As of today, we have decided to stop selling Kanayama strops entirely.

This was not totally unexpected, but it was much sooner than I had hoped. Since we began offering these strops to customers around the world, we have developed a very close connection with the Naomi family. It honestly has surpassed any purely business relationship and approached something like family. We sent each other gifts and pictures, we exchanged postcards on trips and we even helped each other cover medical expenses. So it truly, truly saddens me that we have to do this. But we do.

The explanation, to put it simply, is that we can no longer guarantee the level of quality that Kanayama has always been known for. I don't think anyone would deny that Kanayama strops have been among the best ever made, and that feeling of amazement when you first open a Kanayama box is one I myself share with every customer. So when a customer misses out on that because of a manufacturing defect, when there is any disappointment at all, I feel it myself. And recently, I must admit, that has been happening with disturbing frequency. In the last shipment I received, two out of three strops were unshippable due to clearly visible defects. This is not an isolated incident, and despite repeated conversations with Kanayama about the problems they have grown worse, rather than better.

In a way, it was inevitable. Not only is the maker now in his eighties, but the last several months have been a very stressful time for the family, the kind that would take a toll on anyone. Despite everyone around him suggesting that he rest, take some time away from his work and lessen his own stress, he continues to push himself every day. It is not only bad for his strops, but for his health.

So, after careful consideration, my wife and I have decided that we can't in good conscience offer these strops, with the constant possibility of customer disappointment and the ever increasing need for returns and remaking, and the added stress not only for ourselves, but for the maker himself.

As for the availablity of strops in general, I can not speak for other distributors. I do not know if Kanayama will continue to make strops for others, although I suspect that he will keep on until he is physically unable to. I hope that he can be successful as long as he needs to be. I absolutely encourage you to purchase from any seller who has them, they are wonderful strops and Kanayama is in need of all the support you can offer. 

And finally, I will continue to sell the razors from Kanayama until they are gone, at which point I will be limiting my mercantile activity to the occasional stone.

Thank you for yoru understanding, and your support of Kanayama up until now.