I did it.Made me a strop :D

Hi everybody,

Just like the title says,i made me a strop... Here it goes,not the first thread of this kind and you can see in the pics where i got the inspiration from :D

First you see the tools,then the strip of leather i got from a belt makers shop its about 1 1/2 meters long,8 cm wide and 3 mm thick and somewhat rigid ( please tell me if i can use some olive oil to rub in the leather surface to make it more soft so it can make full contact with the razor on all the lenght )

Then i cut 2 square pieces that i draw and cut some triangles in for the D rings to fit... then i hammer the holes for the rivets... i made two trips for the rivets because the first ones were too small for 1 cm of leather...so i got bigger ones wich i hammered without a rivet setter coz i couldt find that... but its all good looks dont bother me as long as it functions :)

You can see the marks of the hammer better on the back of the rivets...

Now... please tell me what could i improve for my next DIY strop because i am thinking about something out of horsehide ... because that is thinner and it will deff make more contact with the blade if thinner .... should i make the next strip 7 cm wide because the 8 cm is slightly wider than my dovos blade... i will add a pic of the strop with the razor on top so you can see if someone wants to.And also if someone is interested i can type in the prices for everything aswell.

Let me know if you have any questions i will gladly answer each one.

Thanks alot for taking the time to read this, your opinions mean alot

Best Regards,

Iulian

Congrats! Thats come out looking really really great..!

You should be very proud of your strop, you've done an excellent job!

Heres to many happy shaves with it..! :beer1:

Good job on the strop, you do nice looking work.

Looks like you had enough leather to make a couple of strops.


Silver2

That's a very nice strop.

It seems to me, it's much more satisfying to strop on your own good looking handmade strop than on a "just another bought strop".:tu

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Originally Posted by iulian

( please tell me if i can use some olive oil to rub in the leather surface to make it more soft so it can make full contact with the razor on all the lenght )

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Looks good Julian congrats and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I have a number for vintage professionally made barber's strops and some of them are stiff by design. If you can find some neatsfoot oil I think that would be better than olive oil as it does penetrate where I'm not so sure about the olive oil. Bugs are nott attracted to neatsfoot where they may be to the other. Whatever you use go sparingly until you get where you want ot be. It is easier to put the stuff on than to get it off if you use too much. :)

A tip is to hole-punch the tip of your v-cuts for the d-loop, as it makes less likely to tear.



ed

Nice one I am impressed!cheers Don.:gl:

Now that's some nice work, Sir.
Amund.

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Originally Posted by Stubear

Congrats! Thats come out looking really really great..!

You should be very proud of your strop, you've done an excellent job!

Heres to many happy shaves with it..!

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Actually i am realy proud of it especially because its the first time i do something like this and it works.

Thanks alot

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Originally Posted by Silver2

Good job on the strop, you do nice looking work.

Looks like you had enough leather to make a couple of strops.


Silver2

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Yes i had but i dould not find cheap D rings so i figured id make a big one after the specifications of the srd english bridle but i think the 17 inches would have been just as good as opposed to 20.

Thanks :)

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Originally Posted by JohnDee

That's a very nice strop.

It seems to me, it's much more satisfying to strop on your own good looking handmade strop than on a "just another bought strop".:tu

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Yes it is i love it and like stropping on it :D i find myself stropping just for fun :D and checking if it makes full contact with the razor and what i can do to improve the draw and contact surface :D

Its realy fun :D

thanks

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Looks good Julian congrats and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I have a number for vintage professionally made barber's strops and some of them are stiff by design. If you can find some neatsfoot oil I think that would be better than olive oil as it does penetrate where I'm not so sure about the olive oil. Bugs are nott attracted to neatsfoot where they may be to the other. Whatever you use go sparingly until you get where you want ot be. It is easier to put the stuff on than to get it off if you use too much. :)

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Thanks alot... i will go and try find some neatsfoot oil and report back on the progress but for now i will just rub the palm of my hand 50 laps at a time untill i get good contact razor strop... thanks again

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Originally Posted by Thylacine

A tip is to hole-punch the tip of your v-cuts for the d-loop, as it makes less likely to tear.



ed

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Thats realy good advice thanks alot i will do that for the next project :D

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Originally Posted by Blazinrazor

Nice one I am impressed!cheers Don.:gl:

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Thanks alot :D

It means alot coming from you guys

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Originally Posted by nightbreed

Now that's some nice work, Sir.
Amund.

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Thanks again ...




How does Horsehide sound to you guys for a strop? what are the advantages over cowhide? for one it is thinner and i see how that will make full contact with the razor much more easily

What do you guys think will be the pros and cons of that... thanks alot again :D

I recently made a strop out what looks like the same leather. I sanded mine with a fairly fine sanding sponge. It gave it a really nice velvety surface which improved the draw. I also sanded the rough side which had the same effect. Im waiting to see how it breaks in just rubbing it by hand but imight also try the neatsfoot. Looks good by the way.

This is very impressive. Simple and beautiful. I am often taken aback by the great work people get up to on this forum and the pleasure I have in checking it out. Great work!

That's a nice piece of work. Gives me ideas. Oh, I forgot, I'm too lazy to do stuff like that,

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Originally Posted by ganboyi

This is very impressive. Simple and beautiful. I am often taken aback by the great work people get up to on this forum and the pleasure I have in checking it out. Great work!

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Wow thank you very much ganboyi .

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Originally Posted by Proraso Man

excellent work, although it looks rather tony-millerish.

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May be the colour lol i'll take that as a biiiig compliment considering that is my first time doing anything like that :) thank you sir!

I second (3rd?) the suggestion for neatsfoot oil. leather shops, shoe repair shops, horse/saddlery suppliers should have some. I would apply it to the back of the strop first so you can see how it goes on, then apply sparingly to the sides and front.
The suggestion to use an abrasive to change the texture has worked for me also.

I like your work, welcome to the SRP!:tu

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Originally Posted by randydance062449

I second (3rd?) the suggestion for neatsfoot oil. leather shops, shoe repair shops, horse/saddlery suppliers should have some. I would apply it to the back of the strop first so you can see how it goes on, then apply sparingly to the sides and front.
The suggestion to use an abrasive to change the texture has worked for me also.

I like your work, welcome to the SRP!:tu

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What kind of abrasive are you refering to exactly ? i want to try that...

so far lathering it and stropping a wine bottle over it has improved the draw dramatically its like its a whole new surface... dont know how much will that last but it also has cupped the strop... what would you recomend to fix that? i was thinking to get some thinner leather to make another strop so i wont have the cupping / sagging problem... i also want to try the neatsfoot oil but for now i will keep rubbing with my palm and hope that will fix it...

how do you think stropping with a screw driver can improve the flattness of my strop?

Thanks

Very nice work. I read your text after looking at the photos and thought, "Wow! An eight inch strop!" Again, nice job.

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Originally Posted by leadduck

Very nice work. I read your text after looking at the photos and thought, "Wow! An eight inch strop!" Again, nice job.

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:) thanks ... but i looked at it and compared with the lenght of the blade and it looked like 7cm would have been just enough for it :)

Nice clean professional looking finish on that. Very good work!

and this is what i plan on doing to the next project,

to cut D rings cost , i plan on using a smaller D ring for the upper end and elongate the leather going around it ... do you think this will prevend sagging or cupping ?

the one on the left is the prototype and the one on the right is the one i built

hope you can understand my amateur drawing

thanks alot

Can a mod please delete this post please? its a copy of the one under it but i need the other one coz it has the picture,thanks

im a newb excuse me

and this is what i plan on doing to the next project,

to cut D rings cost , i plan on using a smaller D ring for the upper end and elongate the leather going around it ... do you think this will prevend sagging or cupping ?

the one on the left is the prototype and the one on the right is the one i built

hope you can understand my amateur drawing

thanks alot

PS: can a mod sort this out please i posted without the pic can anyone delete the previous post without the pic?