Thread: rough and dirty fabric strop

Get some D rings and Chicago screws and you'll be able to swap materials easy as. Pretty well my clean material can be used but pants, canvas, sail cloth, fire hose cotton etc are pretty common. Personally think linen does help an edge.

Ed, finally got around to working on one of the ideas for a quick and dirty strop. Went with a paddle approach for this first one. Took a piece of particle board 3/8 thick x 2-3/4 x 23 long. Put contact cement on it and on the back of a piece of denim. Was surprised that when dry the denim's good side didn't seem affected by the contact cement. Joined the two and using an old marble rolling pin I have lying around rolled pressure on it for a few minutes. On the other side, which has a rougher texture, I'm putting what I think is linen (had it for so many years in a closet I've forgotten what the material is) using the same process. It needs to complete dry for at least 24 hours. I think with the rougher texture under the linen I'll have a decent first stropping side with the denim for finishing. If it doesn't work out I might try putting a second layer on each side with a different glue and have a slightly padded bench strop to try out. I have a bunch of poor quality steel blades that are more or less shave ready and will try them out on the paddle in the next day or so.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Ed, finally got around to working on one of the ideas for a quick and dirty strop. Went with a paddle approach for this first one. Took a piece of particle board 3/8 thick x 2-3/4 x 23 long. Put contact cement on it and on the back of a piece of denim. Was surprised that when dry the denim's good side didn't seem affected by the contact cement. Joined the two and using an old marble rolling pin I have lying around rolled pressure on it for a few minutes. On the other side, which has a rougher texture, I'm putting what I think is linen (had it for so many years in a closet I've forgotten what the material is) using the same process. It needs to complete dry for at least 24 hours. I think with the rougher texture under the linen I'll have a decent first stropping side with the denim for finishing. If it doesn't work out I might try putting a second layer on each side with a different glue and have a slightly padded bench strop to try out. I have a bunch of poor quality steel blades that are more or less shave ready and will try them out on the paddle in the next day or so.

excellent plan, At 23" you could almost have 2 diffferent fabrics on each side, at around 11" each, at least I am pretty sure I have read about shorter strops like that, esp as paddles.
I will be pleased to hear how you go.

Ed, one step at a time. I had to fit it in with about six things I'm almost doing at once. And tomorrow I am running a small fabric shop for the day that a friend of mine owns because her husband has minor surgery in the AM and Doctors appointments in the PM. Maybe back on the strop by Thursday, I hope.

Sounds like an oportunity to see what fabrics are out there.

Unfortunately I already know what fabrics are out there. One of my past lives was to work for a few years in a large chain fabric store. When I started you almost never saw a male working on the selling floor and I had my moments over that.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Unfortunately I already know what fabrics are out there. One of my past lives was to work for a few years in a large chain fabric store. When I started you almost never saw a male working on the selling floor and I had my moments over that.

That just meant that you would have received a whole lot of attention from the ladies surely

And the occasional man.

Well attention is attention I suppose.

This is off topic but still on topic - strops. I am beside myself with delight, almost joy. I have just won an eBay auction for a strop labeled Russia Razor Strop. Whats so great about that you say. Well, at the bottom is stamped S. Rosenfeld, Barber tools. My last name is Rosenfeld. How often do you find items with your last name on it? Now, here is the interesting part to me. My dad, his mother and 5 brothers came from Russia early in the 20th century. They spread out across the US and lost track with each other long before I was born. I only met one uncle when in my teens and we never heard from him again. So here, just about 100 years since my dad came to the US I am given a useful reminder of my ancestry. Rosenfeld is not a rare name, there are many by that name that I am not related to, but you never know. If there are any Rosenfelds reading this post and you know that your parent had a grand, or great grandmother named Dina (or Dena) Rosenfeld we stand a chance of being related. Thank you for reading my joy and my rant.