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I have a quick question guys, in curious if you can leave a leather strop natural after sanding the original surface down. I just finished resurfacing an old horse hide strop for my brother in law and it is as smooth as anything. Good smooth drag and feel, I did a few test strops.
This is it
Attachment 95335
I have a quick question guys, in curious if you can leave a leather strop natural after sanding the original surface down. I just finished resurfacing an old horse hide strop for my brother in law and it is as smooth as anything. Good smooth drag and feel, I did a few test strops.
This is it
Attachment 95335
This is it finished with a canola oil, cotton seed oil, bees wax, cocoa butter and vitamin E moisturizer stick
http://img.tapatalk.com/44944563-e535-2229.jpg
-mods, my apologies for the double posting, my phone app sent it twice :(
I merged the two for you
Honestly I have found that after a "Re-surface" on a strop I have had the best success in getting the draw I like from the Good Ole' Lather teatment using that twice seems to give the strop excatly what I am looking for :)
I tried the lather trick first and I just decided to hell with it I was gunna go all the way with the resurfacing, and honestly I am happy with the end result! I have never done this sort of work before either. I am seriously contemplating doing this to my red imp strop
That looks really good! I am still playing with my strop too. (I just did a post on it the other day) What did you use as a final finish on it?
Just a suggestion.If you have them,use your DMT plates for the sanding,they work great and leave no chance of possible imbedded sandpaper grit in the leather.
In the last pick there I used the rocky mountain dry skin butter. Unfortunately my red Imp strop did not turn out as well, but I think with some time it will be just fine. It's as smooth as anything just not quite shiny yet... Different leather
Unfortunately I do not have any dmt's but I will keep this in mind, thanks pixel :)
When you refinished, what was the finest grit you worked the leather with before oiling it up?
200-400- then 1500. A bit of a stretch but it's all I had. And it was just on used micromesh pad, the 1500
Excellent work and a nice result. You may also consider a final finish using a smooth round glass. Put a little of that butter on it and rub it gently but firmly for about 100 strokes or more on top of a flat table or counter top. Wipe any excess off the strop with a microfiber cloth and check that surface. You just cannot get leather any slicker than that.
Never thought of that, I just hung it up and rubbed it like it was its birthday ;)
I don't remember where I got the suggestion, but I have been using a pumice stone to rub out nicks to an acceptable level. At WalMart they're located with foot care products. For oiling, I have just been hand rubbing.
I've heard of the pumice stone idea, work well?
Yeah I think so. It smooths out the nicked area pretty well. Let me say, though, with the techniques you have employed you obviously know more about fixing strops than I do. A pumice stone is porous, so it probably works to prevent you from sanding too hard like you could potentially do with sandpaper. It only cost me about $4.00.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuntits
This is my first strop restoration :) but thank you for your confidence in my abilities! I'll be picking up a pumice stone soon
JMO guys,but I would not use a pumice stone on a leather strop.just my two cents.
That's what she said. ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuntits
That IS what she said haha I'm glad somebody got it. Why wouldn't you use a pumice stone?
Just FYI 1500 Micromesh is equal to 400 grit U.S. but but cuts differently & gives a much nicer finish than regular papers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuntits
http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/conversion.htm
Pumice stone is fused volcanic glass,and it is also friable,take a screw driver and drag it across a pumice stone with pressure,it crumbles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuntits
You get one micro chip imbedded in your strop and it will be toast,again, JMO
That's good to know, I had no idea they were different! I'm a little surprised to e honest, I thought grit values would be universal :/
@pixelfixed
Good point, maybe I'll just stick with the sand paper. I didn't have any issues with that crumbling on me, I swapped out sheets quite frequently to avoid to much wear
i would be reluctant to use canola oil and some of the other products that you use.. ive been using mink paste, and im not sure i'd recommend that even..
one thing that i'd try without much hesitation is Fromm Strop Dressing.. maybe Dovo Yellow, and probably proper neatsfoot OIL (not compound) and maybe mink OIL (and not the compound paste.. my paste says mink oil on the label mind you.. but i think its a compound paste).. not necessarily all of them combined, just pick one and go with it..
some people have mentioned cleaning strops with a rag damp with naptha, just to wipe the surface clean.. not sure if it'd take off the oils and product that you've applied. probably wont do anything for the oils and product that have penetrated the leather.
Naphtha would probably strip the leather pretty good. I know what I have been using is not conventional, but it has worked for me so far :) but I will remember neatsfoot and mink oils for the next time. May I ask why you would not recommend what I've used, and your current mink paste?
i am speaking out of ignorance, but some oils will go rancid more quickly than other oils. i dont know how the canola oil, cottonseed oil, and cocoa butter will stand up on leather.. im unaware what else is in the vitamin e moisturizer stick or what vitamin e will do for a piece of tanned leather..
some leathers are waxed, so if you want the surface waxed, i guess go for it.
ive tried to look up the ingredients for my "mink oil" paste, but so far no luck. i could be mistaken, but i think its a compound.
it left the two strops i applied it to very smooth, slick, shiny, and very little draw (i would say none on one) im glad i have a third strop with more draw to start with, although i may finish on the other strops. at some point i may clean the surface and see if i can bring back some draw to the leather.. if i loose the smooth surface i can always reapply some mink paste
sounds like you have good draw, or enough draw.
how did you apply your wax?
I rubbed it on generously in swirling motions and then rubbed it in like I was getting the strop ready for my razor. I've found that it works very well at softening the leather before I resurfaced the two strops. But since the resurface only one of them came back shiny and smooth. My red imp I am rather sad at, though I think with continued use it will eventually set properly. If not I'll strip it again
still cant find ingredients for my "BAJ Mink Oil", but apparently others include beeswax, and some are petroleum based.. not sure what that really means.. i wasnt planning on waxing my strops, and im not sure if i would prefer them with or without wax..
so you didnt heat the wax, or use anything to thin it, you just rubbed it on and then rubbed it in?
Lol pretty much, I have a tendency to just do things myself, that includes trying new things without doing my research >.<
hey, if it works, great! i figured it would be difficult to get it spread out nice and even, i wasnt sure how to do it, or how it could be done.
Nah it's pretty easy, it's getting it all worked in that takes some elbo grease