Thread: Horsehide vs latigo

looking for some advice.

i see Tony Miller now sells horsehide and latigo. On his web site he says the horsehide is a better finishing strop but the latigo is a good all around...now with my budget i would only be able to buy one or the other...either a latigo with cotton or a horsehide with cotton...

any suggestions...

along these lines...would you guys opt for the 3in 2.5in or the 2in...the three inch is tempting but the 2 inch is nice too...

Ahhh, this question has plauqed us since the beginning of str8 razor use. I spoke to Tony about this very subject. If you look through the Strop forum posts. you'll see one by me "strop differences" Tony and some other senior members chimed in with some great info, a keeper for sure. Basically, The latigo, from what I'm told has more draw to it. It gives you more feedback. I have several of Tony's wide paddles, and one solingen very soft leather strop, cowhide. I'm going with the Red Latigo w/cotton backing I think. Probably the 3inch, why not have a wide one, more surface area is always better IMHO.
I guess some guys like the more narrow strops. A lot of it is really personal preference...Enjoy...Rich

From what I read here both are excellent strops and you can't go wrong with either and both will get the job done well. It really depends on your preference as to draw while stropping. I have numerous vintage strops and one had a nice draw and the other is a Russian Shell with almost no draw. I can get a great shave without using the Russian Shell if I chose not to. Same with just using the Russian Shell but I usually use both just because I have them.

I have both horse and cow hide strops.

They are both great. I wouldn't say one is better then the other, they are just different.

The horse hide is smoother and faster and offers less draw than the cow hide.

The cow hide somehow feels more satisfying to use.

I prefer to use the horse hide with hollow ground razors and the cow hide with heavier grinds.

I'm not convinced it makes a scrap of difference just so long as the leather is of a high quality.

I like a 2.5 horse/latigo combo. Best of both worlds. For a relatively small charge Tony will add a linen or canvas to the combo.

I used to have a real collection of strops made from all kinds of critters and I found them all to be equally good. Nowadays I have a couple horse and a cow. I use the cow mostly after I hone because horse really has little or no draw to it and the cow has loads which is a useful indicator of keaness of the razor. However in the end I find no difference in performance.

I have owned a good amount of strops from different sources over the years and agree all will pretty much give the same end result. Most of the difference is in the feel, heavy draw, light draw, etc......

Many find smoother, light draw strops nice for lightweight blades, heavy draw strops for heavier blades but again it is more about the feeling of control when stropping, not the end result of sharpness.

When in doubt I think choosing a heavier draw, no matter who the maker is the best option unless one specifically wants a slicker feel for a reason.

Tony

thanks for the responses gents...

i still havent saved up the money to jump into shaving...ive been using my shavette with decent success and from what i read my shaves will actually improve once i get a true straight blade...

and to tony...what would you charge for a 2" strop that has a latigo, a horsehide, and a cotton?

Originally Posted by erictski

thanks for the responses gents...

i still havent saved up the money to jump into shaving...ive been using my shavette with decent success and from what i read my shaves will actually improve once i get a true straight blade...

and to tony...what would you charge for a 2" strop that has a latigo, a horsehide, and a cotton?

Eric,
SRP rules for vendors don't allow answering specific questions like that in threads other than the vendor section. I suggest contacting vendors directly with pricing and availability questions.

Thanks,
Tony

I have and have had a ton of strops over the years too. I really think the vintage horsehide strops that I have have a super feel and nice draw. That being said, I really like the latigo leather as well and thought that maybe the red had more drag than the black. I am finding that as you really break the strops in from a lot of use that the two latigo's are getting to feel very similar. Maybe a tad less drag from the black.

There has got to be something said here for personal preference as well as everyones perception of drag is different as are our techniques and pressure, etc...

So I made a decision, I am going to rotate my strops like I do my razors although ever since using the 3 inch and I have always been a die hard fan of the 2 1/2, I may find it hard to go back.

Lynn