Thread: "Proper" Width of a Strop?

The "leather splitter" refered to is called skiver by the leather and other industries. The verb is: to skive.

4" is probably a bit too wide.

I have an SRD 3" black latigo and a 2.5" roo hide from MickR. Both of these widths work very well for me and I wouldnt want anything wider. I dont need to do an X at all on the 3" and only a very slight one on the 2.5", and I definately wouldnt say either of those strops are tricky to use.

I started out on a 2" Dorko strop and I got used to the X stroke after about 3 shaves as well. Its quite an easy motion!

But I think you might find a 4" strop a little too wide perhaps.

Originally Posted by nipper

The "leather splitter" refered to is called skiver by the leather and other industries. The verb is: to skive.

Quite possibly nipper has it right as it applies to your own country However here in Australia and I daresay most other parts of the world, skiving is a similar but different technique to splitting and in the leather industry you will be looking for a leather splitter for the task I mentioned. Skiving, as such, is more a beveling of the edges rather than taking off leather on a larger scale. Splitting will take off the the entire width of the strap, to the depth you want, in one go. You can split with a well honed knife (I'm talking cut-throat razor sharp here. Literally!) and some practice, but a dedicated splitter will do the job with less fuss and no practice. You can buy hand skivers, but they won't measure up to the width your trying to thin down and the blades are curved, taking a deeper bite from the centre than the edges. I would look at going to a saddler's shop or similar (Shoe makers may help) and asking them to split the leather until it was even across the entire length.
My statement is based on years of leather working experience, making whips, knife sheathes, pouches, necklaces etc, and most recently, though usually not necessary for the task, strop making.


Mick

to OP: i have a 6"x1.25" frame strop (like loom strop) that i like very much. Ive also heard of old strops that were no more than an inch wide. so go ahead and try the 1.5 inch strip of leather you have left over.

mickr: i've heard of leather splitting referred to as skiving (skeeving?). they were most certainly talking about what you are describing, and not beveling edges.

Well, I took the advice on using a triangle bracket for the top portion. I couldn't be bothered to shop around for one, so I bought some 3/16 cold rolled steel, and used my oxy/acet torch to make one, turned out great.



My apologies for the blurry picture. I then just tied some rawhide to the other side to make a handle.



I was able to get most of the ridges out by burnishing the leather with a wine bottle. Thanks for the advice, everything turned out great.

Next project is to make that 1.5inch strop, and I might back the 2.5 one with linen eventually. Is there a specific type of linen to use, and how would you affix it to the back of the leather?

Well, I used the 1.5" strip and the last of my chicago screws--I think I'm going to use this one primarily for pocket/hunting knives.

Originally Posted by carsonauto

Well, I used the 1.5" strip and the last of my chicago screws--I think I'm going to use this one primarily for pocket/hunting knives.

Watch out for door knobs.
I like to loop over both the inside and outside knob
so I am not pulling the knob. If you ever had an old
style knob come off and lock someone in the can
you will know why.