Thread: Strop Leather-Fix or Trim?

Recently I got a sweet deal on a SRD strop leather. Wanting a travel strop, I ordered Tony Miller's "DIY" hardware and a piece of his fabric. I knew the leather was not pristine, so no gripes here.

My question is this: You can see the little nicks on the leather below. All but one place are at one end of the leather. Another small spot is at the other end.

I'm wondering about options. Here are the alternatives I'm pondering. Would you guys give me some advice about which would be best?

1. I can trim this leather and, with Tony Miller's DIY hardware, have a nice strop with about 12-13" of stropping area. Of course, I'll cut the fabric to match.

2. Can these nicks be repaired? If so, I could use the same hardware to produce a full-sized strop which could be used for travel, though the larger size isn't quite as easy to get into the shaving kit. But you never have too may strops, right?

So would you guys kindly look at these pictures and give me some advice?

Many thanks!

BTW, pics taken with a Pentax K7 dSLR with their amazing DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro lens, which practically raises the dead.

I would leave the stuff up by the label alone as you needn't go up that far. The other one maybe take a bit of fine sandpaper and just take off any high spots. Cosmetic doesn't matter if it doesn't hurt the stropping. Flaps can be glued down with contact cement if necessary. I wouldn't cut the strop shorter. Just IMHO.

I was thinking the same thing, they look like they're up pretty high if it's by the logo.
You can smooth them, a pumice stone can be used, and possibly glue them for aesthetic purposes, especially the one in the logo, I'd glue that right down, but that would be up to you. No need to cut or trim...as far as I can see...

You saw my strop, right....?

No need to cut shorter that's for sure. I just trimmed the "flap" with a razor, sanded with 400, 600, 800, & 1K on my first ruprazor strop. I have the same strop on a paddle with .5 micron paste...too good of leather to just outgrow and discard. I've always tried to use all of the strop like you are doing, but you can also simply shorten your stroke like Jimmy mentioned...

Lawson

Glue the small flaps down with clear silicone, applied with a tooth pick. I would not sand it unless you want to change the draw, just strop on it. You can always sand it later, you can’t put back the leather. Any silicone residue will slough off and the edge will float over the divots.

I have strops nicked much worst, that still perform great. Nicks are really an aesthetic rather than a performance issue.

Nice photos.

Marty

I would do a cosmetic fix only. If you try smoothing it down with abrasives it will be even more noticeable. Acrylic paint touch up from craft store would be easy. The artist stuff in the tube is thick and will fill the dents as well.
You will raise some eyebrows walking in the store with a strop too, but then you could get a nice match.

Thanks all, for your advice. Here's what I'm doing for now.

I got my Tony Miller DIY stuff today: the "D Ring" double strop set, with his fabric material. I decided for now to leave the material its present length and assemble the stop. I haven't tried to fix the nicks, though I am quite comfortable with contact cement and leather, having done some leather work in another life, another hobby

I already have two very nice daily strops--both SRD Premium I. One I got new, the other I got (supposedly!) used, but actually nearly pristine, right here on our SRP classifieds. The fabric had the green CrOx on it, so now I have a standard strop with a pasted fabric (unpasted leather), and one just like it, no paste.

So I think I can play with this one. I might cut it off to produce a shorter strop that fits nicely in my travel bag. But for now, I 'm just leaving it as it is. Here's a shot for those who wonder what one of the the Tony Miller DIY sets looks like:

Many thanks for your wisdom and advice, given so generously and entertainingly.

You've finished your project before I could tell you how to run your life.

Ah well, I await another opportunity with bated breath.

Nice looking strop, BTW. It will make a fine traveling companion.

Well that Tony Miller strop hardware kit was so easy--just 9 Chicago screws and the holes aligned just right with the SRD leather. This took all of 10 minutes from opening the package to stropping a razor.

I am still thinking of cutting the length down to give me maybe 12 inches of stropping area so that it fits compactly into my shaving bag, but I'm in no hurry, so you still have time to plan my life for me, at least my life as a stroppist ("stropper" sounds like something I do with a pole...)

Also...I got the D-ring kit because it was cheaper than the kit with handles, and I actually think I like the D-rings better.

Anyone else on that?

Originally Posted by Bruce

You've finished your project before I could tell you how to run your life.

Ah well, I await another opportunity with bated breath.

Nice looking strop, BTW. It will make a fine traveling companion.