Heirkb put some strops up for sale recently here at TSD, and was gracious enough to send me one of them for review as personally they were an unknown quality. My first impressions upon receiving this strop were that the material is thin, lightweight, very flexible, and very smooth, and the strop is fitted with simple hardware. This strop's dimensions are: width: 2.5" length: 23" thickness: 1/16" There are three minor creases in the strop which occurred from shipping (I could tell based on the bends in the cardboard packaging which corresponded in spacing and location to the creases in the strop), and two extremely minor creases. I think these will go away with use, but only time will tell. Either way, they don't seem to interfere with stropping at all. The ratings: Feedback: 9 The strop has excellent feedback. Feedback in a strop is partly a personal preference because different people prefer more or less draw. This cordovan does not exhibit as much draw as latigo, but gives me more than I have felt in other horsehide strops, and certainly more than the slick Illinois I have tried. What is so nice about the feedback with this strop though is its consistent feedback along the whole surface of the strop without variance. And even though it does lose quite a bit of the feedback when using it to strop a lightly ground razor, it does not lose its predictable feel. It is a wonderfully consistent feel that lets me know very quickly with every kind of razor I have tested almost exactly how effective my stropping stroke is so I can make adjustments quickly and get the job done without wondering whether I've hit the sweet spots Quality/Craftsmanship: 8 This is a mixed category, so I reported an average in the numerical dropdown. Here though, I can break it down Quality: 10 The Horween material feels wonderful to me. It is so soft and luxurious, although the razor probably doesn't know that Something I am noticing after a few days of use are some very shallow specks appearing on the strop. I'm not sure if these are particles that are being embedded into the soft material from the stropping or if these are just artifacts of the leather. I don't remember seeing them the day I received the strop, but they can only be seen in certain lighting anyway. The bottom line here to me is that the leather is so responsive without an overbearing draw. I have not seen this same combination of great feedback response and such soft leather in a strop before. The brass hardware feels solid; the quality is there in the raw material. Craftsmanship: 6 The brass hardware has some scuffing and is not perfectly centered, but it does not lend itself toward cupping the strop and so performs its function just as it should. I like the simplicity without sacrificing function The leather was handcut, and the edges are not perfectly straight. But they easily provide a straight and perpendicular stropping surface for a razor in correct motion. So this is, I think, just a cosmetic flaw. Durability: 8 Only time will really tell, I think. The leather is thin enough that it seems like any deforming caused by holding the handle-less strop can be easily reflattened. The creases from shipping are still visible but they don't affect the stropping. It's a soft leather, but it is strong material and has not shown any tendency to warp or stretch unevenly while pulled tightly. Efficacy: 10 I'm not sure what this means, but the strop does the job that a strop is supposed to do. It keeps the razor shave-ready. What really impresses me though is how well the feedback tells me how to get the most out of the strop for whatever particular razor I am using with it. There's no fussing it all, and to me that is a major plus. My overall impression is that this material alone should sell the strop. I haven't nicked it so I can't comment on how well it will hold up under such a blemish, but it could be that the strop is so user-friendly as to ward off razor attacks The workmanship does not strike me as particularly professional or artisan, but it certainly delivers what is necessary in a strop. I don't know who broke in the leather for me, but it was ready to go right out of the box and I don't feel any need at all to work it further
