Thread: Cow hide, buffalo, latigo etc... What's the difference?

I was doing my usual look through different sites mentally spending money I don't have and I was wondering, there's so many different types of leather that can be used/ bought as a strop what's the difference between them all?

Do they have any differing effect on the edge? or is it just down to personal preference with the different resistance (draw?) they have?

That is going to bring a "debate" on

If you were to read some of the scientific writing on this, it was found that stropping in and of itself could not be "Proved" to show any differences under magnification..

Pretty much to a man SR shavers say they feel a difference in the edge after stropping (Some claim they don't we smile at them and wink to each other)
Using a well Calibrated HHT we can see/feel a difference

Now that being said that we can barely discern a difference with stropping -vs- not stropping, the difference between types of leather strops is going to be even less

So in closing, I would buy the one that feels best and most comfortable for you to strop smoothly and evenly on and therefore better

Never tried shaving without stropping but I suppose as you said if you like the way something works you'll get a better use out of it.

I've only got the one strop, a basic cowhide with canvas backing that I've used since starting SR shaving and never had any problems with it, so aside from aesthetics and wanting it sounds as though it's not a necessity to shell out more cash on something that I already have and works well for me?

It's just always been in the back of my mind that there's something better out there, as in you get what you pay for. But it doesn't sound like the more you shell out on a strip of leather it somehow aligns the edge better.

I have been through more than a few strops chasing what is best for me. I have found that they all work well for there intended purpose.

When in use some just feel better to me then others. I think that really comes from what you start with and associating that with how a strop should feel like in use.

I have recently found what seems to be working best for me but not quiet ready to go into that.

I have and use a few different leather strops but find that the more I use them the less I can really tell about registering a "feeling" associated with any particular leather. There are some serious enablers on this site and not just when it comes to strops. : ) Personally I find my own acquisition disorders rare up when I read about the latest greatest or even about different leather strops in general and if it is one I do not have or have not tried I need to push myself away from the bar and not order another. Enjoy.

To the O.P.make no diff whatsoever,JMO

I've said this many times so...

When I first started I decided to amass a strop collection made from just about every critter that ever walked, crawled, swam, ran, whatever. I had a bunch and they all worked the same. They felt different and looked different but I never discerned any resultant difference in the final outcome.

And the collection? I mostly either gave away or sold just about all of them. Mostly gave them away. But I really do miss that black sealskin, now that was special.

Probably been mentioned before but I guess exotic leathers are status symbols. However, not necessarily a display of wealth but of passion or being the first to have a certain type of material.

A real Pisser that the african Nauga is now extinct best strop material ever created,Blame that on chrysler

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

A real Pisser that the african Nauga is now extinct best strop material ever created,Blame that on chrysler

Yea, blame it on that Ricardo Montalban guy.