Verification of Strop Theory

[Chicken Enchilada]

This is an interesting topic, and I think important topic. It seems that stropping isn't talked about much, even though it is an integral part of straight shaving, and that honing is given much more attention.

So what are your guys' personal choices? Latigo or horsehide, cotton or linen?

If the latigo has much more draw compared to horsehide, is it possible that it has a similar effect as the cloth component? Does the latigo combine both jobs of the cloth and leather parts into one? Would this explain why some people can use latigo by itself, or how some people get good results from using both latigo and horshide?

 

[mparker762]

This is an interesting topic, and I think important topic. It seems that stropping isn't talked about much, even though it is an integral part of straight shaving, and that honing is given much more attention.

It gets talked about, but honing gets more volume. It's perceived as harder, the equipment costs more and there is a wider variety of it, and it often needs to be mastered earlier in the process (you can get by for years with indifferent stropping if you're willing to hone once a week).

Your questions have been actually been discussed at length around here over the years, most recently in this thread a few days ago.

So what are your guys' personal choices? Latigo or horsehide, cotton or linen?

linen and cordovan, second preference is linen and horsehide

If the latigo has much more draw compared to horsehide, is it possible that it has a similar effect as the cloth component?

yes, I believe that it does.

Does the latigo combine both jobs of the cloth and leather parts into one?

It does to some extent (see below), which I believe explains its popularity.

Would this explain why some people can use latigo by itself, or how some people get good results from using both latigo and horshide?

Yes. But latigo and linen are not functionally interchangeable. There are guys that can go for months or even a year or more by using the linen, but AFAIK none of the guys using latigo can really go more than about a month before they need honing. I believe linen does a better job of maintaining long-term sharpness than does latigo, and I believe horsehide and cordovan do a better job of getting the last bit of short-term sharpness out of a razor than latigo, so I prefer the linen/horsehide combination myself. But latigo is a good all-in-one solution if you prefer simplicity, and good linen is hard to find nowadays which adds additional complications. You may have to hone a bit more often but that's hardly dispositive in itself, it really just comes down to personal preferences.

 

[Chicken Enchilada]

linen and cordovan

I've been eying that Kanayama, but that is, unfortunately, more than I want to spend.

good linen is hard to find nowadays which adds additional complications

Why did you have to go and complicate things again?! I assume that Tony Miller's linen is first rate?

Edit: Thanks for the link.

 

[leighton]

I've been eying that Kanayama, but that is, unfortunately, more than I want to spend.


Why did you have to go and complicate things again?! I assume that Tony Miller's linen is first rate?

Edit: Thanks for the link.

Lol. Thats cheap compared to a $270 Nakayama stone.

Tony's linen is so damn good that everything else I've tried simply does not live up to my raised expectations. Even his cloth is taking me a while to get used to. Still think the linen is more abrasive and therefore works slightly better.

 

[Chicken Enchilada]

Lol. Thats cheap compared to a $270 Nakayama stone.

Tony's linen is so damn good that everything else I've tried simply does not live up to my raised expectations. Even his cloth is taking me a while to get used to. Still think the linen is more abrasive and therefore works slightly better.

Don't get me started or I'll be broke! I have this thing for Japanese products. I've been eying a Nakayama as well. It would go good with a Kanayama, and a Tosuke. I think I'd be set if I had that setup; wouldn't need anything more.

 

[leighton]

Don't get me started or I'll be broke! I have this thing for Japanese products. I've been eying a Nakayama as well. It would go good with a Kanayama, and a Tosuke. I think I'd be set if I had that setup; wouldn't need anything more.

I have it on good authority that a certain someone has a 6x4 piece for $150.

 

[Kees]

I put for this theory: it is not the soft shoes that did the abrading of the hard stone steps, but rather the also very hard dirt and sand that was on those stairs and on the bottoms of the shoes that did the abrading.

Same thing with the Grand Canyon. It wasn't water alone that caused the erosion, but rather the water carrying along sediment, which is actually the slurry that caused the erosion of the hard stone.

There is a modern technology that is used for cutting metal Abrasive Water Jet cutting. It uses a stream of water in which is suspended a suitible cutting medium (garnet, etc.). Obviously it is not the water that is doing the cutting. Same thing with the stairs & the Grand Canyon, it is not the shoes, nor the water in those cases either.

That is why I pasted my canvas. It needs more "oomph" than the steel does, and I feel that the cloth alone cannot provide that.

So how about high pressure cleaners? They remove dirt but also the top layer of my concrete garden tiles.

 

[navarre]

Back when I was an apprentice watchmaker - I saw my first eamples of a soft material wearing away a harder material.

The "blued steel" pivots on clocks would be sometimes find with grooving - in worst instances almost all the way through - from running in a brass bearing.

Later I saw similar eamples where the "rubies" used as bearings where worn by the steel pivots in high grade clocks etc.

I have even seen diamond end stones with dimples worn into them from the hundreds of years of back and forth motion of the watch balance (the part that regulates the time keeping.

Can a soft material wear away a hard material (up to and including diamond) - it sure as heck can.

Oh - and almost forgot my manners - Hello everyone as this is my first post after lurking a long time - and only recently signing up as a member

 

[Chimensch]

Oh - and almost forgot my manners - Hello everyone as this is my first post after lurking a long time - and only recently signing up as a member

Welcome to the form, Navarre.

 

[Seraphim]

My new strop conditioning is to use a tallow based soap, and work the lather into the strop, as per the old barber's manuals.

Worked great with the Illinois horsehide, and I lathered up the Sunasack, and that worked nice too.

The Sunasack with lather treatment has a bit of draw to it that my Kintaka horsehide never showed. The leather looks very similar, shell horsehide. I never liked the Kintaka that had about zero draw, and never seemed to have any effect on edge quality.

I just stropped up a razor with the Sunasack, and the edge came around nicely.

I'm thinking now that I'm digging the horsehide. It doesn't get marred up like latigo does, and it seems that the lather conditioning gives it more draw than I had previously experienced. That coupled with seemingly very little to no wear seems pretty nice.

Seems like it was with full hollows vs. wedges. At first I thought wedges were the way to go, and full hollows were too fussy. Now I love full hollows.

Now it seems that I'm coming around to horsehide over latigo as well, but it is still a work in progress.