Scookum, I have alot of the same kinds of questions about strops & stropping. It seems like an area where we've recovered little of what was once known by barbers and cutlers. I tend to listen carefully to anything the Millers (Tony and Neil) say about the topic, and afdavis. It was afdavis that pointed me back at the high-draw leathers as part of a progression from high to low-draw leathers - not unlike low grit to high grit stones in honing. I like the result, but still have way more questions than answers. The topic is getting attention in the mentor forum & I expect we'll see more on the topic - to everyone's benefit.

For reference, I started w/ a strop very similar to the Ill. 827. The draw was high. I was awkward at keeping a smooth stroke over what seemed like a sticky surface. I got some lower draw strops and it was much easier. Now, I'm back to latigo for the first 50-100 strokes, then go to the light draw strops. The edges seem to like it, so I'll keep this up until something more effective is found.