Thread: My strops... Handmade in my Kitchen!

Hi there!

I don't know if you remember my dilema, but some weeks ago I had some trouble with my (at the time...) only strop. I pasted it not knowing that I would need a daily-stropping-strop! Well... I'm a newbie, so... you get the silly picture, right? Anyway... at the time I was searching the SRP forums for an answer for my troubles and came across a thread started by a guy who was making his way into the strop-making business. And I thought "great idea!" And put my hands to it... I posted on that same thread and anounced (so I would be correct and polite...) that I would do the same, but with no intention whatsoever to sell them. I also stated that I was going to shamelessly copy the "travel strop" model from Mr. Tony Miller...

So... I would like to give you some feedback on that matter.


Please tell me what you think, ok? And also, if any of you gents are interested in knowing more about these strops, I would be glad to tell you more about them.
So... from left to right: the firts strop I made - its about (15.7 x 1.9 inches); in the middle its the second strop I made. It is very small and I made it especialy for traveling purposes (it's 11.8 x 1.5 inches). I like it a lot and it is now my daily use strop... I find it to provide a more precise stroping motion than a big strop. It suits me... Plus, it has a second leather part that is pasted so I can refresh the blade from time to time. The last one is my Dovo strop with some black paste on it. Don't use it very often now... but it's a good strop, of course, but is reserved for refreshing the edge.

Tell me what you think. I am very satisfied with them and I use them every day.
Share your thoughts!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by fpessanha

Tell me what you think. I am very satisfied with them and I use them every day.
Share your thoughts!

Thanks!

That is what is important! It is a very satisfying accomplishment to make something that just isn't a "do-it-yourself" project but one that you like and use first. Too cool. These look pretty good since working with leather can be a pain. Even if they were to turn out looking like retread truck tires, if you like them, that's the acid test.
Way to go!

Do tell us more about how you did this.
They work well?
I'm envious.
NICE STUFF

I just stumbled across this thread, what type of leather did you use on this and where did you purchase it?

Did you paste the daily use strop?

Inquiring minds want to know more.

-Jim

Thanks for the replies, guys.

The leather I used is... well... I really do not know. I just grabed my Dovo strop and went to some old leather retailers seeking some leather that would resemble it. The Dovo strop says "ringleder" on it. I can't tell you what it means, unfortunately... sorry. I guess I was lucky and managed to find a large piece of leather that was just the same. Bought it at a shoe-maker shop. This leather is also used to make boots and belts...
But I found it in my home town (Coimbra) in Portugal. So... way across the big water-hazard...

The strops work good enough for me. I am not selling them, but I can arrange to make one or two (for free) and send it to anyone who might like to try them out. I don't have much leather left so I can only provide 1 or 2. Sorry...

My daily strop is the small one in the middle. It is a combination of 2 leather strops (as you can see). One has paste and the other does not.

I made them because I needed a new strop and did not want to spend money on a new one. Despite the fact that the Euro (my currency...) has a favorable position over the price of the US dolar, the custom taxes are 40% over the purchase price... So you can understand my motivation, right?

But, please, feel free to ask more questions. And if anybody might feel interested in trying out one of these strops, please PM me and we can arrange it.

Thanks for the coments!

Hello my fellow Portuguese mate!

Nice looking strops you have...
I like those travel strops. It's a nice way to take your shaving gear with you.

Congratulations!

I would LOVE to make my own strop. I'm going to look into it for the summer. There is a shop near me that makes/sells Horse Saddles, so I'm gonna quiz them about leather suppliers.

Originally Posted by fpessanha

The Dovo strop says "ringleder" on it. I can't tell you what it means, unfortunately... sorry.

Suponho que esta escrito Rindleder. Rind quer dizer boi ou gado e Leder quer dizer couro. É então couro bovino / calf leather

Those look nice. I'm no expert, but I think you may eventually have problems from that single centered ring that you have them hanging on, I could see it causing cupping or bowing. You'll notice that most strops spread the tension out the width of the strop. I'm sure you could fix it pretty easily if you decide to do so.

Originally Posted by Pete_S

Those look nice. I'm no expert, but I think you may eventually have problems from that single centered ring that you have them hanging on, I could see it causing cupping or bowing. You'll notice that most strops spread the tension out the width of the strop. I'm sure you could fix it pretty easily if you decide to do so.

Nice question, Pete! Thanks!
I started this thread quite a while ago and these strops have been in use ever since I made them. I never had any trouble with cupping or anything like that. They are, however, a little stiffer, but still doing a fine job. I believe that the width of these is optimum in what concerns cupping. The force caused by thension of the strop does not cause any cupping because the "hole" is well centered and the width is not very big. However, I made a strop for my brother last Xmas and I made it a bit wider (not sure about the measurements...) and I found that it cups just a little bit if pulled too tightly. Its a problem I will have to solve as soon as he starts using it...
But I asure you that I never had any trouble with these, the first ones I made. I did another one for a member here (Joke1176) and to my knowledge he never had any trouble.
Again, thanks for asking and raising an interesting problem!