Thread: I think... I've made something special

I don't know if any of you remember, a while ago I made myself a large paddle strop using kangaroo leather. It worked OK, but like most prototypes it had some issues I was not 100% happy about. For one thing it was too big. It looked and felt like I was using a cricket bat to strop on. Second, and more importantly, was the kangaroo leathers draw. Or rather lack of draw. The leather looked and felt wonderful to touch, but there was hardly any draw to speak of. The razor just glided smoothly over it without any drag, and this compromised the stropping effect. It was really frustrating. I really wanted to use this strop that I had made myself, but my TM strop, which is latigo, just worked better because it had better draw, so I ended up always using that.

So the experiments began.

A lot of time (and wasted leather) later and I have the Mk2. The leather has been specially treated with a top secret combination of substances which has given the roo leather a fantastic, smooth, yet grippy draw. It now really does the business aligning the edge. I can honestly say that this kangaroo leather, combined with the special treatment, out-strops anything I have tried. And I have been trying a LOT of things in the course of my experimentation.

The strop itself remains a paddle design. The finest kangaroo leather comes from the smaller animals. Of course this means that it is thinner. Roo leather is supper strong for its weight, but even so, thin means it has some stretch, and that could lead to cupping as it breaks in. So it stays a paddle, although I have tuned it to make it more usable. It is carved out of a single piece of maple, 18mm thick. It has had the stropping surface shrunk to a more sensible 65mm (2.5") x 38mm (15"). I found the easiest way of using the Mk1 was by holding the handle in my left hand and resting the blunt end on the sink or a towel rail. To help this, non skid rubber feet have been added to the base of the Mk2. The wood now has a polyurethane finish rather than the bees wax on the Mk1, which looked nice but was less durable.

I am going to try and make another one this weekend, just to make sure that the special treatment that has given the leather its "super stropping" capabilities was not a one-off fluke. If it works... eureka! I've finally cracked the secret to making kangaroo leather strop the way I want it to.

Nice lookin paddle
Just to put your mind at peace . Even if a hanging roo strop were to cup it would flatten out during stropping because its so thin.
Speaking of draw I was just telling MickR how much draw his roo strops had relative to my Kanayama horsehide. I guess it depends on what your used too. I want my roo strops slicker

I have one of MickR's roo hide strops and I really like the draw on it. I was looking for something with more draw than the latigo I had and that roo strop really hits the spot!

Nice work on that paddle, it looks really good!

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Nice lookin paddle
Just to put your mind at peace . Even if a hanging roo strop were to cup it would flatten out during stropping because its so thin.
Speaking of draw I was just telling MickR how much draw his roo strops had relative to my Kanayama horsehide. I guess it depends on what your used too. I want my roo strops slicker

Possibly different tanneries are using different processes. I do like a fair bit of draw but this roo untreated was not doing it for me.

But the good thing about having my own process is I can tailor it to go from practically no drag at all to needing Popeye arms and a run-up. From a DIY manufacturing perspective that is perfect for me. I could essentially make myself five strops, all exactly the same except the draw.

It will depend on the Tannery processes. I use a Tannery local to me and that has a reputation for having the best 'roo hide on the market. Even then I still only use grade one hides.The hides I select are the same as those used by professional whipmakers and also hides used in *Falconry (*a little thicker than standard). The process used for tanning these hides is the same, but the whip hides are finished off in a tallow. The Falconry is glazed and feels a bit slicker (You want one of them Oz? Yeah course ya do. I'll send one down soon.). Other hides can be chrome tanned (I don't like them) and others are unglazed, and feel a tiny bit rougher under the hand. Rougher as far as a fine grain hide goes anyway.
Maybe if you use a grade one whipmakers/lacing hide you might be able to do away with your Colonel Sanders routine. Might save some time and give you a guaranteed consistency. Just a thought. Experimentation is always a good thing though.


Mick

Nice work!


Later,
R

Looks great! Interesting thread. I look forward to future reports!

Originally Posted by MickR

The Falconry is glazed and feels a bit slicker (You want one of them Oz? Yeah course ya do. I'll send one down soon.).
Mick

Thanx Mick. Ya talked me into it you silver tongued devil

Gotta say I'm impressed with the way these work

I was at Tandy Leather a while back getting some material for the same type of project.
This place is like a Leather superstore..Roo, Snake, Gator, Horse, Cow, You name it, they have it...I too wasn't all that impressed with Roo they showed me..Seemed, almost slick...As you mentioned, no draw...I went with standard old Cowhide as I'll probably use the paddles for pastes, etc...

Originally Posted by zib

I was at Tandy Leather a while back getting some material for the same type of project.
This place is like a Leather superstore..Roo, Snake, Gator, Horse, Cow, You name it, they have it...I too wasn't all that impressed with Roo they showed me..Seemed, almost slick...As you mentioned, no draw...I went with standard old Cowhide as I'll probably use the paddles for pastes, etc...

As Mick said, there are several different tanning processes that they can give to roo leather, just like cowhide. This stuff that I have been using would be BEAUTIFUL for a wallet or something like that, but it was a bit too slick for a strop, IMO. But I'm actually glad I'm using that type now that I have worked out my "11 secret herbs and spices" as it allows me to change my draw depending on how I want the strop.

I believe kangaroo is one of the best leathers you can get. It just needs to be handled a bit differently and, because it is a bit "exotic", not too many people have played around with it. That is one of the reasons I spent the time experimenting and messing around. Nobody is likely to re-invent anything too new with cow or horse. Exotic leather is the only possibility for any interesting discoveries.