A Strop Project

Hey Guys,
A little over a week ago, Richard(Geezer) sent me some extra material he had laying around. They were two strips of leather, one finished & one raw, some strips of old fire hoses and two strips of cotton webbing. He said do something with them or toss them out. So I decides to play strop maker for the first time.

The fore hoses & webbing needed cleaning. Two of the fire hoses were single layer cotton(maybe linen) and the bright white one is a hard nylon webbing with a rubber second layer inside. All the fire hoses are 2 1/2 inch.

Attachment 212360


Attachment 212361

Attachment 212362

Attachment 212363

I soaked the hoses in BIZ for three days,,,,,then scrubbed with Colgate toothpaste,,,, let dry outside for three more days.

Attachment 212364

Attachment 212365

The BIZ pulled 90% of the stains out of the hoses.

I ordered vintage brass hooks , O-Rings and D-Loops on Ebay last week. I screwed up and forgot to Ebay the screws & had to use shiny brass screws from Tandy. I will order vintage brass screws next month & replace the shiny ones. We went to Tandy today & got supplies,,,, vintage tan stain, sealed, a big piece of raw leather, screws, punch, scissors and a crash course on leather work.

Attachment 212366

Attachment 212367

,,,,,,,,,, to be continued next post,,,,,

I worked on these today,,,,, it was fun,,, made a lot of mistakes as you will see,,,,,,Please comment on how I can make changes next time.

Thank you for looking,
Hirlau


Attachment 212368

Attachment 212369

Attachment 212370

Attachment 212371

Thank You Richard ,,,,,,,:tu

Some of my mistakes are;
The D-Rings were smaller than I thought, though I can get my fingers in them to extend the strop.
My staining of the raw leather strop & the leather clasps that hold the hardware on the strops is poor,,,, I forgot to wear gloves,,, I have vintage brown fingers now,,,:(
The shiny brass screws don't match.
I can't cut a straight line,,, wasted a lot of leather.

Every one of those look Good and usable Hirlau, Nice work.

Great effort for your 1st attempt.

Awesome job! Thank you for sharing with us!

I say awesome as well! Very nice of Richard (Geezer) and I'm sure he'll be pleased to see how well you put the material to use.

They look real good, congrats man.

I am looking forward to your new webstore, now that you have a product line. Mistakes are part of the learning process.

Hirlau, we haven't spoken much, but I have great respect & appreciation for your posts.

My local leather shop (Portland Leather) scores an edge w/ a ballpoint along a metal straightedge before reaching for a blade. Next, takes a blade along the same straight edge & tries to keep it in the bottom of the trough created by the ballpoint. Next, uses a straight edge cutting tool (about $20) which is simply a blade w/ a width-limiting guide, cutting inside the slice left by the knife. I wasn't worth a dang at cutting straight either. If the variation in the cut is minimal, an edging tool will make it undetectable. For finish-burnishing the edge, the traditional method is literally to wipe spit on the raw edge, and burnish w/ a wooden handled tool - even a wooden kitchen spoon. (Thank You HidestoArt)

HidestoArt is probably the most experienced leather worker I'll ever have the pleasure to speak with. And, he's a wonderful guy. Connecting with him is sure to be informative, and a great pleasure.

All Best to you & yours, Hirlau

Very nicely done, good job. Let us know how the fire hose works out for you.

Did you burnish the leather with an old Pinaud bottle.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pinklather

Hirlau, we haven't spoken much, but I have great respect & appreciation for your posts.

My local leather shop (Portland Leather) scores an edge w/ a ballpoint along a metal straightedge before reaching for a blade. Next, takes a blade along the same straight edge & tries to keep it in the bottom of the trough created by the ballpoint. Next, uses a straight edge cutting tool (about $20) which is simply a blade w/ a width-limiting guide, cutting inside the slice left by the knife. I wasn't worth a dang at cutting straight either. If the variation in the cut is minimal, an edging tool will make it undetectable. For finish-burnishing the edge, the traditional method is literally to wipe spit on the raw edge, and burnish w/ a wooden handled tool - even a wooden kitchen spoon. (Thank You HidestoArt)

HidestoArt is probably the most experienced leather worker I'll ever have the pleasure to speak with. And, he's a wonderful guy. Connecting with him is sure to be informative, and a great pleasure.

All Best to you & yours, Hirlau

---

Thank you for the kind words,,,,

I'm going to spend time tonight looking for the tools you mentioned & read up on the techniques,,, this helps me a lot,,, the cutting was the hardest part for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by apipeguy

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Did you burnish the leather with an old Pinaud bottle.

---

No,,,, but I did sprinkle some Pinaud on the strops to bless them,,,,,;)

Looks good, John.
I cut a half circle, cutouts in the end caps, the curve cut is stronger than a square cut. I use a punch, but an Exacto knife works. Cut the cap the same width as the strop.

The 2in D ring fits a 3in strop nicely.

You can also burnish and round the edges with a bit of watered down hide glue and a small plastic wheel with a concave surface (screen door replacement wheel) . Dab some glue on the edge and rub with the wheel, it will round the edge and glue the loose fibers down. Tandy sells edge dressing, but I think it is just hide glue. They also sell wood and plastic slickers, for a few bucks.

If you want a good swivel, Ace Hardware(about $5) snaps to the D ring with a nylon or leather lanyard on the other end. I normally just use an 18 in piece of Para Cord, fits over a doorknob nicely.

If you are cutting long straight cuts with a knife, Clamp a metal straight edge over the leather to a table or bench. A drop of Loctite, keeps the Chicago Screws from working loose.

Attachment 212585Attachment 212586Attachment 212587Attachment 212588Attachment 212589Attachment 212590Attachment 212591

Some great ideas,,,, it will be a week or so before I finish out the two cotton straps I have left.

For the d-ring that is too small to get your hand into, consider getting a strip of leather, about 3/8th of a inch wide and 12 inches long, and tying a loop in it. You will be able to hang onto that much easier.

I have plenty of leather left,,, that's a good idea.
I just got the hardware today to finish the remaining 2 strips of linen that Geezer gave me,,, they are much bigger & will work on them tomorrow night,,,,,,,,,,pics to follow.

I got the big D-Rings that Euclid suggested for the remaining strops.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nipper

I say awesome as well! Very nice of Richard (Geezer) and I'm sure he'll be pleased to see how well you put the material to use.

---

I am!! And his efforts are way better than my first fumbles!!
~Richard

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Drygulch

For the d-ring that is too small to get your hand into, consider getting a strip of leather, about 3/8th of a inch wide and 12 inches long, and tying a loop in it. You will be able to hang onto that much easier.

---

Para cord has been a savior for hanging a strop or tensioning it.
Bump the pin out of the middle hinge on the shave cave door about a half inch and the paracord loops over that and then the strop is about waist height.

You know that's shoulder high for me Richard,,,,:shrug:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hirlau

You know that's shoulder high for me Richard,,,,:shrug:

---

I went to central high!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by apipeguy

Very nicely done, good job. Let us know how the fire hose works out for you.

Did you burnish the leather with an old Pinaud bottle.

---

Oh come on this is John you are speaking to, it would obviously be an old Avon aftershave bottle :)

Here are the last 2 pieces left that Richard gave me. One of them is just a straight cotton webbing & the other is an old fire hose. I went with a darker stain.
thanks for looking.

Attachment 213154

Attachment 213155

Attachment 213156

Attachment 213157

Nice work, I like the dark leather.

Strop making is addictive…

The son & I are going to take a little course at the Tandy store before long.

Sweet…Your hooked, strops, holsters, knife sheaths, Ax sheaths, wallets, saddles, upholstery, custom furniture, Lucha masks, a line of SM toys… Oh the possibilities…

Enjoy John,

,,,,,,,,,,,,,:rofl2:
I had to GOOGLE lucha masks,,,,,

Ahhh Tandy. You get in there and it is full of the smell of leather. I go in once in awhile just for that. I miss my old tack room :<0(

If you get started now you can make a pile of slippers for Christmas gifts.

Your doing great. The better the tools the easier it is and the guys in Tandy will help you a lot in the beginning.

I want to make a knife sheath for a large pocket Sheffield Schrade I have that is too big to carry in the pocket comfortably.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I want to make a knife sheath for a large pocket Sheffield Schrade I have that is too big to carry in the pocket comfortably.

---

Sounds like you have your next project then. Just make sure it is easy to get in and out..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Sounds like you have your next project then. Just make sure it is easy to get in and out..

---

A finger slot at the bottom of the outside piece makes that easier and allows crud to exit. Obviously, the slot has to be narrower than the knife.... A Buck folder size or bigger works well that way.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Geezer

A finger slot at the bottom of the outside piece makes that easier and allows crud to exit. Obviously, the slot has to be narrower than the knife.... A Buck folder size or bigger works well that way.

---

I was thinking to make the pouch wider and deeper than the knife by a mm or 2 and to make the holster bit shallower on the sides or sides and front than the knife, the flap will stop it escaping.

I've also seen shrink fitted horizontal sheaths with a spring. like a throw holster. Or with a flap top and a hole in the bottom to push out the blade and some with both ends capped and an open center section under the flap in the outside piece. A horizontal webbing case for my Leatherman on my belt worked very well for me for many years..
Hooeeeee! So many possibilities to sketch before staring the class!!! Really helps one concentrate on the instruction!
~Richard