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Material for strop
I am looking to make a strop. Would like advice on what to get for material. The only thing I have used is the poor man strop I got from Whipped Dog. The draw seems alright to me. Don't think I would want to go to latigo from what I have heard.
I was thinking of going to Tandy Leather or maybe a shoe repair shop and see if I could get something. Any suggestions would be appreciated for places to shop for leather and types of leather to look at, and the hardware to connect to a hook. Probably stay with barber end.
I also have a question about the fabric stop. When is this used. The ones I have seen on video are the poly webbing and don't really like the sound.
Joe
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here's a link to find the hardware I would recommend chicago screws to hold it together and a harness shop is also a good place to find leather. The fabric component is used before the leather. it cleans and dries the blade and can have some abrasive quality depending on the material or compound used on it.
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Make sure it is vegetable tanned. If you can get your hands on fire hose like they put in emergency cabinets of high rise buildings that would work well. Tandy has the 'D'rings and Chicago screws for joining everything together. Or you can pick up a vintage strop cheap just for the hardware.
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I second the worn out strop for some hardware.
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Go to Amazon and make a search for "Bakers Linen". get some and use it to make a real linen strop. If the material is thin use a backing material to sew it to.
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Thanks for the replies.
As far as the leather does it have to be prepared in any way; is it just a piece of leather or does it have to be made specially for a strop?
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Just a piece of leather. No more no less.
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I agree with the suggestion to buy a vintage strop from Ebay etc. for the hardware. You will also get to see the thickness of leather to look for and the suppleness .
Just be sure it is vegtable tanned, not chrome tanned.
A flax/linen strop has been a quest for a lot of us and old, unlined fire hoses will work but youneed to clean them, and stretch them while drying or else they will bunch up/wrinkle and you cannot iron them out.
Another good option is a hemp strop, but to get it soft you need to put it in a washing machine.
Bluesman7 ( Victor Creazzi) is the person I learned this from.
Hope this helps, :)
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The trouble with tandy I have found is that unless you buy a piece for a belt you have to buy half a hide. If you want to experiment that is great. just 1 not. The back is better. The closer to the belly you get it works but is less desirable.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
32t
The trouble with tandy I have found is that unless you buy a piece for a belt you have to buy half a hide. If you want to experiment that is great. just 1 not. The back is better. The closer to the belly you get it works but is less desirable.
If you have a Tandy store nearby, You call them to see if they have some 3-4 inch wide strips of Veg Tanned leather. I was fortunate to find some at the one in MPLS a while back in the marked down area.
Thanks Randy!
~Richard
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I found some at Hobby Lobby. Don't have to buy half a hide but the piece I found is enough for several strops.
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I agree with Rick, if you can go to Tandy leather and fins a scrap piece of 3" x 24" you are just in luck!. some of those stores have atually a way to cut it .. if so ask them if the can bevel the edge for you, otherwise i would recommend to buy an edge beveler, it can be a Chinese one, which are really cheap. no need to buy anything fancy as you wont use it hundreds of times, and to be honest.. chinese edge bevelers hold a good edge for a very long time.. not as great as japanese ones, but good enough and 5 times cheaper.
Now, the leather, you want it to be thick enough to avoid having to make any handles and such, that will complicate your task (3-4mm thick). this way you can make a good barber strop.
if you get just regular vegetable tan leather for tooling (good option) you will need to get some neatsfoot oil.. really no need to use more than a few drops.. so the lowes qty you get, the better... apply warm water with a damp cloth, wait for 10 min, do it again, wait 2-3 min.. put a few drops oil on another cloth and distribte thru the strop..
then work rus a bit more with the wather damp cloth.. your goal is to use very very little oil... and distribute as well as possible..
if you use latigo leather you wont need to do the oiling or conditioning... just the good old rubbing hands works ..
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Here are some good videos for leather working; this one is about edge finishing.
finishing-edges-leather-craft-video
JMO
That is basically what I used a few years back to finish one of my home made strops.
Hides to Art also told me about the idea of carefully finishing a strop by "Spit Shining" it
A cloth wrapped tightly around an index finger and carefully touching the real neetsfoot oil; then polishing a couple square inches of the strop per application and letting the strop set for a while before another application.
That has worked well for me in the past. No water involved but time taking, a bunch.
YMMV
~Richard
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You can buy handles, rings, clips, screws, from Razor Emporium
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All the parts hardware etc for strops
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My cobbler got me a 3x80 inch piece of latigo. It was $50 but that was several years ago
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What about the linen - whats best?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vlasta
What about the linen - whats best?
I'd like to know as well, if I swing by the fabric store is there a special kind of linen I should ask for?
2b
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
TwoBirds
I'd like to know as well, if I swing by the fabric store is there a special kind of linen I should ask for?
2b
I think just linen. Thinking about it I even stropped my razor on my jeans trouser leg when I forgot my strop when traveling. Any smooth linen - not one with the bobbles on it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
thebigspendur
Go to Amazon and make a search for "Bakers Linen". get some and use it to make a real linen strop. If the material is thin use a backing material to sew it to.
This is what thebigspendur is talking about:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...aker%27s+linen
It's great stuff, but I never have figured out an elegant way to seal the cut edges, so they
don't unravel. I'd appreciate any suggestions about that.
As for the leather, latigo has a pretty heavy draw. 3-4oz Veggie-tanned back strap makes
great razor strops. Avoid the "belly" portions...too many veins and variable thickness.
Veggie-tanned leather can be pretty dry, but you can adjust the texture by slowly
conditioning it with oil, over time.
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Thanks everyone for the advice.
Are there any instructions on making a linen strop with this material. I am thinking of making a loop and sewing the bottom, but not sure. Is the baker's linen thick enough with one layer to make a strop?
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Horse butt leather with some cbn 1-.5micron paste on it. And I finish off with a microfibre strop
