Thread: For me, Latigo beats horsehide

Originally Posted by mparker762

Horses for courses it would seem. Latigo does not improve the sharpness of the razor for me at all - I find it difficult to strop on latigo without using pressure to keep the razor down, or else the razor will hop about. But linen will polish up the edge beautifully.

Needless to say I prefer horsehide.

Yeah, I suppose it's a personal preference thing, like full hollows vs. wedges. Some seem to work better for some folks than others, and both have there adherents.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Yeah, I suppose it's a personal preference thing, like full hollows vs. wedges. Some seem to work better for some folks than others, and both have there adherents.

When I first came around and read threads on this I had an old vintage Red Imp. Good strop and I don't know whether it is horse or cowhide. By the feel it is probably horse. Since I had a fine linen on the Red Imp I bought one of Tony's horse/latigo combos so that I would be able to see for myself which I preferred.

I preferred the horse but my routine is to do 50 on linen and then 25 latigo and 25 horse to finish. I also find the latigo has so much draw that I have to strop more carefully on it. I can fly on the horse and the fact that almost all of the vintage barber strops were made with it speaks to it's efficacy IMHO.

im going to try the 50 linen then 25 latigo and leather i do 25 linen and 50 each latigo then horsehide last to finish with, i can strop much faster on the horsehide than i can with the latigo but i found that stropping in that order gives a superior edge for me

Well, after considering the 3 piece model, I THOUGHT I had settled on a Latigo/cotton Artisan, but after reading this thread I am tempted to add the horsehide 3rd component (again!)

Tony is open again tomorrow and I plan on ordering something, I guess I will sleep on it.

I think you guys are going to end up costing me another $45!

This will be my first strop, I guess if the 3 piece artisan has it all, why not, eh?

Adam

Originally Posted by Wakizashi

Well, after considering the 3 piece model, I THOUGHT I had settled on a Latigo/cotton Artisan, but after reading this thread I am tempted to add the horsehide 3rd component (again!)

Tony is open again tomorrow and I plan on ordering something, I guess I will sleep on it.

I think you guys are going to end up costing me another $45!

This will be my first strop, I guess if the 3 piece artisan has it all, why not, eh?

Adam

Be sure to get the practice strop while you're at it......seriously!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

When I first came around and read threads on this I had an old vintage Red Imp. Good strop and I don't know whether it is horse or cowhide. By the feel it is probably horse. Since I had a fine linen on the Red Imp I bought one of Tony's horse/latigo combos so that I would be able to see for myself which I preferred.

I preferred the horse but my routine is to do 50 on linen and then 25 latigo and 25 horse to finish. I also find the latigo has so much draw that I have to strop more carefully on it. I can fly on the horse and the fact that almost all of the vintage barber strops were made with it speaks to it's efficacy IMHO.

For the sake of discussion: I have noticed that the horsehide strop is much more abrasion resistant than the latigo. The latigo can get "scuffed" much more easily than the horsehide, which is pretty bombproof.
I would say that the barbers may have used the horsehide,as it is much longer wearing than cowhide, not necessarily that it was more effective.


Then again, I never put much stock in what barbers had to say in regards to razors "resting", etc. etc...

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Be sure to get the practice strop while you're at it......seriously!

Oh, for sure!

I checked the website this morning, and the horsehide components are not available- giving me another week to think about what I want.

Does anyone have a good reason NOT to get the 3-piece?

Adam

Originally Posted by Wakizashi

Oh, for sure!

I checked the website this morning, and the horsehide components are not available- giving me another week to think about what I want.

Does anyone have a good reason NOT to get the 3-piece?

Adam

The only difficulty with getting the three piece is that it is the top-of-the-line, and it will thus be difficult to justify purchasing more strops!

Originally Posted by Seraphim

The only difficulty with getting the three piece is that it is the top-of-the-line, and it will thus be difficult to justify purchasing more strops!

I'm cool with that, I have already spent more money than I planned to on razors and hones.

Could someone please explain exactly what latigo leather is? As far as I can tell it is just cowhide that is of sufficient quality for use in harness work.