Strop material (leathers?)

SO I know horse hide and shell and latigo are all good, but when it comes to making a strop are there any special considerations besides smooth and flat? I was looking at leathers today and there are so many textures and types and what not that I kinda want to experiment. Is there any way to go wrong other than cupping/too rough?

Is there anythign specific to look for? ie. Fill in the blank: something might not be bad for the razor, but if it doesn't have __________ (insert trait here) it won't work well.

It needs to have a good surface...raised healed scars, depressed fat wrinkles, etc.... are not desirable. Too stiff or too soft and flexy may not make a good strop. the rest comes down to draw.....heavier such as Latigo or the back side of most leathers, super light like most horsehide, or in between like bridle leather or leathers with a buffed or sanded surface. here personal preference takes over. All will get the razor to the same place but some feel "faster" or "slower" in the stropping action which can either appeal to a user or be an undesirable trait.

resistance to cupping varies widely....some leathers are less prone, some more, some tanning methods are more or less likely to cup in humid or moist conditions. Some leathers are resiliant enough to easily be "corrected" if they start to cup or bow, others have a long term memory and will quickly go back to whatever state they started at.

People here have used cowhide, horsehide, buffalo, deerskin and kangaroo. All have different textures and will give a different feel in use. Some types of hides/tanning processes are only found in certain thicknesses. Kangaroo and deer are quite thin, harness leathers tend to be very heavy, etc..... something in the 6oz. to 10oz. range will be the most usable.

Tony

I can't answer the question directly, and I'm far from experienced. I've been learning as I go with straight razors for about a year now probably. Never bought a strop.

I rarely use some balsa sheets with pastes I made. I realized today I have half a dozen leather strops!!!!!!! I've made all of them out of thick cinch straps you can buy from TSC/Rural King/Oerchelaens (sp?) or any place that has horse tack. $20 will buy a cinch strap. You'll get 3 strops out of each. One really nice looking one (doesn't look "homemade" at all) and two other that are great for utility or "pasted" applications. I bought another cinch strap today as my "bare" strops have mysterious acquired a few small nicks and I'm wanting to try a new 0.5 CrOx paste. It said "Latigo"...who knows. I'll try to take pictures as I cut up this latest Cinch strap and make a DIY thread out of it. $7 for a strop aint bad!


I had to sand down one set of strops because some idiot rolled the cinch strap and put some crinkles in it. 220, 400 grit sandpaper and some elbow grease got them back up to shape in no time. Lexol conditioner and good ole nose grease keeps mine in shape. A few have cupped slightly (I think I understand your use of the term "cup")....again, some sandpaper took care of that in no time. Just be sure to clean the strop really well after using sandpaper to remove any grit that is left on the leather.


Point is, I think strops are a pretty simple tool. Keep them flat and smooth...beyond that is preference. (Of course, I may just be ignorant of the magic that a $100 strip of leather can do!?!???)