Thread: DIY strop leather

Anyway to get or does it exist already photos of what not to get in a piece of leather? I have no clue what some of the things are that were cautioned to look for. Thus, not sure what a quality piece of leather will look like

@Tony: Thanks! Not looking to start a business, just would like to have a strop or 2 for my own personal use without having to put a WHOLE lot of money into it. Times are very rough, and I am confident in my ability that I can make something worthwhile

Originally Posted by rickboone

Anyway to get or does it exist already photos of what not to get in a piece of leather? I have no clue what some of the things are that were cautioned to look for. Thus, not sure what a quality piece of leather will look like

I don't have any pictures right now, but when I stop up there tomorrow, I will take some pictures with my camera phone if I can find some with the things to avoid.

Rob, I'm no expert but you don't want to get anything from the belly or shoulders. Be mindful of unnatural folds, you can test this by folding it it. If it's got the natural U-shape and does not crease in such a way then it's good.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Anyway to get or does it exist already photos of what not to get in a piece of leather? I have no clue what some of the things are that were cautioned to look for. Thus, not sure what a quality piece of leather will look like

It's difficult finding good section to use because the 5-7oz, 7-9oz, at least in my experience yielded wrinkled, lacerated, cupped leather and so on. These were pre-priced and pre-cut leather. That's nature of beast when dealing with "natural" element. Only then was I able to fully appreciate the quality and craftsmanship that goes behind strops with likes of Kanayama and Tony.

Just hope the manager in your location is more tolerant of having a pre-priced section cut out for you.

Keep an eye out for bug bites or markings. It's hard to notice but it becomes more evident when water is present:

The pre-cut strips will vary in quality because of how they are made. A complete side is run through a cutting machine that gang cuts a large numbr of strips at one time. The entire side is reduced to strips in minutes from end to end with no regard to what it looks like.

Most good strop makers (or any leather workers for that matter) will decide where to cut each piece avoiding any scars, wrinkles, thin spots, distorted areas, etc.....the resulting strips should all then have a clean surface but it results in a lot of waste.

The flaws are in most hides to some extent. The really bad ones should be rejected, the better ones get the good areas cut out and hopefully the waste can be used for other things. This, as well as labor are why the better strops cost what they do. I know on what I buy a few hides are completely worthless, the rest can yield from 50 to 70% first quality pieces, 10 to 20% "practice material" and the rest is waste I give or throw away. Anything from the shoulder forward is a gamble in most cases, anything in the bottom 1/3 of the side towards the belly is usually complete waste.

That is where the pre-cut strips become so varied. If they decide to cut 60inch long strips the entire length of a hide is not needed. For the best strips the shoulder should be removed before running through the machine so the majority of the strip is from the rear section. In many cases the rear, good area is removed for other uses and the front side and shoulder becomes the 60" strip. On the 72" strips nearly the entire side is used, end to end, so they may be okay at one end and bad at the other. The closer to the back (top of the cow) they are cut the better they usually are. One exception are "bends", this is near the shoulder and can be really great heavy, strong leather, or can have too many fat wrinkles. Again, every piece is different.

Hides are also sold in grades. In most cases Latigo, Bridle and Harness leather is sold as TR grade (tannery run) and will vary hide to hide. Garment and tooling leather can be had in better grades, with either nicer looking natural surfaces or corrected surfaces. These better hides are typically reserved for the more finished tanning processes than the more utility functions of the latigo/bridle/harness leathers where surface usually does not matter. For strops we like the characteristics of the utility tanning, but want the finish of the best tooling leathers in the higher grades. You can have any grade of hide tanned in any method but will pay more and have to deal with minimum orders.

Hope this helps,
Tony

I dont know if its possible cuz i've never worked with leather before. But can you sand out some imperfections?

Originally Posted by prezdead

I dont know if its possible cuz i've never worked with leather before. But can you sand out some imperfections?

I've used a pumice stone to sand down the strips before I apply the oil. It works pretty well, but like said, you don't want "fat lines" in the leather. You can tell them easily if you're looking at the piece of leather. It really is better to go to the store so you can run your hands over the leather. You will be able to feel any imperfections.

so sounds like what I want is something that stays flat and has no kind of imperfections?

Also will conchos work instead of chicago screws?

Tandy Leather Factory - Skull Cross Cycle Concho 1-1/8" x 1-1/8"

cuz that kinda kicks ass...

also, do you NEED to put oil on the leather? And do you just use any ol' leather oil?

So I went into Tandy today, and after having everything I needed in hand, added it all up, and decided if im going to spend that much i may as well just buy a strop... Oh well. Still dont have a razor i can shave with anyways so i guess doesnt really matter.