Tony's strops... and what about HandAmerican

Hey guys,
I'm in the market for a new strop. I suppose this question would be best answered by Tony, but he's got some leather choices to pick from.
5-7 oz Red Latigo, 7-9 oz Honey Brown, 9-10 oz Black Latigo. The Latigos have "increased draw", I suppose over the Honey Brown. And there is now an option to get a strop without the Linen and have it be Black Latigo and Honey Brown. Of course, since you get a free beginner's strop (out of honey brown) with the #1 strops, I don't see the black/honey strop as worth losing the linen.

Since all of these are top notch high end strops, what exactly is the splitting hairs difference in these three types of leather? Any preferences? Does any particular one work better for certain types of knives?


Also, Keith's site of HandAmerican has been down, so I have no idea what the Old Dog strops look like, but I've always heard good things about them. I'd like to at least get a look see before deciding who to order from, but I'm wondering when his site will be back up. But on HA it looks like they have latigo, and also do a diamond pattern on them, to increase draw. I've not seen any strops with this, so i'm just waiting for everyone's $0.02 on the matter.

If you go to the HA home page, you can access the definitions for the draw on the leathers that he uses. Mine is a red latigo and black corrected.

Rick

Like everything else - leather choice is a personal preference. Some people think that different leathers work better/worse for different razors.

I'm a relative newbie, but I can tell the difference between my Dovo and my Miller #1 in red latigo - the Dovo has much less draw.

More draw is not necessarily better - in fact when I switched from my Dovo to my Miller, I had to adjust as I was using too much pressure on the Miller due to the increased draw of the red latigo. I have adjusted my technique and am getting great results from this strop.

Keith at Handamerican is in the process of redesigning his strops, which is why you can't see them on his site.

I would carefully read the information on Tony's site and on SRP regarding the differences between the various leather options and, if you still have questions, ask Tony or give Keith a call.

I like using the linen - it seems to work for me - and wouldn't forgo the linen if this is your first "good" strop. You can always purchase another strop if you want more leather choices.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by suzuki

I'm a relative newbie, but I can tell the difference between my Dovo and my Miller #1 in red latigo - the Dovo has much less draw.

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Have you used the yellow strop conditioning paste on your Dovo? I am sure if you do you will see a remaked differance in the dovos draw. Remember let the strop rest after applying conditioner.

PuFF

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PuFFaH

Have you used the yellow strop conditioning paste on your Dovo? I am sure if you do you will see a remaked differance in the dovos draw. Remember let the strop rest after applying conditioner.

PuFF

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Yup - more draw, but still much less than my Miller red latigo.

The amount of draw needed is a personal thing. I use two of my own strops daily, one red latigo and one honey brown. For some razors I like having the increased friction and other just seem to do better on a smoother strop. That was the reason for the multiple leathers on a strop in place of linen. I a also adding several leathers very similar to the Dovo/Jemico choices.

Neither is a bad choice and I doubt anyone will feel one was a bad choice over the other. I have used several of Keith's smoother leathers in the past. Different than mine but they worked well too on certain razors, thay all have their applications. There is really no bad option here, or from Illinois, Dovo or Jemico. Different designs, different leathers, construction , etc ...... all will do the job to different extents and for different tastes.

Tony

Tony (or anyone else) - which new strops/leather options are closest to the shell strops made from horsehide?

I've heard that most options currently available are really variations on a theme and that the old shell strops perform a little better/differently.

I can't comment either way, but would like to know if this is true of simply a case of something acquiring a reputation because its no longer available.

Personally I think the horsehide thing may be over rated. It's biggest selling point in the past (as a leather in general, not just as it applies to strops) is it's lack of stretch. This is really not an issue with any strops I have owned.

As for feel, to me at least it feels about like other leathers. I have two horsehide strops I made and some new natural leather that feels almost the same at a fraction of the cost. The tanning of the shell leather is different but again I don;t see my vintage strops being superior.

A big factor is availability. It's out there but not often and not in a form that lends itself well to strop making. Costs are very high for the rewards.

Tony

Tony - is the "natural leather" a possible option on one of your strops?

I'm looking for a strop with a very smooth finish and lighter draw for use as a finishing strop and/or on my more delicate blades.

Thanks for your quick response.

I have probably a dozen hanging strops two of which are new, one of Tony's #1 and a Dovo the rest are all vintage from just about every animal in creation and though I don't like the Dovo I find no difference in animal types whether its horseshell, seal, camel,elk etc. Personally I think Tony's are the best out there and they are every bit as good as anything ever produced in the past. I think the type of finish on the strop is more important than whether it brown or black. Just my 2 cents.