Making your own Strop

J

joepa150

Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
350
I am thinking about making my own strop. I don't know of any local leather shops so where would be a good place to buy some leather?

I found hobby lobby has some for really cheap
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/natural-tooling-leather-173849/
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/large-tooling-leather-661579/

Or I can go to Woodcraft which is much farther away and buy leather that is more expensive.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/Pr...=8620&ss=086de7de-040b-4428-bcab-f6a85619cb06

Any other places that may sell leather.

Also which leather would be better.


Any tips on making the strop?
 
For a strop I just have some scrap leather from tandy that I place on the work bench. I crayon on red or white polishing compound.

One of these days I will upgrade but like most things for me if it works I leave it alone. For me simpler is better. I start off cheap and move up if I need to.
 
joepa150 said:
I am thinking about making my own strop. I don't know of any local leather shops so where would be a good place to buy some leather?

I found hobby lobby has some for really cheap
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/natural-tooling-leather-173849/
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/large-tooling-leather-661579/

Or I can go to Woodcraft which is much farther away and buy leather that is more expensive.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/Pr...=8620&ss=086de7de-040b-4428-bcab-f6a85619cb06

Any other places that may sell leather.

Also which leather would be better.


Any tips on making the strop?
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With regard to Woodcraft, I visited my local Woodcraft store last week (Friday). I was also looking to pick up an extra piece of strop leather (I'd bought it there a year or more ago). I was VERY DISAPPOINTED to find that this store doesn't even carry the strop leather 'kit' anymore, as I'd purchased previously. I picked up one of their current catalogs while I was there, and noticed that the paper catalog doesn't list it anymore. I have seen that they still list it via their website, so it seemed odd to me that I couldn't get it at the store anymore (I also had to drive a good distance just to go there in the first place). Just curious if you or anyone else here have looked for or noticed if it's available at your local Woodcraft outlet...

BTW, I noticed while looking at your link to the hobbylobby product, the larger piece (8-1/2" x 11") in the second link is listed at 1/16" thickness. That seems a bit thin for my preference. Everything I've used thus far is about 1/8" or thicker (I think the Woodcraft leather is about 1/8").
 
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xtestifyx said:
My local Woodcraft carries a Strop(Wooden plank with handle and Leather) but not Strop Kit. I guess they took it out of the line :(
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Saw the same thing at my store. Did you check the price tag on it? I think the one I looked at was priced in the $35 - $40 range (yikes). That's why I'd rather make my own...
 
I just hit local thrift stores until I found a wide leather belt. I cut it down and glued it to a board, gave it some jewelers rouge, and it's still holding strong for a $3 investment...although it does have a bit of a curve to it.
 
I've been experimenting with a mini-strop (pocket size) I made a week or so ago. Used a piece of leather cut from a Latigo strap I bought at Tractor Supply a few years ago. I cut a piece about 5" long and used carpet tape (double sided) to stick it to a piece of 1/4" thick x 1-1/2" wide red oak that I picked up at Home Depot. The leather itself had some sort of waxy finish on the smooth side, so I sanded that off using regular sandpaper. Also scraped the leather a bit with a blade from a utility knife. After sanding/scraping the smooth side, I'm initially very impressed with the results I'm getting on my blade edges using the bare leather alone, and I'm contemplating adding a little bit of green compound to it to see how that works out...
 
I visted a local goodwill store, and found some leather belts that were not too "finished" on the inside...
$1.50 each, cut them into 8" strips, mounted them on wood...

Also went to the local Rennaissance fair a few years back. Found a leather costumer, he was selling scrap leather for $2 - $4 a piece...

Found a piece of unfinished leather large enough to make two 3"x8" strops, that I glued to wood (to make a base/handle)
 
I went to a leather shop nearby the other day, picked up some scraps, not sure what type of leather they are, but was able to make 3 mounted on 2x4,s,,2 of them about 10 inches and the other maybe 6 inches long,,I just used some wood glue to mount them,,I just glued them up and will see how they turned out tomorrow, I intend on using the green compound I got from Lee Valley on them.
 
iwannamakeknives said:
Excuse my ignorance, but what is this compound that you all are talking about here? Where all can I get it.
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You can buy pastes, liquids and powders containing aluminum oxide, diamond or other abrasives made specifically for stropping. You can also obtain the same made for polishing metals.

If you google for sharpening supplies or some other such phrase you should turn up some sources.

I use stick type polishing compound. I get mine from Sears. I am sure you can find it in other hardware retailers. I use white and red and rub it on like a crayon.

The polishing type compounds generally have larger abrasives than the stropping compounds. They work for me.

I have also seen stropping compounds in woodworing stores like Rockler.

Good Luck.
 
iwannamakeknives said:
Excuse my ignorance, but what is this compound that you all are talking about here? Where all can I get it.
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Here are some examples, the green compound and diamond pastes/spray seem to be the favorites among many here on BF:

Green (Chromium oxide) compound:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32984&cat=1,43072
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004240/8619/Green-Chrome-Oxide-Compound--6-oz.aspx

Diamond Paste:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=58754&cat=1,43072

Other compounds (white, black, rouge) can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's or Sears, etc. They're made to be used with buffing wheels ordinarily, but can also be applied to strops.

There are lots of brands & sources of it, and I'm sure others here on the forum will chime in here and give you their favorites too...
 
If you want the cheapest possible setup, but want the as sharp as you can get with these set up get:
Go to your local Goodwill or shoe store, or any place that might have ANYTHING related to leather.
Pick up the largest piece you can find UNCOATED. Cut that piece of leather into 3 different pieces, evenly sized. Once you have 3 pieces cut out go to your local lowes and buy #4 and #5 polishing compound the 4 is about 4~3 micron and the #5 is somewhere around 2. Now if you have a woodworking store near you you can find Chromium Oxide Honing Compound usually in .5 micron (when actually the chromium content is about 30%, and the actual micron size can go up to 2 in the MSDS this is why we use liquid and powder compound for quality strops).
Application to the leather:
For the #4 compound (it should be white) take it out of the tube, and cut yourself a BIG chuck off it as I find holding the whole stick to be to brittle, and have to little control. Take a lighter and light it (best if you have a zippo/candle) run the leather along the flame until the leather feels warm to the touch. Now touch the compound to the flame (this compound melts quickly so JUST touch it) and quickly do even one way strokes along a piece of leather. Once the leather has a white tinge to it stop. Heat the leather up again, and take a cheap knife or spatualy or something flat, and rub it in a stropping motion across the leather to make the leather absorb the compound.
Repeat with the #5 compound on the next piece of leather.
For the .5micron compound which is usually uses a softer medium that will go into the leather easier heat the leather up, and heat the compound up a little. Rub it into the leather, and then work it into the leather. Then a apply another coat perpendicular to the other coat then work it in.

If you have no budget.
Order Veggie Tanned Cowhide 2 pieces, and order some horse butt (cordovan is best, but strip will do). Order . .5micron diamond spray (liquid or powder .5 chromium oxide will also work), and same .1 micron diamond spray. These require no heat on the leather or anything for the spray spray it onto a piece of cowhide, but make sure you just "tinge" the leather do NOT "coat" it you should still be able to see the pores of the leather if you look closely. For the liquid chromium liquid squirt 2 or 3, if you have a big piece of cow hide, pea sized drops and using your thumb or a napkin work it into the leather and make sure you can still see some of the leathers natural color under it.
Leave the Horse butt clean, and without compound.



Happy stropping ;)
 
$0.51 for 1X4 scrap wood from Home Depot (cut into 3 pieces.
$3.47 for all purpose glue froum Hobby Lobby
$5.99 for a huge bag of scrap leather Hobby Lobby. I think it said 3lb.
$2.17 for Green buffing compound from Sears

Total with 6% tax is $12.86!!

Now I just need to learn how to strop

Should I have picked up another buffing compound from Sears? They had black, white, and two different reddish ones. Also is Home Depots buffing compound better?
 
joepa150 said:
$0.51 for 1X4 scrap wood from Home Depot (cut into 3 pieces.
$3.47 for all purpose glue froum Hobby Lobby
$5.99 for a huge bag of scrap leather Hobby Lobby. I think it said 3lb.
$2.17 for Green buffing compound from Sears

Total with 6% tax is $12.86!!

Now I just need to learn how to strop

Should I have picked up another buffing compound from Sears? They had black, white, and two different reddish ones. Also is Home Depots buffing compound better?
Click to expand...

Use the firmest leather in your scrap bag.
Be sure your glue layer is very thin and smooth
Those 'reddish' compound bars are actually red and brown. The red one is jeweler's rouge and is nice for final polishing of softer metals, the brown is called 'Tripoli' and is a more abrasive grade as are the black and the white. (The white one is also called Tripoli.) Usually the grading of the abrasive goes Black, white, brown, red, but that sometimes varies from brand to brand. I will sometimes use (in this order for stropping) white, green, then bare leather. I don't bother with the others, but that's only my preference. If you are using powered buffers, you might want to use the red. Note that I said 'sometimes.' Most often I go from the stones or polishing strips directly to green compound on leather, finishing with bare leather. I don't bother with the other colored compounds. They work, but I don't use them.

Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
Use the firmest leather in your scrap bag.
Be sure your glue layer is very thin and smooth
Those 'reddish' compound bars are actually red and brown. The red one is jeweler's rouge and is nice for final polishing of softer metals, the brown is called 'Tripoli' and is a more abrasive grade as are the black and the white. (The white one is also called Tripoli.) Usually the grading of the abrasive goes Black, white, brown, red, but that sometimes varies from brand to brand. I will sometimes use (in this order for stropping) white, green, then bare leather. I don't bother with the others, but that's only my preference. If you are using powered buffers, you might want to use the red. Note that I said 'sometimes.' Most often I go from the stones or polishing strips directly to green compound on leather, finishing with bare leather. I don't bother with the other colored compounds. They work, but I don't use them.

Stitchawl
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Thanks for the tips. I stapled the leather from on one of the strops and the other one I glued (still drying). The last one I will either staple or glue depending on what I liked better. The leather scraps are all pretty stiff and thick.
 
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