Thread: Sanding a Strop

Hi,

I recently got straight razor shaving lessons from a local guy. He had a lot to teach, and produced a very sharp edge.

He pointed out that my strop feels uneven, and recommended that I sand it down and polish it with sandpaper from 400 up to 2000 grit.

He did this to his own strop and has it glossy smooth.

Is this a known thing that people do around here?

Yes. That's actually how you get smooth leather as it is normally suede on the muscle side and grainy on the hair side.

A good quality strop will come with that already done. When the leather comes from the tannery it has less flaws the better the leather, of course which animal and where on the animal is another factor. Having it on a nice flat hard surface is an important factor. I don’t know if we have many active members that do a lot of strop making. I know B52 has made some. I’m sure there is a more exacting procedure that they could point out. Time and use will always help the, once they are flat and smooth.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Yes. That's actually how you get smooth leather as it is normally suede on the muscle side and grainy on the hair side.

Originally Posted by RezDog

A good quality strop will come with that already done. When the leather comes from the tannery it has less flaws the better the leather, of course which animal and where on the animal is another factor. Having it on a nice flat hard surface is an important factor. I don’t know if we have many active members that do a lot of strop making. I know B52 has made some. I’m sure there is a more exacting procedure that they could point out. Time and use will always help the, once they are flat and smooth.

It's an Illinois 127 Top grain Cowhide Strop. To me it feels quite smooth, but the sharpener I had helping me out identified it as being uneven right away. He still got a great edge off of it, but recommended I sand it.

I guess I'll do it. Seems very absurd to me still, I've sanded metal and wood many many times, but in my head sanding leather would just completely shred it and destroy it, not make it flat and smooth.

=RezDog;1970263...
I don’t know if we have many active members that do a lot of strop making...

Tony Miller, Heirloom Strop Co.


You should not have to sand that Illinois 127 unless something really horrible has happened to it. The main reasons you would sand a strop is if it had gotten really dry and rough or if it had been cut and the cuts glued. Leather is sanded to make it smooth but should not need it afterwards.

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

It's an Illinois 127 Top grain Cowhide Strop. To me it feels quite smooth, but the sharpener I had helping me out identified it as being uneven right away. He still got a great edge off of it, but recommended I sand it.

I guess I'll do it. Seems very absurd to me still, I've sanded metal and wood many many times, but in my head sanding leather would just completely shred it and destroy it, not make it flat and smooth.

It seems that if he can get a good edge from it then so could you.
Can you post a picture of the surface?
Sanding a strop if you don't know what you are doing will likely destroy it.
I can't imagine it being so "uneven" that it would need sanding. A picture would help.

Yea, sanding is for well damaged strops and it takes some skill to know what and how much to use.

I nicked glued and sanded my first strop many times.

I don't cut it any more but i still use it regularly.

Originally Posted by stoneandstrop

It seems that if he can get a good edge from it then so could you.
Can you post a picture of the surface?
Sanding a strop if you don't know what you are doing will likely destroy it.
I can't imagine it being so "uneven" that it would need sanding. A picture would help.

I don't believe it is that uneven, and I agree that I would probably destroy it by accident if I tried to sand it.

Originally Posted by rickytimothy

I don't believe it is that uneven, and I agree that I would probably destroy it by accident if I tried to sand it.

Thank you.
It appears well used but in good shape.
It is only cosmetically an issue. Just use it for now and if you decide down the road to pretty it up a bit I would wrap 600 w/d around a block of wood and sand up and down the strop the strop. It will be immediately apparent where you have sanded - cover the entire strop. Less is more.
When done with 600 wipe hard and well with a dry cloth,do it again at 1k for smoother and again at 2k if you want super smooth and fast. 1K is fine though.
Rub super well after sanding to remove all imbeded grit. You can then wipe with a damp rag or some isopropyl and paper towel to finish cleaning.
Isopropyl will yeild a very fast almost no friction strop at 2k.
After you have used it for a bit and maybe aquire a second then you can consider whether you want to sand or not.
It should function just fine the way it is though