Does anyone know where to source such things as wool felt, linen and such for strops? Do fabric shops carry this kind of thing, or would I be better off looking for e-tailors?
The fabric shops I have tried have some webbing, but usually at best 2" wide and not much selection. The felt they carry is fine for pasting to a piece of wood, but not heavy enough for a self-hanging strop. I did take some wool blend felt and attached it to an inexpensive leather for a backing and that made a reasonable piece. But, it would be nice to have some heavier materials. If you find a good source, please share.
You may wan to PM Ambrose who is making some really nice strops and has a source for some canvas webbing. You can find some pictures through the search function.
I did quite an extensive search locally and online and didn't come up with much. I found one roll of 2" cotton buried in the back of a crazy fabric store that had probably been there for years. I did find some online sources in the U.S. with varied selections / widths / weights of cotton webbing:
I've found one source on-line that supplies cotton webbing wider than 2', just one, and you need to buy a couple hundred feet of it.
I might be interested in a group buy if any one else shows any interest.