Making my own strop

[Oliwerko]

Hi guys.

I got hold of a fair amount of (what seems to my layman eye as) good quality cow skin. I'd like to make a simple strop for learning from it. The questions are:

1. Is cow skin even suitable for strops?
2. Does the skin need any kind of laquer/finish/polish/whatever to be applied on the surface?
3. Are there any other considerations regarding the surface?

Simply put - is a sheet of cow skin enough to make a proper strop, or is there some 'magic' when it comes to the surface of strops you buy at a shop?

Thanks a lot!

EDIT: Here's a picture to illustrate the thickness, etc.:

 

[dpetrzelka]

Cow skin works wonderfully - but its worth noting that a strop is almost entirely defined by the qualities of the leather - weight, tanning process, finish all contribute to the draw and quality of the stropping. There is no consensus on what works better, let alone best - everyone has their preferences.

An oil tanned leather, which is what it appears you have, should start with a pretty good drawn - cut a 2-3 inch wide piece, hang it up and give it a go. Its good practice to have a smooth even finish on the stropping surface - so select areas that are free from scars, figuring or wrinkles.

If you'd like a stronger drawn add a little neatsfoot oil, if you;d like a little less drawn sometimes a gentle wash/treatment with saddle soap or alcohol can remove some of the oils.

 

[Oliwerko]

Thanks for reply dpetrzelka!

The quality of the leather is what most questions arise from. It's strikingly thin. I can't really imagine sanding this much. (But then again, the surface is quite flat) I checked the whole thing (I have like 2sq meters of it) and most of it is wrinkle/scar free.

Isn't there any other preparation needed? Sanding? Oiling? I thought that there were a few necessary steps in the process to turn a piece of leather into a strop. Or is it just that simple that a strop IS a plain piece of leather?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Bingo. A basic strop is just a piece of leather with hardware that allows it to be conveniently hung for use.

Best width is around 2-3/4" IMHO. Barely wide enough to take the whole edge.

A year or two from now you might laugh at your crude "just a piece of cow skin" strop once you learn more about strops, but for now just use it and enjoy using gear you made yourself. It will gitter done.

 

[Oliwerko]

Yeah, that's why I'm asking here. I have no clue what's good and bad when it comes to leather and/or strops. Do you have any other recommendations as to "learning more about strops"?

From what I've seen, most strop leather (even Larry's poor man strop) is at least 2-3mm thick. The cowhide I have is 1mm or even less. Does this matter? Also, what grit of sandpaper would you use for polishing and flattening the surface?

I don't really have any way of judging if the strop is good or bad. Is there anything that could give me a hint that I'm doing it right?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Well I suggest beveling the edges slightly. 600 grit sandpaper will do. Don't go coarser than about 320 and don't sand if you don't need to. You are right that is kinda thin. Be careful how you attach your hardware so it doesn't cup the strop. Consider leaving the lower end bare, which is also called a barber end. Then you can control the cupping with your index knuckle. But basically just go for it and use it and see what u got.

 

[Oliwerko]

Thanks for advice, I'll see what I can get. My wild guess is that it's going to be too thin to use as a hanging strop because it will be too flexy side-wise, but it may be ideal for a bench strop (or a plank strop, haha). I'll see. Thanks for pointing me in the correct direction. It's nice to know that the sole fact that it's leather is enough to make it a strop. So many complicated things in life that this is kinda hard to believe.

 

[Oliwerko]

While I'm at this, looking for hardware etc., I'd like to order some higher quality leather for future strops. Does this seem reasonable?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/54-LONG-H...afts_Leathercraft_LE&var=&hash=item7473c3dd24

They also have it in natural color, is that a concern? I mean - does this brown finish make any difference in leather qualitty as opposed to its cream-colored natural counterpart like this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-LONG-n...craft_LE&var=500162635585&hash=item2ec832c74c