Long story short.
As a newbie to the world of straight razors I thought I might make myself a strop to get started (and also because I'll always make things myself rather than buying them, if at all possible.)
For some reason I decided to get kangaroo leather rather than cow, just because... well, I just did. Patriotism? I dunno.
Anyway, once the hide arrived I loved the surface but was a bit worried that the leather might be too thin and stretchy to make a hanging strop from. I know others have done it with success but, since this is my first one, I thought I might be better off with something more tried and true. (I got a nice used TM beginners strop from a fellow Great Southern Land member, Thanks Mike.)
But this leather was still too nice to let go so here is my solution. It's just a little over 3" wide and has a stropping area 15" long. I treated the handle and sides with bees wax polish and I think I might put a balsa veneer on the other side for paste. Or rubber feet. Or both. That way I can lay the thing flat on the deck without the balsa getting dented.
I really like the feel of it and the size. All the other paddle strops I've seen have been on the skimpy side. This one is wide enough to strop any razor without an X if you want to.
The only problem is it raises a few eyebrows when people see it in my bathroom and don't know what it's for.
As a newbie to the world of straight razors I thought I might make myself a strop to get started (and also because I'll always make things myself rather than buying them, if at all possible.)
For some reason I decided to get kangaroo leather rather than cow, just because... well, I just did. Patriotism? I dunno.
Anyway, once the hide arrived I loved the surface but was a bit worried that the leather might be too thin and stretchy to make a hanging strop from. I know others have done it with success but, since this is my first one, I thought I might be better off with something more tried and true. (I got a nice used TM beginners strop from a fellow Great Southern Land member, Thanks Mike.)
But this leather was still too nice to let go so here is my solution. It's just a little over 3" wide and has a stropping area 15" long. I treated the handle and sides with bees wax polish and I think I might put a balsa veneer on the other side for paste. Or rubber feet. Or both. That way I can lay the thing flat on the deck without the balsa getting dented.
I really like the feel of it and the size. All the other paddle strops I've seen have been on the skimpy side. This one is wide enough to strop any razor without an X if you want to.
The only problem is it raises a few eyebrows when people see it in my bathroom and don't know what it's for.
Last edited:
