Thread: glazed, stiff Latigo

I now have a Vintage Blades latigo and webbed fabric (I believe it is the same as the SRD) strop, and a TM linen and horsehide. I'm pleased with all the strops, except for the Latigo. It seems hard and stiff, and the surface has a shiny glaze to it. The tactile sensation of stropping on it is unpleasant, like stropping on a strip of wood veneer. The strop is about a year old. I have tried repeated applications of neatsfoot oil (sparingly). The leather seems to soften at least on the surface for maybe a day or so, I get a little more draw, but within a couple of days I again have a strop that is "hard."

I've read the Wiki on strop maintenance. One thing that apparently works is rubbing the strop with a pumice stone, then using the neatsfoot. The pumice stone I have seems a little coarse for that. I think the front side of the leather would end up looking like the back side. I was thinking maybe some 1000 grit sandpaper instead.

Sound like a plan? Suggestions? My goal is to make the leather as much fun to strop on as the other surfaces -- they are all very different, but I enjoy each one, but the Latigo just doesn't seem "right."

Is it just a fast strop maybe ? Some of us like that feel.
If you must attack it with something, a diamond plate like a DMT is less likely to leave grit in the leather.

The pumice stone may LOOK very coarse, but it will not hurt the leather. I was wondering the same thing, and tried it, and it's a very mild abrasive. 1k grit paper would work as well, but make sure you don't rub too hard, or you may get grit particles stuck in the strop, and that wouldn't be very good

Try the pumice. You'll see it's not as bad as you think

Maybe PM Tony Miller. Though he didn't make the strop I am pretty sure he can inform you of a trick to achieve the desired feel you describe of the latigo.
Good Luck.

Sorry, but I am having trouble understanding this. A Latigo strop treated with neatsfoot and hand rubbed for a year should have extreme draw and be by no means be stiff. On the other hand, a horsehide strop just used for a year with no treatment would still be slick and somewhat stiffer. I have never seen any Latigo stiffen up from a sparing amount of neastfoot oil followed by some hand rubbing. Latigo's natural break in would include some leaching which is just the oil and wax wearing off and becoming very workable.

I would love to see this strop.

Thanks,

Lnn

Originally Posted by Lynn

Sorry, but I am having trouble understanding this. A Latigo strop treated with neatsfoot and hand rubbed for a year should have extreme draw and be by no means be stiff. On the other hand, a horsehide strop just used for a year with no treatment would still be slick and somewhat stiffer. I have never seen any Latigo stiffen up from a sparing amount of neastfoot oil followed by some hand rubbing. Latigo's natural break in would include some leaching which is just the oil and wax wearing off and becoming very workable.

I would love to see this strop.

Thanks,

Lnn

+ 1

Doesn't sound at all like any Latigo I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot of full hides. I had a half-hide of red latigo once that was quite firm, but this was due to it being very thick (6.5mm or so on average) - even that softened up to what you would expect from latigo after a bit of use.

Latigo doesn't require breaking-in in my experience (leastwise, not in the usual strop thicknesses of 3.5 - 4.5mm) - the type used in strops is veg-tan leather, hot stuffed with oils and waxes in a revolving tub. There are two other main types - chrome-tanned (full chrome tannage and chrome re-tannage). These typically produce softer, more elastic leathers than veg-tan.

The pH control during tanning is a critical factor - if it is too low the leather becomes very hard - maybe there was a fault at the tannery? If so, a whole lot of strops will be affected.

Like Lynn, I too would like to see it!

Regards,
Neil