can it be done

[rwebb1683]

can you strop a straight razor on a leather belt, like you can a knife blade. Just wondering it came up in a discussion i had yesterday my thought is no but being new at the sport i wanted to ask you veterans without making my answer a definitive one.

thanks ronny

[BigJim]

Can it be done? Yes.

Should it be done? Probably not.

You can strop a razor on a lot of different materials, paper, cotton, leather, etc. A leather belt is possible, but highly discouraged. Most belts are too narrow to do a good job as a strop, and they tend to have irregularities and surfaces that are not qualities you want in a strop.

Definitely would not recommend.

Peace,
Jim

[Havachat45]

I made a strop out of a 2" belt blank that I got at the local saddlery shop and it works fine - just plain, tanned leather.
It took a while to find a nice smooth piece though

[carlmaloschneider]

My son does, and I KEEP telling him to get a f'n strop, but he refuses to. At least it's better than what he was doing before, stropping on his arm. I guess I should explain, he's a hippy...

[bloodhoundman]

If thats all you have use it, I would just make sure its clean

[Zjgilbert]

My son does, and I KEEP telling him to get a f'n strop, but he refuses to. At least it's better than what he was doing before, stropping on his arm. I guess I should explain, he's a hippy...

...on his arm? He must have had to do like 100 passes!

[Ryan82]

As long as the belt is made of quality leather, not the shined up dress belt type, it should be okay as a temporary strop. I'd invest in a proper strop for long term use though.

[carlmaloschneider]

...on his arm? He must have had to do like 100 passes!

Yeah, I told him it had very little effect. However, I understand people used to strop on the palm of their hand. Of course, my main issue was it's dangerous...

[niftyshaving]

can you strop a straight razor on a leather belt, like you can a knife blade. Just wondering it came up in a discussion i had yesterday my thought is no but being new at the sport i wanted to ask you veterans without making my answer a definitive one.

thanks ronny

If it is clean leather sure.
A good belt that I would strop on costs 40-60 bucks
and so does a decent strop. There are bargains out
there so you might do better.

By clean leather I am excluding some belts made of glued and
compressed stuff some of which might have been leather but
are more like cardboard.

There is a local Tandy leather shop not too far from me.
I have found some belt leather that made nice strops. It
is worth a good look.

[jeffegg2]

Using your arm to strop makes a new meaning to nicking the strop!!!