Thread: Why would a strop have this option?

Hey guys it is time to put our thinking caps on.

This will sound a little crazy but there is a strop a very trusted friend has told me about that has a unique surface on it that I don't understand. First let me validate myself as saying I have worked with leather for 48 years and understand many of the reasons that leather is finished for certain applications. I was talking to my friend today which is also a master leather worker of over 60 years, We were talking strops and he told me about a strop that was passed to him from his father that was made in Germany Pre WWII and beyond. It has very ornate Sterling silver hardware with a linen back strop the unique thing about it is it has cuts in it at a 90 Deg. angle to the edge that are about 1/64" deep that run across the width of the strop and are a uniform 1/8" apart covering the entire length of the stropping area. For the life of he and myself we can not figure out why - unless the cuts were designed as a loading area for a paste of sorts.


If anyone has any idea please let me know as I am lost. Unfortunately the strop is packed away somewhere on his ranch or I could get a picture of it.

Hides to Art

Here ya go:

Hardware Dealers' Magazine - Google Books

There's a pic of the strop on the second page. The first page has this text:

We recommend our Diagonal Razor Strop The edge of a razor has teeth like a saw In stropping the razor on our diagonal razor strop not only the points but the sides of the teeth receive proper treatment the result is a keener edge than can be obtained in any other way

For the record, If Hides talks leather - listen up. This week, he kindly let me use a couple edging tools for my home-made, nothing fancy working strops. He described how to finish the edge, and with no experience, just by following instructions, my strop are in better shape then when new. I am fortunate to have one of his strops, and the leather and hardware are exquisite. If any of you are near the Portland, OR area, you're welcome to take a look. Its the most beautiful strop I'll prob ever own. Handles are thick and comfortable to use, 'swivel hook is top drawer, attachment hardware and the handles are beautifully tooled, using chicago screws for easy component replacement. If you consider treating yourself to a nice strop, it would be hard to do better. For full disclosure, I have no interest - financial or otherwise w/ Hide's strops. Just the pleasure of getting to know a fine gentleman.

I bought a Russian leather strop on e-Bay that looked fairly new. It had similar lines on the back but they weren't diagonal. And that side was as soft as fine glove leather. The linen was as hard as a rock. I sold it :<0)

Hey Zib, thank you for the link that is a great lead and fun to read about the other items as well.

I had to wait for Mountain Time to roll around before I could make a phone call to Wyoming to ask a few more questions about the strop. The cuts on the strop are 90 degrees to the edge and not at a diagonal to the edge. This got me to thinking about the diagonal strop you posted. The strop you posted could only work in a certain direction for let us say a person that was right handed. Do you think this could be designed for either a right of left handed person? Considering the social stigma attached with being left handed during the period - just a thought! I am going to encourage my friend to see if he can locate it. I sure would like to figure this one out to a conclusive answer.

I had a small strop with a diamond pattern on it that I got with a razor purchase. The leather was hard as a rock and I never used it for fear of damaging my razor(s). I also have one of Hidestoart strops. I can tell you it's a thing of beauty and the real deal for sure. Tremendous craftmanship and absolutely top drawer materials both leather and hardware. As Pinklather said the handles make it very comfortable to use and easy to keep the strop taut. I was leery of nicking it but with the Chicago screws I always have the option to replace the leather if necessary. I also have no interest, financial or otherwise, in Kevins strops. Just the hope he will continue and enjoy his "straight" journey. It's a real pleasure working with Kevin.

I would bet it was only made for right hander's given the time period. Our society didn't get "lefty friendly" for some time. I never seen one in person, so they must be pretty rare. It'd make a cool collector's item in any case.

I just spoke to my buddy this evening and he can not seem to find it after looking this afternoon. I am almost on the verge of making one up to experiment with it to figure out why someone came up with this idea. I guess the only thing stopping me is to build a jig that I can slide down and keep the cuts even and uniform in depth. Any ideas here are welcome.

My first thought is Tire Siping for traction on ice,,

The treads are cut much like that to allow for better flex and for the tiny cuts to grab better,, I could see perhaps that the siped leather might be thought to be more effective for the same reason


Siping (rubber) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I always assumed that it was to prevent cupping.