties then I would suggest

https://www.facebook.com/westholmestrops/

Another vote here for Scrupleworks, I'm gonna be ordering a 2.5" myself
one of the days.

alpster said:

Unless it's damaged, you will never beat a Tony Miller latigo and stay inside of your budget. My suggestion is double your budget and get a Kanayama #3 or 10000. This is the best strop for the money anywhere. Pure luxury and performance. IMHO

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It's been at least 5yrs and I've still never really warmed to the latigo. Not so much looking to beat Tony's strop I just think I would get on better with a different material. The Ambrose ebano I took a shine to straight away. The Kanayama's always looked top notch but I'd prefer to at least try something a little more budget friendly first.

Having a look at Scrupleworks at the moment, does anyone have a contact for Westholme strops that isn't facebook?

Also gonna give my Tony Miller latigo some tlc & neatsfoot tonight just in case I'm still going through the break in period

Thanks all

http://www.ebay.com/usr/westholme_original?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

As soon as cordovan enters the picture the price jumps significantly!

Check out InJeNer at http://leder-tradition.de/
I own a special edition he made for the german shaving forum which is utterly marvelous.

You do not need a completely new strop!

Speak to Torolf at Scrupleworks. He can make leather of your choice to replace the Latigo on your Tony Miller strop. Six screws and you're done!

My Tony Miller latigo is not modular, just a strip of latigo with a leather lace at the top. So no replacement leather. I opted for a good cut of latigo and little else.

I'm off work for the next five days which was a surprise, decided to drop shaving and work on the strops I have to see what happens. The Ambrose strop looked a mess*, the TM is a little stiff and has lost a few useable inches due to minor cuts at the top and bottom. Both strops seem to have benefited from soap, water, sanding & neatsfoot oil...but I think I need to repeat the cycle another time or two as what looks great wet with neatsfoot oil looks rather and feels rather different 8hrs later.

New plan is to put off a new strop. I felt inclined to buy a 2" strop so I'm thinking I need to pick up some 2" & 3" strips of leather to mess around with alongside my current 2.5" strops and get a better feeling for width.

* not the fault of maker I think, I've been using it for all sorts of knives alongside razors and it's done a damn fine job for years

Since you seem to be the experimentin' type, rubbing the Latigo with a cloth dampened with denatured alcohol will remove much of the surface oil and waxes leading to a decrease in draw. Latigo will never be soft and supple, but the grabby nature of it makes it difficult to use with lighter grinds IMO. IME oiling "shiny" leather can increase draw.

Cheers Kentos, will put some denatured alcohol on the list, I've already got myself a cloth!

Good luck! I have done it myself to lessen draw .

After a few weeks of beard, a few sanding sessions, a lot of hand rubbing, time spent hanging around and some neatsfoot oil I have made friends again with both of my strops. The need for new has passed, what I have just needed some tlc. After years of abuse both strops seem to be performing better than when I first met them. Thanks to Tony & Ambrose.