Thread: What is the different between each strop lather ?

Hello
I see they are many strop's lather, like Tony make a red latigo, horsehide heirloom, vintage honey brown, and there is Dovo russion lather and so on
What is the difference between each one? and how does it come when you strop your razor? and is it really matter?
Tank you

Latigo is more resistent to warping due to the treatment and creates more of a draw than honey brown. Stiffer grinds like the draw. Another factor is leather thickness. The thicker it is, the less it'll warp.

As far as the strop goes I don't think the material really makes that much difference. I think the quality of manufacture, the thickness and tanning and finishing are more important. I have some vintage strops made from horseshell, seal, elk, camel and they all appear to do the same great job. Some feel a little different as you strop.

The biggest difference is how it feels, not so much how it works. I find that my strops with the least draw strop as effectively as those with lots of draw but some like the different sensation each type creates, yes some are faster, some are slower but they will all get the job done. Same goes for the Jemico and Dovo models I have used. Different feel, same sharp razor when done.

Now as to thickness....I may have changed my tune on that a little. At first I used a slightly thicker leather than the commercial strops out there and it seemed to stay flat and resiost cupping better. I then used even heavier leather and found that it may not always want to lay quite as flat. The tan natural in my sets in thin, muck like a Jemico strop and actually conforms better to the razors edge than some thick leathers.

The different variations if draw, etc.... seem to be of more importance to those who have already owned strops before and either wish to duplicate the feel their old strop had, or if unhappy with the first strop, wish to try the opposite extreme.

I have had guys say the Latigo has too much draw, other may feel the honey has too little. Much of this is simply personal preference. Kind of like "wow, there is way too much paste on my paddle" vs. "Hmm, I'd have thought you would have applied more paste to these" both on identically pasted strops <g>

The dressing I include with the latest Latigo strops greatly affects the draw too. Instead of gradually increasing with use it increases over 3 or 4 uses.

I really don't think any strop leather choice, from any maker will let you down or not do the job. Craftmanship, design, weight ands apperance really become the deciding factor in most cases.

Tony

Well as I'm new to this I don't know if my experience counts for much (I've used cheap and homemade strops, which were a lot better) as it's been with knives in the past but I find almost any leather works to some extent. I've used plain old 9oz veg tan and saddlery butts in the past, sometimes with homemade paste e.g. linde A and lanolin or neatsfoot oil etc. and found it works well enough. The only reason I've stuck to making my own compounds and leather is because I've had the leather left over and I've found getting information on the grit size of the available compounds is difficult in the UK.