Thread: Strop divot..

A few months back i did a little damage to my Tony Miller strop. I cut a small divot into the side of the leather. At the time i did not think to re glue the flap so i trimmed it off and lightly sanded the area to remove the rough edges. I could feel the patch when i stropped over it so a few weeks back i tried putting some RenWax on the bare section then rubbing it with a smooth glass bottle. This did smooth it out a bit more but im wondering if there is anything else i could try. I bought a replacement strop so i was thinking if i could get this closer to 'like new' i could donate it or sell it cheap. It's still my go to strop so it's still very functional. I'm just looking for some ideas.

Its a tiny patch. I'm posting one pic w/flash and one without.




Thanks for any help in advance!

I doubt there is anything else you can do at this stage except live with it. Even had you re glued the flap chances are you would have still felt it while stropping. If it is not detrimental to your stropping all you can do is try and ignore it as best you can.

Bob

Leather has more than one layer. Once you go through the top layer it gets very hard to blend. If it is working now without too many issues, I'd leave it. You could try to blend it wider but I'm not sure it is as easy to do as it is to say. I had a similar issue with one of my early strops and wound up replacing the leather with a piece sent to me by the maker.

Thanks guys. I had a feeling that was it, which is why I've been using it as is. Im torn regarding passing it along, because of the patch, and the tug it creates. Any opinions? Donate it.. keep it.. sell it cheap? I'm having an tiny internal battle with karma regarding this strop.

Seems the Tony Miller strops are assembled so you might take it off and reinstall it upside down?
If you can get it on the opposite side of the strop it would not be noticeable as stropping?

I speak from...er..experience!

rezdog mentioned patching it with a piece of leather, perhaps one could borrow a thin piece from under one of the handle" attachers"(or whatever they are called). seems like a tricky proposition though. If it's a 3 inch strop you could trim it and make it into a 2 1/2? or a paddle strop? just some ideas.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Seems the Tony Miller strops are assembled so you might take it off and reinstall it upside down?
If you can get it on the opposite side of the strop it would not be noticeable as stropping?

I speak from...er..experience!

That was exactly what I was going to recommend. The same concept applies for hones. As long as one side is not chipped, you just keep the good side toward your honing hand and then the chipped side is irrelevant.

Ok. Ill try flipping it. I was getting ready to take it apart to clean the cotton so what the heck. Thanks guys.

I came up with a saying 'Strop Discipline'. I was referring to damaging your strop through stropping slip ups. If you have used a number of the cheaper strops, and put nicks in them, it's not the end of the world, if it can't be sanded off, just use it as a pasted strop or chuck it. Strop discipline is created by that empty feeling in the pit of your gut when you put a divot in your Miller strop. Blokes get very annoyed and upset if that happens. Over a year ago I bought a Kanayama Cordovan #70000 strop. It cost me over $200 US, which for me in Australia with postage at about $300 aussie dollars. Result being I re-learned my stropping technique with the sole purpose being 'Dont wreck the Kanayama' Since that day I have not put a mark on any of my three Kanayama's hence stropping discipline. It may sound strange, but I know if I chopped a piece out of my #70000 I would be more than devestated. So now I have a great technique and my strops are safe from me!