Thread: Making a Strop

First thank you to all those who posted suggestions on improvising a strop. The newspaper is turning into a valuable training tool and MAXI was a huge help on helping repair my poormans strop from whippedog.com

Today I finally made it to Tandy. I manage to pick up 3"x50" natural cow hide for a decent price. I also grabbed some 3" rings, Chicago screws, neats foot oil and a small thing of Leather dye. The dye was because the cow hide was natural in colour as per attached image.

I went for the cowhide only because the Red latigo I wanted only came in 2.5" and I really wanted a 3" strop.

So my question is am I okay to dye this stuff to use as a strop? Should I do any other prep to the leather prior to using it? It is pretty supple felling right now, similar to a decent mens belt

Leave it out in the sun for awhile and it will take on some color and the oil will add some color. I would not want to add dye to a strop as you really have no clue how the razor will react to it and if it will leave raised pigments on the strop that would not be noticed normally but with a razor may.

The oil will make it a nice amber color all by itself.

I personally like undyed strops, since I use a damp washcloth to clean the strop every 6 months or so, and the dye colors the washcloth...

Dye it or don't, the choice is yours. If you dye it, let the leather absorb the first coat for at least 20 minutes then rub it down thoroughly with a bit of flannolette to remove any excess. Give it a second coat if required and repeat the rub down with a fresh bit of cloth. Seal the leather with some leather dressing and let it absorb into the leather and give it another rub down. You really should have no problem with dying the leather and the dye should not harm the razor as you should be ensuring the razor is clean and dry before putting it away.I would also recommend using an alcohol based dye and not a water based one. You don't want moisture trapped in the leather from mis judged drying time prior to sealing. Just my advice on the subject.
Also whatever you use to seal the leather, be it neatsfoot, saddle soap or a dedicated leather sealer will change the draw of the strop in different ways. Experimentation will be the only way to find what suits your tastes best.


Mick

Thanks everyone and Mick especially. Your information was most helpfull.

So here is my first attempt at a Strop. Of the material I got from Tandy I have enough to make another, but I thought I would wait and see what to improve on after using this one.

Nice job, and now I'm going to offer a suggestion that I feel will be an improvement. Swap those Rings for Dee's. It will mean making some new tabs to hold them in place as well, but you will get a more even pressure across the whole width of the strop. All up, a damn fine looking strop.


Mick

Definitely a great first attempt, heck, even a good second or third. +1 on swapping out the round rings for D rings. They do work much better.

I haven't made a strop yet, but I have done some work with leather; Something to consider for your next strop is to use leather stain instead of dye. It penetrates deeper and has less bleeding. Oh, an +1 on the D-rings.

Nice work!

Originally Posted by MickR

Dye it or don't, the choice is yours. If you dye it, let the leather absorb the first coat for at least 20 minutes then rub it down thoroughly with a bit of flannolette to remove any excess. Give it a second coat if required and repeat the rub down with a fresh bit of cloth. Seal the leather with some leather dressing and let it absorb into the leather and give it another rub down. You really should have no problem with dying the leather and the dye should not harm the razor as you should be ensuring the razor is clean and dry before putting it away.I would also recommend using an alcohol based dye and not a water based one. You don't want moisture trapped in the leather from mis judged drying time prior to sealing. Just my advice on the subject.
Also whatever you use to seal the leather, be it neatsfoot, saddle soap or a dedicated leather sealer will change the draw of the strop in different ways. Experimentation will be the only way to find what suits your tastes best.


Mick

How would 'Dubbin' go as a dressing for a strop?
I have some khaki stuff left over that we were issued for boots.
Cheers,
Geoff

Originally Posted by dyimages

First thank you to all those who posted suggestions on improvising a strop. The newspaper is turning into a valuable training tool and MAXI was a huge help on helping repair my poormans strop from whippedog.com

Today I finally made it to Tandy. I manage to pick up 3"x50" natural cow hide for a decent price. I also grabbed some 3" rings, Chicago screws, neats foot oil and a small thing of Leather dye. The dye was because the cow hide was natural in colour as per attached image.

I went for the cowhide only because the Red latigo I wanted only came in 2.5" and I really wanted a 3" strop.

So my question is am I okay to dye this stuff to use as a strop? Should I do any other prep to the leather prior to using it? It is pretty supple felling right now, similar to a decent mens belt

I had NO IDEA there was a tandy in canada ! Before I bought my first strop I thought I had searched for every leather supplier here to USA ....