Thread: Homemade strop

Hey guys, I have recently made a strop from veg tanned Italian cowhide leather. What do you think about it? It is softened with coconut oil and it worked I guess, the strop is not that hard to bend as it was. Anyway, what do you think about it? Is it usable, will it work fine? I had a few stropping sessions already on it thanks, have a nice day!


So will the wrinkles that are visible ir 2nd photo will have impact on my edge?
P.S. please dont mind those very long screws, it will be replaced soon

Yes, most any smooth leather will strop a razor. When you are new more important that the strop surface, is your technique.

As your technique improves, a year or so, the strop will not make that much difference until then..

Wrinkles in leather are generally indication of quality and where the leather was cut from, but should not harm your stropping.

You can resurface the leather face with a sharp cabinet card scraper, and it will leave a fine nap finish, similar to suede, but for now, I would just use it and develop your technique.

Beveling the edges is also a good idea. If you are adding oil to the leather, go slowly and dampen the strop, before adding any oils, to open the pores of the leather and drive it deep in.

There are many post on making strop in the strop forum.

Enjoy

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yes, most any smooth leather will strop a razor. When you are new more important that the strop surface, is your technique.

As your technique improves, a year or so, the strop will not make that much difference until then..

Wrinkles in leather are generally indication of quality and where the leather was cut from, but should not harm your stropping.

You can resurface the leather face with a sharp cabinet card scraper, and it will leave a fine nap finish, similar to suede, but for now, I would just use it and develop your technique.

Beveling the edges is also a good idea. If you are adding oil to the leather, go slowly and dampen the strop, before adding any oils, to open the pores of the leather and drive it deep in.

There are many post on making strop in the strop forum.

Enjoy

Thanks, my friend

In general if you can't feel the irregularities in the leather as you strop the razor you are fine. If you can then that's not so fine.

Strops can be made from almost any leather, cloth, wood (balsa, basswood), or paper, etc. Most of these materials can be used to make a DIY strop, either plain or pasted. Not every strop will produce the same results, so the secret is learning how a particular strop fits into your blade maintenance routine. I like using a smooth veg tanned cowhide glued to a wood base as a paddle strop., but veg tan cowhide can also be used a hanging strop.