I have been thinking about making my own shell Cordovan strop for a while now.
As this type of leather is not main steam it's been a bit of a search to find a supplier in Europe. The only one I found is a tannery in Italy and they, by the look of it, sell only whole shells. It would also seem that their market is usually leather goods makers making smaller items, so not really geared towards strops. At a price of around 160 Euro without shipping, it's not cheap, so before I commit to buying a shell I would like to educate myself and see if I can get information.
Calling on all experts here for some advice:
1) It would seem that the thickness of the leather will be around 4oz or 1.8mm. Will that be suitable? Thoughts going through my head are that veg tan leather used for strops is usually thicker than that, my concern being that if it is too thin it may be prone to stretching and cupping. Solution may be to construct the strop with a backing of some sort to prevent that.
2) According to the info on the tannery website there are a range of finishes and colours to choose from. Nice look, but for my purpose my thoughts were to go for a natural matt finish. Does it matter? Is the glazed finish going to be too smooth?
3) What's the typical dimensions of a shell? I know it's sort of an oval form, so not many long strips will come out of it. Any estimates how many 2.5 inch strips of suitable lengths you will be able to cut from it? I can email the tannery and ask if nobody knows.
I am not interested to start making strops for selling, I like working with leather. I think I will be able to make it for about the same price as buying a similar strop if I have to buy a whole shell, and maybe a lot less if I can team up with one or two other locals, but even that is not important. More about the satisfaction of using something daily that you have made yourself.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Here is the link for the tannery, have a look.
As this type of leather is not main steam it's been a bit of a search to find a supplier in Europe. The only one I found is a tannery in Italy and they, by the look of it, sell only whole shells. It would also seem that their market is usually leather goods makers making smaller items, so not really geared towards strops. At a price of around 160 Euro without shipping, it's not cheap, so before I commit to buying a shell I would like to educate myself and see if I can get information.
Calling on all experts here for some advice:
1) It would seem that the thickness of the leather will be around 4oz or 1.8mm. Will that be suitable? Thoughts going through my head are that veg tan leather used for strops is usually thicker than that, my concern being that if it is too thin it may be prone to stretching and cupping. Solution may be to construct the strop with a backing of some sort to prevent that.
2) According to the info on the tannery website there are a range of finishes and colours to choose from. Nice look, but for my purpose my thoughts were to go for a natural matt finish. Does it matter? Is the glazed finish going to be too smooth?
3) What's the typical dimensions of a shell? I know it's sort of an oval form, so not many long strips will come out of it. Any estimates how many 2.5 inch strips of suitable lengths you will be able to cut from it? I can email the tannery and ask if nobody knows.
I am not interested to start making strops for selling, I like working with leather. I think I will be able to make it for about the same price as buying a similar strop if I have to buy a whole shell, and maybe a lot less if I can team up with one or two other locals, but even that is not important. More about the satisfaction of using something daily that you have made yourself.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Here is the link for the tannery, have a look.
Shell Cordovan Toscana Italia
TATRA LEATHER SHOP: Fine vegetable tanned leathers from carefully selected tanneries, only the best quality for the best price
www.tatraleather.com