Boar Strop + Noobie Stropper
- Thread starter duke762
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My Boar hide strop was made by Certifyd.
The horsehide strops that I have tried were faster acting that the shell that I have used also. Again a pretty small sample size, two horse hides to one shell.
Odd, for me horse butt was utterly useless.
It wasn't until my barber gave me his Red Imp that things started moving along nicely.
It wasn't until my barber gave me his Red Imp that things started moving along nicely.
I'm not saying that horse hide is better than shell, just that my recent experience with it seems similar to your remarks concerning boar leather as given.
- Thread starter
- #27
I went after the boar/fish strop with some 320 W/D. Things are looking much better. As the 320 loads it also burnishes. it seems to be getting darker and a little sheen to it. Much, much better than out of the package.
It would be nice to have some before and after shots, if you've taken them. Or at least some after shots, please.
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No, no, I completely understood what you meant.
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- #30
Well that short period of progress didn't last long. Stopped sanding to make my last post and 10 minutes later big trouble breaks out. At the top of this thing the 320 start eating it up really bad. I mean like sanding wet cardboard. I wonder if there's even a sheen to be had on this spot. As I always say..." It ain't broke til' I can't fix it". I will slog on with this until it is usable or I ruin it.
My theory is that the hide was not fleshed well or a nap was raised during this process. The hide may have then been run through rollers compressing it into a fishy pattern of compressed nap. When sanded during manufacturing the sanding failed to clean up the surface. I think it has promise but it's going to take a lot of work. I'm wondering if maybe I should resand the whole thing to get an even surface. Any advice would be really helpful at this point.
My theory is that the hide was not fleshed well or a nap was raised during this process. The hide may have then been run through rollers compressing it into a fishy pattern of compressed nap. When sanded during manufacturing the sanding failed to clean up the surface. I think it has promise but it's going to take a lot of work. I'm wondering if maybe I should resand the whole thing to get an even surface. Any advice would be really helpful at this point.
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I don't think you will every really get a sheen on a #827. The working side of this is the flesh side which will always basically be a rough or best case matt surface as there is no skin. The skin (hair side) is the back. On modern #827 strops this side is usually corrugated where it was run through rollers to compress the structure of the leather and give it a more firm temper. You may get a finer surface but not a shine. Must will also depend on where in the hide this was cut from. Closer to the rear and spine the more dense it will be, the closer to the belly the more loose the fibers are and it will always be rather hairy even if sanded. Any Illinois #127 will be the opposite and like most strops have the skin side as the working side, the flesh side as the back. For me the 827 was meant to be an aggressive strop with a heavy draw.
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- #32
What I was fighting was the original nap that was rolled and hardened. It's all making sense now. I guess you could say it came from the factory requiring some refining by the end user. Certainly was of no use as delivered.
Well I needed to remove the factory hard, one directional grain and replace it with a fresh softer, flesh without a directional grain. Sanding seemed to pull the fibers longer. I was frustrated and thinking I'll try one last thing before giving up. I used a tiny, tiny wood plane from Harbor Freight. I had played with it before and had replaced the blade with a razor sharp D2 blade I made. Bending the strop over my knee and working with a mere whisper of plane blade exposed I laid waste to this beast. I went against the grain first and even went with the grain. A suede like surface appeared with a fairly uniformed nap with no massive directional issues. I removed about a teaspoon of material.
Well all this work to get it functional I have to ask....do some folks actually prefer these or are they used for certain specialties? Why would some one want a heavy draw the nappy surface and aggressive nature?
Thank you gentlemen for all the help!
Well I needed to remove the factory hard, one directional grain and replace it with a fresh softer, flesh without a directional grain. Sanding seemed to pull the fibers longer. I was frustrated and thinking I'll try one last thing before giving up. I used a tiny, tiny wood plane from Harbor Freight. I had played with it before and had replaced the blade with a razor sharp D2 blade I made. Bending the strop over my knee and working with a mere whisper of plane blade exposed I laid waste to this beast. I went against the grain first and even went with the grain. A suede like surface appeared with a fairly uniformed nap with no massive directional issues. I removed about a teaspoon of material.
Well all this work to get it functional I have to ask....do some folks actually prefer these or are they used for certain specialties? Why would some one want a heavy draw the nappy surface and aggressive nature?
Thank you gentlemen for all the help!
So is it safe to say that it isn't a boar strop?
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- #34
Yes it is. Illinois 827. No signs use use prior to me getting it. Not usable as received.
When I used to sell these 13 years ago they varied widely. Some had a nice napp to them, others were unusable. Remember that these are factory made and completely different that what is made by the many craftsmen you will find here and on the web that make each themselves and look them over well before selling them. You may get an excellent one or you may not. Doubtful that those who make these or sell these use a straight or even know what to look for.
It sure doesn't look like Boar to me.
The Illinois 827 is the Russian strop. Probably steerhide like their others but manufactured differently to make it more dense (the corrugated press marks on the back of modern ones). Vintage ones may well have been horsehide.
Thanks. That's what I was thinking as boar hide has characteristic pore markings on the surface, which are absent as shown above.
I have used pigskin for a few paddle strops in the past and it has a very distinctive surface just as you describe. Mine came paper thin as it was intended for linings in wallets and purses but a piece thick enough to make strops from would be an interesting material to try.
