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Homemade strop leather prep?

Also noticed that under 60x magnification, the edge looks rougher after stropping on the leather than it does after stropping on a cotton belt loaded with .5 micron CromOx paste. Is there any chance an abrasive was used in the tanning process that needs to be washed off?
 
Too bad they're sold out of 2-1/2" wide pieces.

I have found that with vegetable-tanned leather, 80x > 120x > 220x alox or garnet sandpaper will leave a kind of "Russian leather" finish that can be easily pasted. Sand lightly, following the length of the piece placed on a bench, holding the paper in your hand. Vacuum off the surface of the leather after each grit.

You can also use it "as is" as that stage, as a hanging strop, although humidity absorption might be an issue down the road if left unpasted. Perhaps a light application of Dovo yellow paste or neat's-foot oil would help here when the time comes.
 
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The 2-1/2 inch is what I got, they were out of 3" when I ordered. I put 3 drops of neat's-foot oil on my palm and rubbed it in a 16 inch piece, laid it smooth side up on the bench, and stropped. That's when I got the "looks rougher after leather than after cromox at 60x" effect.
 
The 2-1/2 inch is what I got, they were out of 3" when I ordered. I put 3 drops of neat's-foot oil on my palm and rubbed it in a 16 inch piece, laid it smooth side up on the bench, and stropped. That's when I got the "looks rougher after leather than after cromox at 60x" effect.
Was the draw very heavy when you did this. I was using a paddle strop with heavy draw once that seemed to cause a lot of tooth.
 
The 2-1/2 inch is what I got, they were out of 3" when I ordered. I put 3 drops of neat's-foot oil on my palm and rubbed it in a 16 inch piece, laid it smooth side up on the bench, and stropped. That's when I got the "looks rougher after leather than after cromox at 60x" effect.

I prefer a 2-1/2" strop. That 16" piece might work well sanded and pasted, on a piece of plywood. I assume you still have a longer piece? Personally, I'd cut that to a 24" length, add a grommet at one end and then attach it to a doorknob with a leather cord/shoelace. Try stropping with the surface as received before adding neat's-foot oil and see if that causes the tooth effect or not. If it does, then sand it to achieve the Russian leather effect and see if that helps, again before adding neat's-foot oil.

With neat's foot oil, I put 1-2 drops on a palm then rub my palms together. Then I apply the oil from the palm of my dominant hand just as though I were rubbing it before stropping. Then I apply oil from the palm of my off-hand, starting from the opposite end of the strop, again as though rubbing it before stropping. That way, the oil is equally spread in the middle. Leave it to air out overnight.
 
Bluesman, if by heavy draw you mean lots of "drag" or resistance or friction, it actually felt "slicker" or "smoother" than the 2" cotton belt (with and without cromox) and looked "toothy" at 60x both before and after I oiled it.

Alum of Potash, that's basically how I did it after I tried it "straight out of the box"

I was planning to get it working, then glue it to a paddle. If I can get it right, I've still got 30 or more inches to make a hanging strop. (as well as 5 or 6 feet of the 2" cotton belting) I saw somewhere suggested to "roll" it with a bottle to "smooth and soften" the leather and also heard of "lathering" it to condition it. I could even scrounge up some lead to "burnish" it if needed. (or some 2" round bronze prop shaft, might be less toxic)
 
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