An Old Kokens Royal 32 Strop

Discussion in 'Show and tell' started by S Barnhardt, Sep 4, 2019.

  1. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    I bought this strop, a Koken Royal 32, a few years ago when my sole interest was “collecting” of out of the ordinary items. It’s been on a shelf in my collection cabinet since then. Since becoming involved with the folks here, it’s caused me to look at it in a whole, new way.

    Now, I’m leaning toward restoring it, which runs counter to anything I’d ever learned to do when collecting. In a purely collecting sense, to restore anything is to ruin the value of the piece. The age and “patina” is a prized thing to a “collector.” All that “tells a story” of what the item has gone through. It serves to help tell the story of its life. Saying that, even now, causes me hesitation about restoring it. But, I do want to look into it more at a minimum.

    But I’ve run into a seeming stone wall when it comes to finding anything about the manufacturer, the specific item, etc. I’ve Googled “Koken”, “Koken Barber Tools”, etc. expecting to find “some” reference, but so far that has not been the case. So far, it’s mostly entries where someone has posted on Etsy and similar sites. I want reference quality information. I want to know what it is, what it was made of, when, etc. The same kind of information folks look for when collecting razors, etc.

    So, I’m posting this for more than one reason. #1 is just to share the item with you fine folks here on TSD. I want to contribute something! #2, etc. is I’m hoping someone, somewhere, knows, or is caused to remember, something they may have seen, or will see in the future that sheds some degree of light on my search.

    So, here goes. Comments, etc. are welcomed.

    Thanks!


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  2. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Nice. I don't see a leather side. Is it just fabric?
     
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  3. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    It
    I'm not sure what exactly it is. That's one of the reasons I want to find a reference for it. One side, the one with the embossing on the handle, looks as though it's either coated with a thin layer of leather, or leather like substance, or is impregnated with something. There is, at least to me, a different look and feel to that side. " But" it's all one piece. ?? Was hoping for a manufacturer's description of what it's supposed to be.
     
  4. TestDepth

    TestDepth Well-Known Member

    I have an Army/Navy razor from Koken Barber Supply Co. out of St. Louis. Maybe you could get lucky with a catalog, but that might be a needle in a haystack.

    Cool work on innovation and patents around barber chairs.

    Good luck on the info hunt.
    Tom
     
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  5. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    I've taken some hopefully clearer/better/closer pics to help illustrate what I'm talking about on the surfaces of this thing! I'm at a loss to answer you for sure on your "Is it just fabric? question. There is a difference, it seems to me, from the front/top to the back. Is it from something applied to it during, or after, the manufacture, or is it from use?? I don't know. Maybe this will allow you, and me, to see this more clearly. I've marked them with which side they are from. As before, comments are welcome.

    #1 strop back surface 1.jpg #1 strop back surface 2.jpg #1 strop front surface 1.jpg #1 strop front surface 2.jpg
     
  6. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    I agree! I'll look for a listing for a catalog. If you ever run across something like that, please keep me in mind?
    Thanks!
     
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  7. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    Well, I think I've found an answer, of some degree, to my question about just what it is I have.

    I found a listing for a Koken Barber Supply Co. catalog. I was able to find a page with strops and hones on it. Based on what I've seen there, what I have is not a strop, per se, but a "hone." It seems Koken sold a #45 strop and a #32 hone either in a combination of the two, or as separate items. So, I guess I have the #32 hone as a separate item. And yes it was linen on both sides. I'm going to include a "screen capture" of what I found for reference now and in the future.

    Capture.PNG
     
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  8. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    They might have called it a "hone," but it's a strop for all intents and purposes. The leather strop was used for polishing/burnishing the blade, while the linen strop was used for "sharpening" the blade.

    If you want to restore it to full use, you'll need to clean the linen. Then you have a couple options. You can dress it with beeswax or a tallow shaving soap (Williams works great for this), dressing basically involves rubbing the soap or beeswax into the linen until the surface is mostly smooth. This protects the linen from excessive wear.

    If you want to use it to sharpen your blade, you'll need to use an oxide buffing compound to dress it, the finer the grit, the better. (The kind sold to use on buffing wheels) or you can use the beeswax/soap dressing method...and then spray the strop with a modern nano diamond spray.

    It's unusual to see a vintage linen strop used alone without a leather counterpart, but it's not exactly unheard of, either.
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2019
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  9. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Fun fact: just about every single vintage cloth strop is made from linen. Modern cloth strops use cotton.

    Linen is a superior fabric to use for strops in every way, but the last factory that was capable of making linen strapping thick and wide enough for strops stopped making them about 20 years ago due to lack of demand.

    The only modern strops that still use linen were the strops made by a very famous, very elderly and now recently deceased japanese strop maker. Those strops were $500-1,000 new...no idea how much they are worth now. If I remember correctly, the linen strops alone were about $250.

    Edit: I think there are one or two strop makers that upcycle/refresh vintage linen strops, but it's on an ad hoc basis.

    Edit: you might find this a fun read:
    https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/a-cordovan-shell-strop-and-my-grandfathers-legacy.29359/
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2019
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  10. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    Good, quality and cheap/economical have never gone together, have they?

    Thanks for the information! It is appreciated.
     
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