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Thread: Strop Leather

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    Default Strop Leather

    I'm thinking about making a 12" by 3" bench/paddle strop and would like some advise. I'm made a few strops for tools out of leather from Woodcraft. I'm not sure if this leather is very good for razors though. All I know is that it's vegetable tanned, which really means nothing to me. I'd understand if it was sun tanned but that's the only tanning process I know of.

    There's a Tandy shop on the way to my daughter's house in Nashville and I'm usually up there 3 or 4 times a month. I've been looking at tandy's website and found some Latigo leather that I thought might be okay. I think I've seen latigo strops before but not sure. What would be a good leather for a razor strop and what weight is best?

    Thanks and I apologize if this topic has been discussed a zillion times. BTW, I have a hanging strop and balsa strop I got from whippeddog.com. Right now, I'd just feel a little more comfortable with a bench strop that's a little wider than the hanging strop.
    Last edited by gllh17; 05-26-2011 at 07:39 PM.

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    I've seen other recomend leather from Tandy's on threads on thus topic before and I know latigo is a common leather for strops. I would wait till your next trip to your daughter's and pick it up maybe a few different kinds also so that you can try them all this would be quite easy if you fashion a bench strop with a surface designed for interchangeable materials as in magnetic or I used industrial velcro.

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    Fairly new to this world but I can tell you that I also went to the local Tandy shop. Told the guy i wanted to make a razor strop. He immediately told me i needed some vegetable tanned leather (I knew that part), and showed me some scraps he had. They were scraps of tooling leather, about 5mm thick and very stiff; if you've ever done any leather work you know what tooling leather is. In my younger days as a scout, we would wet the smooth side and then use decorative stamps and make nice little whatevers. I thought this leather would be way too stiff from what i had seen on the stropping videos, but i bought a chunk for around 23$, took it home and cut it in strips. I got 2 strips that were 3" and 4" by 20" and another 2"x 16" strip. like i said, it was pretty stiff so I put some neatsfoot oil on it. That leather soaked up the oil in no time, so i put a little more. Long story a bit shorter; before you knew it I had dumped a whole bottle of neatsfoot oil (6 oz or so) in to this one strip of leather! And it was still pretty stiff! And no, it wasn't oozing oil.

    Well, I'm still using that strop, on the counter. I don't have it mounted to a piece of wood or anything, it lives on my bathroom window sill. It seems to work, the 2 razors I bought shave ready are still shave ready after 3-4 months. It's a bit more pliable than it was at first, probably because i use it to wipe my fingers with after i put pre-shave oil on, but still no where near as pliable as the strops I see in the videos. I figure I'll just keep using it like i am, maybe someday glue it to a stick with some felt on the other side.

    As a side note, I went back to the leather store and bought some latigo because I have heard it makes good strops. The guy cut me strip, rolled it up and put it in a bag for me. When I got it home and took it out of the bag, it had wrinkles from being rolled and unrolled. I've never used it because the wrinkles bug me. They're smooth wrinkles but...

    So, for whatever that's worth, there 'ya go.

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    Senior Member blabbermouth niftyshaving's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gllh17 View Post
    I'm thinking about making a 12" by 3" bench/paddle strop and would like some advise. I'm made a few strops for tools out of leather from Woodcraft. I'm not sure if this leather is very good for razors though. All I know is that it's vegetable tanned, which really means nothing to me. I'd understand if it was sun tanned but that's the only tanning process I know of.

    There's a Tandy shop on the way to my daughter's house in Nashville and I'm usually up there 3 or 4 times a month. I've been looking at tandy's website and found some Latigo leather that I thought might be okay. I think I've seen latigo strops before but not sure. What would be a good leather for a razor strop and what weight is best?

    Thanks and I apologize if this topic has been discussed a zillion times. BTW, I have a hanging strop and balsa strop I got from whippeddog.com. Right now, I'd just feel a little more comfortable with a bench strop that's a little wider than the hanging strop.
    Tandy has a lot of different types of leather. Any leather that has a
    smooth surface can make a good strop. The hard part in my mind
    is getting the paddle shape and dimensions right.

    Select a clean bit of leather and glue it to the paddle.
    You can sand it a little, a lot or not at all. You can
    lightly oil with Kneads Foot Oil, mink oil, strop dressing
    or nothing.

    A little bit of any dressing helps protect the edge
    by leaving a thin layer that slows down rusting
    of the edge.

    Home made strops can work very well. I have
    made many and each one has taught me
    something. I highly recommend it if the materials
    are easy to come by.

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    Thanks for the information. Maybe next week I can get by Tandy and buy a few pieces of leather. I've never been to Tandy so I'm not sure what the purchase options are, but I'd like to get a strip of latigo and one or two other smooth leather strips. I like the idea of the magnetic/velcro interchangeable strop. I read leadingedge's post and I think I can do it. I'll probably try a velcro one first since I think I have some on hand.

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    May your bone always be well buried MickR's Avatar
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    Veg tanned and grade one leather, is what I would ask for. It won't matter if it's latigo, horse, cow or old MacDonalds farm goat really, they will all draw a little different, but the end result will be the same, and you will know what the finest grade of that kind of leather can do for you.


    Mick

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    Quote Originally Posted by MickR View Post
    Veg tanned and grade one leather, is what I would ask for. It won't matter if it's latigo, horse, cow or old MacDonalds farm goat really, they will all draw a little different, but the end result will be the same, and you will know what the finest grade of that kind of leather can do for you.




    Mick
    Thanks, that's what I'll ask for.

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  10. #9
    May your bone always be well buried MickR's Avatar
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    Buying online is fine if you have a good working rapport with the seller, but I would rather go and see the merchandise, build a rapport with the seller, let them know just what you want and what sort of quality you expect. Fine for those of us that use a fair bit of leather, but for those of us that don't, I would still recommend that the OP get to inspect just what he intends to spend money on. Leather is a natural product and regardless of grade quality, it will still have a mark or blemish, scar or whatnot on it somewhere. It's best to know what you want the leather for, in this case a strop, and then get the bit of leather that you want that is the best for the task.
    I have a whip-maker mentor, now retired, who would place his order via 'phone. He would buy 100 'roo hides and 10 Red hides at a time. He was not afraid to return them at the tanneries cost if they didn't meet his standards. The tannery soon learnt that he wouldn't accept any sub par first grade hides, and would select for him the cream of what was in stock. He taught me to do the same, no matter how small my requirements were, if I couldn't go in to select my own, then I was to uphold high standards. I use the same tannery he used to use since it's only half an hour up the road. For him it was a six hour round trip. And as good as they are, they still have some grade one garbage just waiting for the careless purchaser.
    Just my humble advice. I'm sure others have had varying experiences.


    Mick
    Last edited by MickR; 05-27-2011 at 09:50 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by deadrift View Post
    As a side note, I went back to the leather store and bought some latigo because I have heard it makes good strops. The guy cut me strip, rolled it up and put it in a bag for me. When I got it home and took it out of the bag, it had wrinkles from being rolled and unrolled. I've never used it because the wrinkles bug me. They're smooth wrinkles but...

    So, for whatever that's worth, there 'ya go.
    It still amazes me that many companies that deal with leather exclusively still have no idea of what will ruin a piece instantly. I am convinced the employees are taught how to sell leather but have never used it for anything in their lives. This goes for big commercial suppliers as well.

    There is nothing like getting a large supply of leather and upon unpacking realizing that the hides were perfect right up until they were rolled for shipment.

    Tony

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