Thread: leather for strops

Hi
after reading much about sharpening and stropping i have noticed that it is possible to obtain both hones and leather hanging stops in 3" wide but you never see paddle shapening strops that are 3" wide they are always no bigger that 1 1/2" wide. is there a reason for this? if there is none then im thinking of making one. i do a lot of wood work and i dont think it will be a problem although i would need to find sutable leather. any sugestions on type to use?

For leather, try Keith at HandAmerican.com. He's a great guy.

Pete,
I make some 2 1/2" wide strops but find that on a hard surface it is difficult to get the leather to lay truly flat. On a hanging strop the leather gives a little correcting for any natural variations in thickness and surface. Once bonded to a hard surface every variation in thickness or creases in the leather become an issue. Also the wider wood is hard to stabilize so it remains truly flat without cupping.

Now in reality 100% flatness is not really needed as the razors edge will touch 100% of the edge as it passes the length of the strop but possibly not touch 100% at every point along it's length. You get the correct stropping effect but most customers would not be happy with a less than perfect surface.

The narrow 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" strops force an X-pattern which nulls out any variations in surface.

Tony

Originally Posted by cornish pete

Hi
after reading much about sharpening and stropping i have noticed that it is possible to obtain both hones and leather hanging stops in 3" wide but you never see paddle shapening strops that are 3" wide they are always no bigger that 1 1/2" wide. is there a reason for this? if there is none then im thinking of making one. i do a lot of wood work and i dont think it will be a problem although i would need to find sutable leather. any sugestions on type to use?

I have a wide paddle strop. They are very hard to make. Luckily for me I had Tony willing to make one for me. It absolutely ROCKS. But it takes a real expert to make one :-) I've been thinking of framing it on the wall, and telling all my friends this is from my Tony Miller collection...LOL

Alan,
Thanks! "Korndog" has suggested a long, hanging paddle strop, 2 1/2" x 20". This would be identical to your paddle except longer and having a loop on one end to hang. Nice concept but I need to try different leather, something a bit softer.


Tony

I had a Dovo extra wide that I wasn't using, got it in a trade awhile back, anyway I pasted it with .25 Amplex and I use it like a big paddle with it lying flat on my bathroom counter. Works like a champ! No X pattern either, that's what's cool about the width. It lies very flat on the counter, although I'm sure it isn't near as flat as mounted leather would be. I can't notice any affect, and the razors are happy. The other cool thing is in my closet, I have two hooks UNDER one of the shelves, so I can hang the strop horizontally when not in use, with the pasted side down. Keeps dust from settling on it. The reason for this ~ I remember awhile back someone talking about dust settling on your strops and screwing up edges. Whether true or not, I've incorporated that tidbit of knowledge into my routine. My hanging clean leather gets a couple wipes with the back of my hand before my pre-shave strop (just in case )

Jeff

i didnt know that you did wide 4 sided strops tony, do you ship to the UK? if you do i would be intrested in one

Its 2 sided, not (5-1.. that button is broken)

Pete,
I only do wide 2 sided. If I made a 4 side than wide it would weigh a ton as these are solid wood.


Tony

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Pete,
I only do wide 2 sided. If I made a 4 side than wide it would weigh a ton as these are solid wood.


Tony

Tony,

That's a new marketing concept...strop and work out at the same time!

RT