Gents Straight Razor Leather Strop - 2.5” x 23.5" Premium Cowhide Sharpening Strap

I am brand new to straight razor. I purchased this strop based on other favorable reviews that spoke of its quality and design relative to its modest price. I am very satisfied with its design and performance. But I have found that straight razor shaving has a serious learning curve, and it is essential to watch several You Tube Videos on each facet of straight razor shaving to get the hang of things. Stropping is no exception. For example, It is essential that the blade of a straight razor be kept flat across the strop, not at an angle as would be true with sharpening a knife edge. Failure to maintain the blade flat against the strop will seriously dull the edge of the blade and can also cut or otherwise damage the strop face. As was recommended in other reviews I recommend use of 1907 Strop Dressing to keep the leather supple and the strop strokes smooth. And for best shaving results I have found that none of the straight razors I purchased are truly "shave ready" out of the box. They must be stropped thoroughly before first use; and between uses; and also a few strokes from time to time during each shaving process to get a really close shave.

When it comes to stropping a blade, usually any piece of leather will do fine but not everyone has an old real leather belt to use. Moreover if you intend on using some leather strop sharpening paste (Green, Red or white).Here comes the GBS High Quality Leather Strop.I went for this one after searching for a while on Amazon. It was reasonably priced and had good reviews.Here is what I like about it:- Solid- It can be attached through a clip to any wall support.- It has two sides.- It will take your sharpened blade from sharp to razor sharp.I could not find any con.

Update to the update. GBS obviously read my earlier review, and they are genuinely concerned with what the customers think. They sent me a replacement strop without having to ask for one. This one is much better quality. The leather strop is smooth without that slick artificial finish, and the cloth portion is heavy duty canvas. I've moved them up to 4 stars because I like the fact that they actually listen to customer feedback. My original comments and first update are included below.Original review: I can't imagine why this strop has any positive reviews. A good strop simply has to be a fairly thick smooth piece of leather. The leather strop on this one is definitely not smooth, and has a great big GBS logo deeply stamped into one end of it. If that wasn't enough, there is a slick finish applied that makes it impossible for the strop to function for its primary purpose. It is like using a strop with a glazed, dried out surface that needs dressing. I'm guessing the finish is to try to cosmetically hide the fact the leather has ridges and imperfections. The additional cloth strop is not linen or canvas. It is a flimsy synthetic fabric that "pills" after very little use. I decided to make the best of a bad product. I used a finish sander to remove the slick finish, starting with 150 grit and ending with 330 grit. It smoothed it out pretty well, but there are still a few imperfections. I used a strop dressing, and now at least have something somewhat usable. I have yet to see if it is good enough for my razors, and it may be relegated to other uses, like my woodworking tools. I don't think the cloth strop is salvageable for any real use. Overall, this strop is cheap imported junk. I've decided you probably can't find a good strop for this price, and I'm eyeing a domestically produced strop that costs 2-3 times more if this one doesn't pan out for my straight razors.Update: The leather strop works fairly well now that I smoothed it out and removed the weird finish that was on it as described above. The cloth strop is coming apart after less than three weeks of light use.

I like the item overall but if has a functionality issue. The clip does not rotate and it should. Not every bathroom will have a perfectly positioned hook to attach the strop to, so it needs to be able to rotate to account for different arrangements.Currently I've only used it a couple of times because I've only shaved with my straight razor a couple of times. It's very slick on the one side, which sometimes makes it tricky to use.I'll revisit this review when I've used it more.

It works great, better than I thought it would for the price. I tried shaving before using it, and blade was terrible. I watched a youtube video for tips on using stropping strap (15 to 20 back and forth on rough texture, 10 to 15 on smooth), and after doing that, blade was completely different. Perfect shave. I could hear the blade scraping on first few passes, then was gliding across. My only problem is it says swivel in description. It does not in fact have a swivel. Also, I can't figure out the purpose of two straps. They get in the way of each other, and twist the whole thing around when you are trying to pull it. They appear to be exact same roughness. Might just cut one off.

Excellent value! You'll want to use this between sharpenings to keep your knives at peak sharpness. Purchased this for home use to strop kitchen knifes and other items. Well constructed and finished. No need to pay $60+ unless you want to boast to your friends that you purchased the most expensive strop around. I took an 8" knife that was dulled from normal use. I tried to use a metal hone but just could not get the edge fully restore as I am not practiced enough to hold the angle perfect. I switched to the stop. Five passes per side without any polishing compound and it was nearly razor sharp. Could shave hair and slice through paper. The Hone will likely stay in its rack.