Thread: glazed, stiff Latigo

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

I have a very similar issue with a latigo strop that I have. It seems very slippery and doesn't give me any real draw. The surface is super stiff and shiny too. \
I've been considering the pumice stone as well...

Originally Posted by heirkb

I have a very similar issue with a latigo strop that I have. It seems very slippery and doesn't give me any real draw. The surface is super stiff and shiny too. \
I've been considering the pumice stone as well...

+1 on that, i HAD the same problem also, to fix it,i put a good coat of neetsfoot oil on it and let it soak in overnite and then just rubbed the strop with the heel of my hand until it got to hot and just kept repeating the rubbing.

Have you flexed it to help break it in. Something not sharp
like a knife steel or the back of a kitchen knife. Let it hang loose
and run it up and down a dozen times a couple days in a row.

While I do not like them, a fast strop should still strop up a razor well.