I've heard horsehide is a good choice for strops. Maybe @Drygulch and/or @gssixgun can chime in on here for good advice.
The best strop material is shell cordovan. It can be purchased from Horween. Nowadays most modern strops are made from cowhide, and not because it's a better material, but because shell cordovan is prohibitively expensive. If you want to read more about horsehide strops, I put together this nice little thread: https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/a-cordovan-shell-strop-and-my-grandfathers-legacy.29359/
Wonderful write up and information... I always enjoy learning something from your posts! Thank you for taking the time. Tom
I am cursed by a never ending thirst for knowledge and insatiable curiosity. If I'm interested in something, I research the hell out of it. If what I find is interesting, sometimes I'll post it on a forum. My biggest problem these days is remembering what I posted and where I posted it.
@Drygulch is the resident expert in leather and a strop maker. Like many things in our hobby it depends upon preference, light or fast draw, etc. My 3 favorite strops all have different qualities. My Dry Gulch black latigo has a medium to heavy draw and is the strop I use most often. When I want a light fast draw I have a Tim Miller strop, but it requires extra laps compared to the black latigo. I have a Mastro Livi loom strop and it different from any other strop I have used. I am not sure what he uses but I love the results and it require fewer laps than my others.
I think I answered my own question. I went looking for a pic of my strop online (too lazy to take my own pic...) from the store where I bought it - vegetable tanned cowhide.
Member & Supporting Vendor Pete @Pete123 mentioned dyeing and finishing leather for his projects using a formula that's more friendly to steel. Don't know if he's going to be making strops.
@RyX , Yes, I will be adding strops to the product line, though haven't done so yet. My view is that there isn't one 'best' leather for strops as folks have different preferences. My preference is English Bridle Leather that has been tanned and dyed without chromium salts. Rust from chromium salts occurs over time when the steel is in constant contact with chrome tanned leather, such as a razor cover or knife sheath. If not sure of the leather type in my strop, I would make sure to remove any strop residue from the blade. I've never considered Shell Cordovan due to the cost. I prefer 3 inch strops that are longer, which would be hard to find in quality Shell Cordovan. In considering strops, I think the material for the non-leather strop is really important. Linen or felt are traditional, though I think nylon webbing that is somewhat coarse is better, something like this:
The linen portion on my vintage strop, is why it’s my daily driver. Frankly I hate the draw on synthetic strops.
Poly webbing is cheaper and easier to seal off than natural webbing, but it has a very zippy feeling. I much prefer natural webbings. I use Hemp Linen webbing in my strops. Doesn't zip like poly, but gives a good feedback. As far as leather, pretty much any vegetable tanned cow or horsehide will work. There are some leathers (mostly made by Horween,) that have a chromium re-tan done over a vegetable tanning process. This leather has amazing feedback and draw, and I haven't noticed any bad effects in using it on my razors.
I have an Illinois with a material strap and horse hide strap. I have read the material side is a material used in fire hose manufacturing.
Yes using fire hose seems fairly common. I have some fine quality but heavy (does that make sense?) linen that I am going to try. One of these days I will make a strop to sell.
