Thread: Strop Differences

Thanks to all for your replies, especially "The big gun" Tony.....

Lynn,
I have found the same thing. The old ones have a different feel to them. Not sure if they did something special in the tanning or prep or it is simply they have more years on them and have worn in to a superior surface.

There is nothing like the old days!

Tony

After almost 25 years (on and off) of Str8 shaving, I must admit, the last year has been the best since I really concentrated on honing- I added 2 things to my arsenal to keeps razors ready to shave. 1: Shapton Glass hones 2: TONY MILLER Strop.

I like the red latigo-lots of draw and lots of feedback. There was a time I used to think the HHT was a parlor trick. NOT NOW: Hit them on the hones and finish on my Latigo strop and I am GOOD TO GO!

Horsehide is OK- Latigo is my favorite.

Originally Posted by Earthdawn

Damn great read Tony !!!

Thank you for that ... archiving that in my personal folder right now

Makes me wana get a 3" Latigo right now !!!

Or And 3" Horsehide!

So far, I prefer a 1 1/2" wide Latigo hanger. Second choice is cowhide in the form of an old 1 3/16" Torrey loom that originally had black paste on one side. Both have a nice draw to them.

I haven't tried russian or horsehide yet. Now I have good reason to make a longer Christmas list!

I have both a smooth as glass Japanese Kintaka horsehide strop and two latigo strops (one is an Apprentice strop, the other a 3" Artisan with smooth canvas).

Although I found the horsehide to be an interesting finish, and the leather is without a doubt beautiful and supple, I did not care for the absolute zero draw the thing had. I say "had" because just the other day I took some 600grit to that thing and now it has just a whisper of draw, not as much as my latigos, but enough to make it satisfying....

That said, I also found that the latigo helped to actually put a better edge on my razors. I stropped up a razor on the smooth pre-sanding horsehide and tried the HHT--results were so-so. I then went to the latigo and violla! hanging hairs were melted away.

So, for me, it seems that not only is the latigo my preference in terms of feel, but also in terms of performance.

YMMV, TGIF, ETC, IOU, and all that stuff

Question- does anyone sand their horse hide strops for a little more draw? feeling the itch to buy a new strop, I made my own, cow hide 4" X 20 on flat wood, worked for me so far, but thinking I should progress from ghetto after joining SRP..

I WAS ALL SET! I was ready to pull the trigger on one of Tony's horsehides. Really, I was. Now I'm back to thinking Latigo/Linen is the way to go. Well, if nothing else, it means I get to keep my money for a few more days!

Edit: I see the Latigo is only available with Cotton. I had heard the slightly coarser Linen was a nice mid-step between CrOx and the leather. Does cotton occupy this same territory?

The linen is not really coarser, it is said to have a slight abrasive quality by some and to make no difference by others. Both are very smooth weaves, the cotton is firm and smooth, the linen limp and smooth. My older strops have a semi-limp, very coarse weave cotton.

I consider the texture of the weave to determine coarse or smooth. The abrasive qualities would be based on the nature of the fibers themselves.

As for horse and /or linen being better, well, that is subject to debate. I always explain to people in this case more expensive does not mean better, it simply means the raw material and/or labor to fabricate it is more expensive. The linen is much pricier per foot to purchase and has lots of little "nibs" in the weave, hence far more waste when cutting from the roll. At times I may discard nearly as much as I can use, therby doubling my "cost". Horsehide is much the same. A single "butt" may yield 3 or 4 pieces from my 2" strops, or maybe a single 2 1/2" piece, and one out of every three or four pieces may be completely unusable. My rule of thumb (and pricing) is one good strop per butt and I am on track with costs/pricing. On Latigo I get a 50% to 60% yield per hide if all goes well. If I get a bad hide, maybe one out of four it is cheaper to make practice strops from it than pay to send it back. Strop making is far more than a square foot of leather costs $ X.XX and will make one strop so a strop should cost $ x.xx plus a half hour of labor <g>.


Tony

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

I WAS ALL SET! I was ready to pull the trigger on one of Tony's horsehides. Really, I was. Now I'm back to thinking Latigo/Linen is the way to go. Well, if nothing else, it means I get to keep my money for a few more days!

Edit: I see the Latigo is only available with Cotton. I had heard the slightly coarser Linen was a nice mid-step between CrOx and the leather. Does cotton occupy this same territory?

I had the same dilemma between latigo and horse so I went with a horse/latigo strop and I am glad that I did. Best of both worlds. I later got a linen from Tony and added it to the strop.

I like the feel of the horse better then the latigo but I use both. First linen, then latigo and finish with the horse. The latigo has so much draw that I felt I had to be really careful when I am stropping. I am used to it now so it is pretty routine but when I first got it I went slow on the latigo.