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Latigo or English Bridle leather strop?

Has anybody used the bench strops from starshaving.com I have noticed that they have two kinds the Latigo and English Bridle. What is the difference between the two? Which one would work best by itself, which one is better with compounds? Which one would you suggest for straight razor stropping? What is the surface texture of those two kinds of leather? Thanks
 
I have no experience with those bench strops, BUT I do have English Bridal Leather for my strop. It works really well in my opinion. I have used it from the beginning, made a modification so it would be easier to use, and now I don't plan on upgrading unless something really bad happens to this one. FWIW, I got the Poor Man's Strop Kit from Larry at WhippedDog.com. Pastes work really well on balsa, which is easy to aquire, or comes with the PMSK. You could also build your own bench strop (or paddle strop) with some leather and a flat board. Larry sells scraps of leather for a reasonable price.
 
a bench strop sits on a table..strops hang from a hook..I would go with a strop..im sure you have plenty of hooks to put it on..or a bench strop could sit on your honing table as you wouldnt have to get up to go to another place away from your table..I am not sure what pasts or spray qualities are on that bench though..better stick with a hanging strop..you can also have a reverse linen side which helps maintain the edge
 
I own a few peddle strops and prefer them to hanging strops. I also have a few balsa wood blocks from Hand American. I use diamond and CrOx from HA. I am considering CBN spray and ss bench strop. Cannot decide which one to get Latigo and English Bridle. English bridle is popular choice for hanging strops so what is your opinion on them?
 
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Ah, you have a bunch of stuff, and are more qualified to answer your own question than I am! I like my english bridal leather hanging strop, but have never used latigo, so I can't compare (sorry).
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
If you can convince Tony Miller to sell you a scrap of his steerhide there is no better leather for CBN sprays IMO. The steerhide has a soft nap that captures the spray. Spraying on a "shiny" leather make you wonder if the spray stuck to the leather.

Tony is working in limited quantities, but it wouldn't hurt to ask :smile:. Or if you can get on his wait list he sells practice steerhide leather with a purchase is his Heirloom strop.

GL!
 
Only Star Shaving will know for sure, but my guess is that the only difference is in the color. With their hanging strops, they seem to use the terms "Latigo" and "English bridle" interchangeably. "Latigo" is used for black or burgundy colored strops and "English bridle" is used for chestnut colored strops. I have a burgundy 2" from Star Shaving and an English Bridle from Walkin' Horse, and both seem to have a medium draw, with the Star Shaving strop seeming slightly more porous and having more rounded edges.
 
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