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Strop leathers with the most and least draw?

TM horsehide, when new is like stropping on an ice skating rink, has the least,

TM Latigo when new has the most draw.
 

Legion

Staff member
I'd say english bridle for least (at least the one I had) and latigo for most.

Generally the harder and dryer the leather the lighter the draw, soft and oily is heavy.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I have 2 examples of TM latigo, one had a lot of draw, the other, not so much. It is very difficult, I think, to predict the draw of a particular type of leather, even among those of the same maker and type.

That being said, Superblu speaks the truth! Luckily you can add draw on certain leathers with oils, and I learnt you can lessen the draw on some leathers with a wipe of alcohol...
 
Horsehide, Kanayama 3, is the lightest draw I have ever had. Like an ice skating rink pretty much sums it up compared to a Cow mountain man strop I have. The suede side on the kanayama is also the slowest and heaviest draw of anything I have used. Slower than felt or nylon or canvas or linen. So you get super fast and super slow.
 
I made a simple paddle strop using chamois leather (lambskin I believe) It is soft suede-like and very, very draggy, but does a pretty nice job. I gave it to my brother in law with a razor after testing it for a couple weeks with pleasant results.

I simply glued the chamois to a plank and trimmed the leather to fit. I put some self-adhesive synthetic felt on the backside, which is quite plainly, slick.

Phil
 
I have a Legion Moo-Roo and the kangaroo is oddly heavy on the draw, almost grippy, and the buffalo is much faster but with some texture. My TM English Bridle is somewhere in the middle.

The fastest I've ever owned was a Horween Cordovan (like steely ice), and the slowest was a very stiff heavily waxed latigo. I got rid of both of those.
 
You can adjust the draw easily though. Too little, add some lather and wipe clean too much, vigorous hand rubbing or tiny tiny amount of neetfoot oil. Any strop.
 
Yeah, Modern Cordovan and TM horsehide are both ridiculously low draw. I can't say which is the most. The most out of my strops is my Ambrose Spanish HH.
 
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