Thread: What makes good strop leather?

Hey guys, I've not posted much but I'm constantly scouring the forums. A good friend and member here (Nun2Sharp) turned me on to straight shaving about a year ago and I've not regreted it since. Being that I'm a tinkerer (it's a disease you all know well, I'm sure) I've already got a set of stones on the way (norton combo's 220/1000/4000/8000) and a 12k Chinese with slurry that I've used a bit with good results. A good strop for myself (Illiois Stop Co.) and various other good bits, soaps, oils and all th fun stuff. I love straight shaving. I enjoy it as much as I enjoy shooting, and Nun2sharp can tell you, I LOVE shooting!

All that said, my point is that I want to be a self sufficient shaver. I can buy, restore, hone, rescale and with the acception of making my own soaps, I can shave in to infinity with out having to depend on shipping razors out for work. My last endevour is strops. I've got at least 3 friends that are willing to give straight shaving a try but I want to be able to give them the best bang for their buck. One of them doesn't make a lot and the price of getting good equipment is a little daunting to him. He can't imagine spending $50 - $100 for stuff you shave with. I've got a source on 2" tanned leather in 24" strips for cheap that I could easily make paddle strops out of and get these guys, and more going super cheap (about $20 per strop). I just need to know what makes good strop leather, what grits to sand the leather with to get it ready and if any specific dye's are a no-no. I've got plenty of neets foot oil to condition.

Like I said, I dont' post much so I figured I'd talk your ears off this time. Thanks in advance!

Gavin

Veg tanned leather; cowhide being the most readily available.

I get very good finishes starting with regular 150 grit sandpaper using a flat sanding block. I sand both the grain side and the flesh side. The flesh side will always have a suede-like surface, but you can sand it down to a velvet finish and when done this way I find works great as a canvas/linen strop alternative but yet is fine enough to use as a finish strop (the flesh side sanded appropriately). The grain side when sanded will be silky smooth. I don't treat my leather with anything after sanding and have never had an issue and have the draw that I prefer on cowhide and horsehide.

I then finish sand in the 200-300 grit range (use regular sandpaper. Don't use wet-dry since it loads quickly when sanding dry leather and is rendered virtually useless for that application.

Chris L

I made this one last year from a Tandy Leather strip I picked out at a Tandy Leather store. This strop included the Hand American hard felt I purchased from Keith in April of 2008 along with some horse butt strips.

Cowhide strop Barber Style end

Grain side after sanding. I ran three fingers down the surface which shows the silky surface.

Grain side close up. Very uniform.

Flesh side. No matter how fine you sand, the flesh side IME will have more of a knap to it. Still it's smooth enough where I can absolutely use this side alone as my pre-shave strop.

Chris L

Great post Chris, that strop looks beautiful --
reminiscent of the Dovo Best Russian.

- Scott

Originally Posted by sebell

Great post Chris, that strop looks beautiful --
reminiscent of the Dovo Best Russian.

- Scott

Hey, thanks, Scott. Exactly. The first strop I owned was a Dovo extra wide russian style. Those strops are made using the flesh side rather than the grain side. Velvety.

Chris L

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a bunch! I'm sure I'll post results when I get something done.

Originally Posted by toothlesrooster

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a bunch! I'm sure I'll post results when I get something done.

Please do.

Chris L

The lots of veg tanned leather off ebay are pretty hit or miss. I got one and had mixed results. I'd say get some from someone local, if you can.

Good luck with the plans for restoration/working on straights. Its a fun hobby.

I went to a local tack shop and got a 3" piece of red latigo. The guy took out a whole hide and we looked it over and cut a 3" x 27" piece from the shoulder. It is about 12 ounce. I bought some hardware from him (d-rings and chicago screws) Then ordered a 3" piece of webbed fabric from SRD. It turned out real nice I just sanded it the other day and it is great. It didn't cost to much either Me and my brother both built one here are some pics http://straightrazorpalace.com/general/34716-day-work-lot-pics.html

Thanks for all the help and info guys. This is a great forum!

sbrouwers, very nice work. I'll be ordering some Chicago screws and such to finish out my strops. I also have an old vintage loom type strop I picked up on the bay for about $8 that I'm going to refinish and put new leather on. I'll be photographing the process. Hopefully it'll turn out nice!