My 1st home made hanging strop

I currently have a 3" starter strop from Neil Miller but I find that I prefer a narrower strop as it makes me do an X stroke. I found on Ebay a sources of 2" bridle leather, cotton webbing and square ended trigger clips. I have a wood turning lathes and loads of wood offcuts so I thought I would make handles from wood.

Well today was construction day. Alas the motor on my lathe died while making a 2nd handle so I have not made the cotton one, for which I shall now order a D ring, and complete in a few days time.

The leather I received was finished on both sides, which is something I had not expected.
http://i44.tinypic.com/104oxgy.jpg
Having turned the handle and attached it to a block with a slot cut I cut the strap of leather to length, I decided that I wanted to sand one side of the leather to give 2 textures, I then cut a small piece of leather to attach it to the trigger hook. I borrowed a stitch marker from my wife and used an awl to mark the holes then drilled 2 of them out, tied everything together then drilled out the rest. I then stitched everything together.

I then glued the leather into the slot which I had cut to size and popped on a couple of panel pins for good measure.
This being the end result (top is the front bottom is the back)
http://i39.tinypic.com/soyhq1.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/25s3n0z.jpg
Width and length seem good for me and the draw is different on the front and back but both seem good. I think that I will strop some on the back then finish on the front.

Love it! Very nice.

That looks excellent!

Nice, like the handle :)

Very nice work.

Excellent! I'm so jealous of you motivated folks who come up with an idea, and then execute the whole thing in a weekend or a day. I've got a razor I've been "restoring" now for about a month. At this point, I think it's just more like "storing".

Beautiful; waiting on a stropping report!
Thank you for sharing your work.

Great job! Your design looks very well thought out and skillfully executed. Thanks for the pictures.

Love it! Nice work.


Mick

Excellent. Looks great. Just out of curiosity, what is the width?

I'm gonna hazard a guess that it's 2" wide like he said in the original post Stu...:p


Mick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Str8Raz0r

Excellent. Looks great. Just out of curiosity, what is the width?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MickR

I'm gonna hazard a guess that it's 2" wide like he said in the original post Stu...:p


Mick

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Mick is quite correct, I used it last night and it worked very well. I suspect that the sanded side gives a better edge than the fully smooth side but need more testing to be sure.

That smooth side should be giving it the final polish to make for a smoother shave. It could be that because the smooth has less feel to it in the stropping action, it is tricking you psycologically into thinking your getting a better edge from the coarser side. Then again, you just might be getting a better edge from the coarser side. :)


Mick

im making a storp this week, not as fancy as your but i might post picks when i finish it.

Good luck, just plan it through and take your time :)

It really isn't that hard to make a strop, but you do need to follow the old adage, "measure twice and cut once". You should also stick with a first quality leather or Grade 1. You might pay a little more for it, but it will be worth it.


Mick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MickR

That smooth side should be giving it the final polish to make for a smoother shave. It could be that because the smooth has less feel to it in the stropping action, it is tricking you psycologically into thinking your getting a better edge from the coarser side. Then again, you just might be getting a better edge from the coarser side. :)


Mick

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Well after having done some more testing I think you are right, the sanded side seems to be performing like a linen strop where as the smooth side finishes an edge nicely.

That looks beautiful, did you use a sowing awl or just use a thick needle? How does that wooden handle feel when stropping? Looks great!

I would assume he used some large needles, such as those that saddlers use, as he stated that he drilled the holes prior to sewing. I do the same thing in my own leather work. Drilling the holes makes it easier when you want to put in saddle stitches, or some such styles where you use two needles, one on each side of the leather being stitched.


Mick

Sorry I didn't see the paragraph between the two pics saying you used an sewing awl. Still looks really nice!

Hi Jeltz.

You finished it then, very very nice im liking it! If you do make another with the materials left over put my name on the purchase of it please. Hope you enjoy it extra for making it yourself. Nice one :rock:

Cheers MW.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xMackx

That looks beautiful, did you use a sowing awl or just use a thick needle? How does that wooden handle feel when stropping? Looks great!

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The handle feels great, Mick is quite right I used a saddles needle. which was a fairly snug fit so I had to push it through with an off-cut of leather at times.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MoreWhisky

Hi Jeltz.

You finished it then, very very nice im liking it! If you do make another with the materials left over put my name on the purchase of it please. Hope you enjoy it extra for making it yourself. Nice one :rock:

Cheers MW.

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Thanks MW,

To be honest I can't see me going into production, it was fun to make but took about 4 hours in total to do.

Jeltz, I would not recommend the off cut method of pushing a needle through. I've been speared using that method myself. I recommend using a pair of pliers or making the holes a tad larger (not always possible).
You get faster the more you do. trust me on that mate, you get your measurements down pat and just start knocking them out.


Mick

Thanks for the tips