Kanayama Cordovan Strop workshop video

[YokohamaGaijin]

Have a look if you are interested in how cordovan strops are made...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apN2fzd02vQ

[drmoss_ca]

Fascinating! And such a shame to think that when he's gone the art is lost from Japan.

[drmoss_ca]

I ended up with an 80000, which has a canvas strop, one of suede, and one of cordovan horse leather. The canvas has been treated as suggested by some Japanese sites, with soap and water washes, rubbing with glass bottles and drying in the sun. It has become soft, and quite the opposite of a canvas strop filled with Dovo white paste. The suede strop has a strong draw, and is perhaps the most impressive member of the trio. Finally, the cordovan is as smooth as glass, and is meant to be used very taut with very little pressure - just a light skimming stroke. Anything beyond this will catch the point of a spike razor and make a divot.

But is it worth it? Straight razor users know, or should know, that a good stropping makes a huge difference in the shave. Do these strops, costing around the price of five new razors, or ten to fifteen eBay specials, justify themselves? Perhaps. You can get the same results from other strops, though the cordovan finish isn't common and, I have to say, probably adds the least to the combined effect of all three. But there is pride in ownership, and the incentive to strop more carefully and thoroughly. I've spent several times the cost of this trio on other strops over the years, and all I've done is to prove, once again, the cheapest thing to do is to buy the best at the outset rather than to get there by buying many lowlier increments.

If you can't ever see yourself splurging on one of these, you can get pretty close by doing this:

1. Buy a Dovo/Jemico Red Russian. Keeping the leather out of the water, wash and abuse the canvas until soft.
2. Use the Red Russian leather side as suede. Never put anything on it at all. No oil, grease, dressing - nothing!
3. For finishing we will need the smoothest and glassiest strop, again with no dressing on it ever. I'm a bit out of touch here, but I daresay someone will chime in with a strop that is finished super smooth and shiny.

Or you can just buy the real thing and be done with it. There isn't an objective way to quantify the effect of the strop, and this will not make a blunt razor shave like magic! Maybe it improves the shave ~5% over my other strops, and maybe that's me fooling myself. Perhaps the pride of ownership is what fools me. I don't regret investing in it, though I am concerned for the fragility of the cordovan surface - it does tend to make you strop very slowly and carefully and with as little pressure as possible. Nothing like that movie - what was it? Lives of a Bengal Lancer? Where someone cuts his strop and then slices the whole thing through in frustration, thus destroying not only the strop but also his razor. No hard and fast stropping here, just light and careful caressing of the cordovan. If you can, try it out. The opportunity will soon be gone as the gentleman who makes them is in his eighties and has no apprentices for the future continuation of the business.

[EL Alamein]

Yes, very interesting.

I have a strop that's glass smooth (leather) but I really don't like it. Perhaps it's unconscious bias on my part but I feel that some draw on the leather improves the edge. I do remember checking this notion with the hanging hair test and thinking the results justified my notion.

In the end it may not matter. I think that Science of Sharp blog says that in the end all the leather strop does is put a coating on the edge and does nothing to keen it.

As always personal preference is King.

Chris

[Bill_K]

...But there is pride in ownership, and the incentive to strop more carefully and thoroughly. I've spent several times the cost of this trio on other strops over the years, and all I've done is to prove, once again, the cheapest thing to do is to buy the best at the outset rather than to get there by buying many lowlier increments...

Yes, I'm still learning that lesson. After reading the archived posts related to the Kanayama strops and viewing the video I've took the plunge and ordered a 50000. Here's a big shout-out to my lovely bride, who lets me indulge myself in these things from time to time!

[EL Alamein]

So I've been thinking about this a while and it hit me that my magic strop is glass smooth though I usually don't really think of it that way. I could swear it's treated though, maybe with something like the Dovo black crayon. It was done a long time ago, as in decades ago since I bought this strop 15 years ago and it was already this way.

Anyway it's one of the best strops I own and it almost never fails to add a touch of keeness or smooth out a rough blade.

The strop I referred to in my above post is a different one and doesn't quite perform like magic strop.

What makes me think of a really great strop is the old red Jemico strop that is no longer produced. That thing is amazing.

It appears that the place down in MD had a wide version produced for them ever so long ago and only ever so briefly. When I went to order one years ago I got that 30 degree strop that is nothing like the Jemico. If they ever did sell a wide Jemico I wish I could have gotten my hands on one. That would have been sweet.

I'm now intrigued by the Kanayama Cordovan. Maybe Santa will bring me one.

Chris

[drmoss_ca]

Dovo (not the Jemico brand which I think they bought) did make a wide strop, with an oblong metal handle at each end and no canvas. It was shorter than most, and mine was a waste of time as the damn thing wouldn't stay flat, but kept curling up. Threw it out.

Every time I use the Kanayama, which is to say, every day, I am reminded by the finishing strop of the appearance of beautifully finished leather soles on expensive shoes. Buffed and shiny - at least, until you start walking on them. I might be wrong, but I think the best part of the the three part strop is the suede, which is similar to the velvety feel of the Jemico Red Russian when it is new and before you treat it with anything.