DIY strop leather

I'm heading up to Harrisburg, PA and while I'm up there I plan on stopping by Tandy Leather and taking a look to see if they have anything good to make a couple strops from.

I've sifted through some of the information here, and here's what I have found, but would love any more feedback you all care to offer :)

As far as the kinda of leather that would make a decent strop, you are probably safe with:

a) top grain cowhide

b) nubuck

c) latigo

d) horsehide or shell

e) buffalo

f) shoulder leather

Also, AFAIK, if the leather is flat and relatively free of high/low marks, it should strop well.

As far as the "weight" of the leather goes, anywhere from 6 to 10 oz. is what to look for.

I love to DIY when it's possible, and going to be cost efficient. I love doing things with my own hands, making things in a way that not everyone else could do. It gives me a little something to make me feel good about myself.

Also, what length for a strop (just the stropping area, not the handle, etc) is typical/preferred. I know some people prefer different widths, but I would love to know about length.

Thanks for any/all replies :)

Don't forget Bridle Leather. It's excellent for strops

Also, I like an 18-22 inch stropping surface... that's just comfortable for my arm/draw distance (I'm 5'8'')

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Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

Don't forget Bridle Leather. It's excellent for strops

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I think I remember seeing people using bridle leather, but I'm just trying to avoid something with holes in it already.

I will take a look and see what they have when I go up, just to cover my bases. Thanks Zombie :)

Bridle is the new SRD strop. It's my go to leather (and Lynn's) It gets excellent results

Tandy will likely have already cut strips 2" and 3" wide from latigo and top grain cowhide. These should be in the 6 to 10oz. range. Be sure they don't have fat wrinkles across them and watch for cupping side to side. The latigo is probably fine, the cowhide may well be cupped....just the nature of the leather and how it absorbs humidity.

The rest of Tandy's leather will be sides or shoulders and you would need to cut your own strips. A side will run well over $100 but may make somewhere between 0 and 15 strops depending on quality :)

For hardware they will have Chicago screws in 10 packs up to 100 packs or rivets. Go with the screws. Get a few 2" dee rings, one for the top, one for the bottom. A 5/8" or 3/4" trigger snap, snapped into the top dee will leave a ring to go over a hook in your wall to hang it by.

Add some labor, a bit of skill, a little bit of luck, a great design, a following, a logo, a website, a......well, you never know what will happen !

Have fun!

Tony

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 :)

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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

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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.

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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

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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:

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a..._SPM_A0404.jpg

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?

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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?

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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... :gaah: Oh well. Still dont have a razor i can shave with anyways so i guess doesnt really matter.

I have made a strop out of brown suede shoe leather backed with leather shoe lining and it works okay for me. A large piece suede (slightly bigger than I needed) was glued to the lining leather with adhesive cement and then trimmed to size. The full length of the strop is 28 & 3/4" (735mm) with the strop part being 20 & 1/2" (520mm)L and 2 & 3/4" (70mm)W. I made it to take the full width of the razor but you need to pull the strop very tight to stop any cupping of the leather. The thickness of the strop ended up at 3mm but gives me two surfaces to strop on. The lining side (the lighter colour & weight leather in the attached photos) is what I begin with and then flip to finish on the suede side. It's probably overkill but it feels nice & I can pick up differences in sound on the suede side compared to the lining side.
The leather handle is stiff sole leather shaped and covered in thin black clothing leather. The full length of the handle is 5 & 3/4" (145mm), with the grip approximately 95mmL by 30mmW. The "D" ring is 1 & 1/2" (40mm). The handle and D-ring are hand stitched with waxed linen thread. You'll see a few nicks in the leather from sliding the razor forward on the turn.
As I had this leather from past leather working days I'm not sure what it would cost to make.
The clip with the leather thonging allows me to tie it to a bar and it gives a bit of a tension spring feel to the strop when you put some weight into it which helps to give the strop tight.
I do have a smaller strop made out of some old leather belting, but for putting the edge back on I prefer the one I made. Attached are some photos of the strop.
Have fun making it. Mine took me a couple of hours but then I have done a lot of leather work. Take your time with it particularly if you hand sew it. A nice looking thread line is a sight to behold.
Hope this helps.

strop & tommy picture by jbtusa - Photobucket

I went to Tandy Leather at got a 3 x 50" piece of heavy leather belt stock. I cut it half to 26" and liberally applied Neatsfoot (shin bone) oil. Total cost: $14. It works great on my knives but I have not tried it on the razor yet. I will post results.

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Originally Posted by jbtusa

strop & tommy picture by jbtusa - Photobucket

I went to Tandy Leather at got a 3 x 50" piece of heavy leather belt stock. I cut it half to 26" and liberally applied Neatsfoot (shin bone) oil. Total cost: $14. It works great on my knives but I have not tried it on the razor yet. I will post results.

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Here the 3x50 cost $30... And I planned on putting D rings to hook it to the wall and those were only in a ten pack for like maybe $10 then needed the Chicago screws

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jbtusa

strop & tommy picture by jbtusa - Photobucket

I went to Tandy Leather at got a 3 x 50" piece of heavy leather belt stock. I cut it half to 26" and liberally applied Neatsfoot (shin bone) oil. Total cost: $14. It works great on my knives but I have not tried it on the razor yet. I will post results.

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It looks good. I like the shape of the handle..

Maybe the nylon or poly here could be a nice adittion
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