Thread: Leaded strops - Linen? Leather? Both?

My concern here is some young guy just starting sees this thread and just thinks putting lead on a strop is a routine thing everyone does and it's perfectly safe.

So now he knows.

I like the feel of an edge that has had a few licks on a lead strop. Have made a couple now, both out of roo leather.
The second one I sanded the leather with 1000 grit and seems to work better.
I think most here were exposed to a lot of lead in their life time from petrol, paint etc. The list goes on. Still occasionally have to deal with it anyway because it was used on nails for roofing here to form a seal on the corrugated iron. Not bothered.
Handle with care and minimise risk, clean blade thoroughly before shave etc.

Back to the IP. Metals when oxidized form very hard crystals. Those crystas we have named such things as "Rouge," "CBN," "CrOx," and many others. Lead Oxide was available as White lead for plumbers and Assorted whites for artists:

art-supply-education/lead-white-oil-pigment-paint
The Lead white is apparently the brightest available white pigment.

To lead a strop, one just rubs a lead object against it until a bit of grey shows. That grey color disappears after a short time leaving lead oxides on the strop. That may be done on leather and other strop media.
Snapping the strop will put fine lead particles into the air. Whether that will make a personal life shorter or not is up to the user.
YMMV
~Richard

Lead poisoning is a personal health issue I deal with today along several other health issues.

About 40 years ago I worked in several different leaded glass production studios as a craftsman. I had no idea at that time that lead was good for anything but making lead came for building windows and bullets. Soldering endless lead joints using leaded solder and flux and breathing the resultant steam/smoke as the joints came together for many years has left me with sky high lead markers in my system. My bad I suppose, but none of the craftsman I knew at the time ever gave a thought to even a simple paper mask.

This thread started about lead strops and that makes Nelson's warning completely valid in this thread.

So here is my last post on this topic, take it for what it's worth.

Everyone has an Uncle Louie who smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day and drank a fifth of whiskey every day and he lived to 99 and never saw the inside of a hospital. if you are one of the fortunate ones with good genes almost nothing you do will affect you. Unfortunately most of us don't fall into that category though we like to think we do.

Old timers used all kinds of nasty stuff in the old days and either didn't know or care or had no choice. Most will claim the bad stuff worked way better than the modern "safe" substitutes and they are probably right. Old timers worked in the coal mines and when masks came out they laughed at the younger guys I mean you work in the mine and you die young, that the way it's supposed to be. That was the attitude back then and that can be said of many industries. My dad was a painter and he used lead all the time and he practically bathed himself in benzene and turpentine and all that stuff that now has a skull and crossbones on it. Just about all the guys he worked with died in their 60s of cancer.

When I was in the Navy we used to do Naval Gunfire support and there was no ear protection. A 5 inch 54 is pretty loud. Some guys put cartridges in their ears and others laughed at them. My hearing ain't too good these days.

Life is full of risks. Some we have control over and some we don't. I used to say to my friend who died on his bike, riding is risky and he used to say well you have to go sometime and I used to say yea we're all waiting in line to see the big man some day but you don't have to sneak in front of the line.

Originally Posted by Geezer

Back to the IP. Metals when oxidized form very hard crystals. Those crystas we have named such things as "Rouge," "CBN," "CrOx," and many others. Lead Oxide was available as White lead for plumbers and Assorted whites for artists:

art-supply-education/lead-white-oil-pigment-paint
The Lead white is apparently the brightest available white pigment.

To lead a strop, one just rubs a lead object against it until a bit of grey shows. That grey color disappears after a short time leaving lead oxides on the strop. That may be done on leather and other strop media.
Snapping the strop will put fine lead particles into the air. Whether that will make a personal life shorter or not is up to the user.
YMMV
~Richard

I see you say leather and other stropping media, so is it best used on linen or leather? Is it best used as primary or secondary stropping? Or somewhere in between linen and leather? Thanks Geezer

I simply rubbed a piece of lead on my leather strop until it discoloured slightly. I had not really thought about putting it on my linen or other secondary strops. It goes well the way I have it set up. That particular strop has lead on the leather and cerium oxide on the felt. I use one or the other if I am trying to tame a harsh edge. I do realize there is some risk involved with using compounds, however I look at the possible level of exposure and think to myself, I'm ok with that level or risk.

@OP: lead is a poisonous substance, there are many non-toxic compounds you can put on your strop. So what do you think lead will do better than any of the other abrasive compounds available?

I don't paste linen, just don't

I have almost always got the best results using the softest leather possible using any type of paste..

I have never pasted nor used any pasted cloth (linen, canvas, poly, etc). Many years ago I picked up a 4 sided pasted paddle strop from Tony Miller. All pastes on soft leather. Used it for touchups for a while. Haven't picked it up in a couple of years though.