Thread: SRD 3" Red Latigo Strop

I purchased this strop a week ago and have been using it since. It's a beautiful piece of workmanship and performs wonderfully. For those who use draw as a criteria, it has great draw. But to me the true test of the strop is polishing the blade, not the draw. And it does a great job of polishing.

It took a little getting used to from two things not in my previous strop (an Illinois #127). First, the fabric part is detached from the leather. I wondered if that was going to be an issue. It wasn't. It worked perfectly. The second was that it was 1/2" wider. That may not sound like much, but it was an adjustment for me (more mental than physical).

Overall this strop is a 9.5 (I rarely ever give a 10.0). The price is very appealing. This is a great strop to have, especially as your first really nice strop. I am, truthfully, glad I got a less expensive strop as my first one because I did all the newbie nicks and cuts in my first strop. Now that I can properly strop my blade I can see years of service coming from this great strop.

To dward,

You mention about the nicks in your first strop. There is a post in this forum which tells you how to use sandpaper to sand the strop and be able to use it after the nicks have been smoothed over. I can't remember where I saw the post but it must be in the strop section. I sanded my DublDuk # 70 from back in the 1960's. Try it.....

My Red Latigo is great..... Jerry

I've had mine for almost a week now, and I love it.

I gave it 9/10 on feedback, because I feel like the feedback on the default web fabric side is lacking compared to linen. However, this was only marked down to 9 because you can upgrade to cotton herringbone or hard wool felt for a very reasonable fee.

The only thing that would be an improvement would be a 2.5" option, but that is a very minor complaint, and based entirely on non-empirical personal preference.

The two best things I've found about this strop are that:

1. It's very heavy, and feels like a tool, which a strop should.

2. If you want to try a different material for the back side strop, or damage either side of your strop, it's easy and cheap to order a replacement or upgrade for the stropping surface from SRD. Replacement pieces start at about $5 at the moment, and the prices for all the various options are very reasonably priced.



***side note: I put down "n/a" for portability, because this strop is not designed to be portable. Like any full size strop, you can pack it in your suitcase as long as you don't bend it too harshly, but that's really not relevant. This strop is a "daily workhorse" kind of strop, not a travel strop. It's 3" wide and couple feet long, making it much less portable than a lot of other strops, but it wouldn't be fair to mark it down for that.

Originally Posted by mrsell63

To dward,

You mention about the nicks in your first strop. There is a post in this forum which tells you how to use sandpaper to sand the strop and be able to use it after the nicks have been smoothed over. I can't remember where I saw the post but it must be in the strop section. I sanded my DublDuk # 70 from back in the 1960's. Try it.....

My Red Latigo is great..... Jerry

Mine is too, Jerry. My first strop was an Illinois #127. It bears many marks of a newbie learning to strop. Sand paper withstanding, I'm glad I waited to get my first really nice strop. No matter how well you repair, it bears the scars. My Latigo still looks wonderful because it doesn't have battle scars... Dan

I have the same one and I used it for the past severn months and it has been great. I was advised well to buy this one and it has lived up to its billing and I am a hard grader.

Pabster

i have had one of these for a couple month now and i have no complaints. great product at a good price.

Gentlemen,

I bought this same strop and find it perfect in almost any way for me. I have two 2" strops also and use them for my 5/8" blades. This one I use for my 6/8" razors.

Regards,

Obie

The only thing I've marked this strop down for is portability and as it's not a travel strop, I don't think it matters. This is a great value quality strop.