2.5" Wide English Bridle Leather Razor Strop, #2

This is a very good quality, no-frills no-nonsense solid and reliable strop, hand-made in England from top quality english bridle leather.  The leather is a top-quality natural vegetable tanned item with a difference - it has been processed to order by an English company that lays claim to making the best bridle leather in England and they have awards to prove it!  Bridle leather usually has an oil/wax finish that can leave it very stiff and/or very waxy and dry - this has had the wax component significantly reduced to give a nicely finished soft, oiled, pliable leather that has a very good draw, somewhat like latigo.  It is not better - nor is it worse! - than latigo, just different.  It is a very close-grained, finely surfaced leather - more like calf than cow and easily of the same or better quality as german prima rindleder.  There appear to be lines and waviness when the leather is flexed, and some uneven markings - BUT - this is merely a product of the oiling process and only cosmetic - there are no such effects detectable on the actual surface of the leather.  Indeed, if the leather is flexed in certain ways the markings become more or less pronounced, being due to the oil moving in the leather fibres.  Like all natural products this leather will have small marks and unique traces, none of which will impair the ability to finely hone a razor - it has been specially hand-selected for this job!

During initial use it is usual for a light residue to build-up on the razor - this is natural for this product and can simply be wiped off the blade with a bit of tissue.  As the strop is used more and more the residue will become noticably less until it is about the same amount as latigo usually leaves on the razor.

The leather hardware attachment flap and the handles are securely glued to the strop and further secured by means of rivets.  The edges of the leather strop panel are lightly bevelled (on both sides) so that they are less likely to catch the razor, and the back or coarse side is even enough in character to allow it to be used, preferably with powder like green chrome oxide, if desired.  The leather is 3.0mm - 4.5mm thick on average.  There is a swivel hook provided (see pictures) to hang the strop by.  The handle is made from real leather - a top quality dark brown waxed german calf-hide which has been comfortably contoured and padded to fit the hand - not a cheap flat stitched handle that you find on most modern strops!  The strop is a very good length - from the tip of the hanging gear to the bottom of the handle it measures approx. 28.5 inches long with about 17 inches of stropping area (as this is a handmade item the actual measurements may vary a little).

Please note that this is an English handmade product, made by one individual - not a factory item made by machine, so you should expect signs of handwork such as slightly irregular stitching, etc.  Leather is a natural substance which also shows some marks and slight imperfections, none of which will interefere with the ability of this strop to produce a super-fine edge on a razor.  I always make a test prototype of every strop I sell, selecting the leather that has representations of all marks and imperfections for the test prototype, and I use it punishingly so I am very familiar with the materials I use and can personally recommend them.  The items I sell are made from leather that has far less pronounced markings, etc, than the test prototypes - anything not meeting my exacting standards is rejected!

This is a heavy strop - the packaged weight will be around 650gms.