I'm getting my first strop and don't use animal products. What would make a good 1st strop?
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I'm getting my first strop and don't use animal products. What would make a good 1st strop?
There have been Non Leather Strops made in the past
None really caught on
Newspaper works in a pinch, so does Felt and Denim
If I were a hard core No Animal Products kind of guy I think I would get the SRD Hanging Felt Strop and be good to go
Leave one side clear and the other you could paste with CrOx
I tested it clear of pastes when they very first came out and it works that way in place of Leather
I picked up a Tony Miller vegan travel strop (2" wide) out of curiosity. I think it's made from some kind of vinyl and comes with a cotton backing. At the time, I found it had way too much draw from my taste, and Tony subsequently recommended using mineral oil on the surface (something you don't want to do with leather). I tried this, and it seemed to lighten the draw. [. . .] I haven't used it since, so if you're interested and live in the US, PM me and we can discuss things further.
For months I have used only a flax linen strop, works really well.
Fine weave nylon, seatbelt type, (must be clean), works very well. And It is very difficult to cut. Important for new stroppers.
It will take a year or so of stropping to perfect the stropping skill, to where you are consistently improving the edge, so the strop itself does not matter all that much, anyway.
Or find a vintage flax linen, some vintage linen are amazing.
I just checked the Tony Miller web site. It appears he still has Vegan strops available in 2 1/2" width. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
The Well Shaved Gentleman The Heirloom Razor Strop Company
I have not used a vegan strop, so I cannot comment on performance. I do have one of Tony's leather strops and it is exceptionally well made.
A good felt strop is felt is made of wool. Can you use wool?
Thanks for the update. I had heard that he had stopped making them, as in permanently. Just looked on his site and sure enough, they would appear to be back in production. I have edited my post above to reflect this.Quote:
Originally Posted by RayClem
No can't do wool and l'm on a budget under $40.
I would then do the nylon webbing seatbelt or denim style.
If you have more time than money make your own. As long as it is clean recycle.
I have made them out of out of date patient lift straps....
Attachment 259317
The lift ones are black and the ones with the stripe in the middle are linen fire hose.
I'm going to make my own firehouse linen strop. Thanks for help to all.
Just bear in mind that firehose linen is a fairly aggressive surface, compared to leather. Traditionally, firehose linen was used when the edge started to fall off, and only then, followed by leather. And normally, for fewer laps than leather.
Go to the local junkyard, find a length of seatbelt that looks clean in a new-ish crashed vehicle, and cut that puppy loose. They can't be re-used (safely) after a crash, so those are all pretty much useless anyway.
