Thread: Flattening leather

Just what the title asks, gents . . . other than pressure between two flat boards, are there any other tricks I could use?

What are you trying to flatten?

I had a raised spot on my strop. Rolling with a rolling pin several times helped flatten it out, not perfectly but it helped.

the leather I have purchased for a paddle strop is somewhat concave. Not a lot, but it obviously needs to be flat to avoid damaging the edge. Had not though of a rolling pin. Thanks. Using it on a marble cutting board might work.

Originally Posted by Orville

the leather I have purchased for a paddle strop is somewhat concave. Not a lot, but it obviously needs to be flat to avoid damaging the edge. Had not though of a rolling pin. Thanks. Using it on a marble cutting board might work.

Have you checked that the leather is not thicker at the ends than in the middle? Rolling it would do little to alleviate this problem - it has to be skived by a professional on the flesh side to remove the thicker areas. Hard work, and easy to ruin the leather.

If it is all a uniform width, then sticking it to a paddle will remove the crowning effect - same as pressing, really! Lay a heavy flat block on top to make sure the leather sits flat while the glue cures, or use a contact adhesive.

Regards,
Neil

Thank you, sir. I am reasonably sure that thickness is uniform, as these pieces were cut from a larger piece of leather to begin with. But I will double check. They came from a sewing and leather supply house.