J as in Juchten leather

Imagine a traditional shaving scene. In your mind’s eye, you might first see the barber stroking the razor several times over a leather strap before he turns to his customer’s carefully lathered chin. Rubbing the razor over the leather strap straightens the fine burr of the blade and gives it that little extra sharpness. In order to fulfil this purpose best, the leather that the strap is made of must have certain qualities. It must be supple yet firm and the surface should be a little rough. So-called Juchten leather is particularly suitable. It comes from cattle or calves that spend their lives in sandy plains. It originally came from Russia, which is why it’s also known as “Russian leather”. Over time, the animal’s skin absorbs more and more fine dust particles and therefore has the quality of very fine sandpaper when processed into leather.