Thread: Making A Strop?

There seems to be sticky threads all over this site on how to do pretty much everything, but not so much on making strops.

Let's say I wanted to do this and do it right...I did a search and didn't come up with much...I know i will need leather, a leather punch, and some rivets...but after that?:

-Let's say I get some leather, what kind of treatment is normally done?
-Regarding hardware...D Rings shouldn't be that hard if I wanted to use them, but what about some of the more ornate clasps on top...I doubt these guys are forging and hammering out these things themselves...they are probably getting them from somewhere, right?
-How does one imprint the leather? I'm guessing some kind of metal stamp is used...where are those made?

I'm kind of just looking for overall information on strop construction...I don't think I will be challenging either of the Miller's any time soon...but for starters I'd at least like to make myself a really nice strop. If you kind folks can at least get me pointed in the right direction, once I get started I will start a thread that documents the journey and (hopefully) answers all the little questions in my head I'm not even asking here for other folks.

Much appreciated!

Tandy Leather has all your answers. Ebay has some of the hardware. I googled and found other sources of hardware. Which leather and what treatment is where the voodoo starts happening.

It just keeps getting better.

+1 on Tandy Leather. They must have one near you. I've been there myself, They offer classes and materials. They carry all kinds of leather, including Roo, which surprised me.

Having made a bunch of strops and a bunch in leather, I agree Tandy is a good place to start. Just be forewarned, you will most probably pay more for your custom strop than just buying a quality ready-made strop. Dropped over a hundred buck there the other day.

Strops and stropping like everything in this hobby is/are a matter of preference. And you can make them as fancy or utilitarian as your needs and wishes dictate. Little things will make a difference to you, for example, I prefer a D ring to a leather handle and I prefer a piece of Para cord to a fancy sticking swivel.

Almost any leather will do the job, but once you get into pasted strops and in my opinion the true strength and flexibility of stropping, the stropping materials and the quality of finish on your edge, the sky is the limit. It can become a matter of preference, budget and utility.

Like most things in this forum a search of “Strop Making” and a bit of reading will produce the sources for most anything you are looking for. Again Tandy is a good place to start and will have most everything you need. But if you look around, tools and materials are everywhere. Recently at a swap meet, I purchased 3 copy paper boxes, filled with every tool in the Tandy Catalogue and then some, Hundreds of stamps, blades, cutters, punches, you name it…$50 bucks. The guy did not want to split it up to sell and got tired of lugging it around for months. The other day at a garage sale I bought a 3’ by 3’ piece of unused swede leather for 50 cents.

Strop making is just another turnoff on the road called straight razor shaving. Enjoy the journey.

There's a sticky on making a strop in the stropping forum (and also in the Wiki I think), done by an erudite and handsome young man with a bright future, or so I hear

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...-pictures.html

Not sure if it will be of any use to you, but it might be a start.

James.