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This is the same strop I use in my field kit vid.
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(Available in HD!)
[youtube]y-vE6kg7jfc[/youtube]
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Prepping and Loading a Strop
- Thread starter Magnaminous_G
- Start date
Mineral oil would work quite well. I use WD-40 actually. I spray some on a paper towel and use this to clean off the swarf and mork in the green compound that I use. It works very well as a solvent for the base the compound is in so it can be very evenly applied to the strop surface...even though, frankly, that is not terribly necessary for you strop to be effective. You can just crayon some on in a zig zag pattern from side to side and you'll be good.
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I just got some 3'' leather, to make strops with. Somewhere or the other I read about casing the leather. I wet it really wet, and rolled the hell out of it with a rolling pin, and let it lay flat, while it dried. This firmed up the leather incredibly, and makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of my strops.
Locutus D'Borg
Platinum Member
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If you are caught without anything in the field, rub some non-whitening toothpaste into your jeans (above the knee where you can make the denim tight), let it dry, and then strop along your leg.
Seriously, I have stropped a knife or two on my jeans. Not sure how well it sharpened my knives but it sure distressed my jeans nicely
Seriously, I have stropped a knife or two on my jeans. Not sure how well it sharpened my knives but it sure distressed my jeans nicely
Yes this is good. I know a fella who's got a cobblers hammer, with the big flat surface. He does the same thing with that...never thought of trying it with a rolling pin. Brilliant!
You can do it either way. You'll probably get better crayon action if you do the leather prior to oiling and then rub the oil down in on top of the compound. The oil will spread it around. A really oily strop is not what you want I don't think. When I clean a dirty strop I rub the oil on and pick up the swarf. then I wait a little bit...few minutes...for the oil to sink in before giving it the crayon treatment. But I think it doesn't really matter which you do first.
Try also balsa wood with no leather. Go to a hobby store and buy some 3" wide pieces. Crayon right to the wood. Balsa is very flat and doesn't warp. I like it. I've been on a balsa strop kick for a while now but I seem to be easing back to leather. My first strop I made was not flat. It works well enough but it really needs to be flat. I used oak and it warped (actually it was a 100 year old rough sawn board that warped in the barn). It has a little twist to it. The next one I make will be of some very flat wood with very flat, even, compressed leather.
What a great idea! Imagine... casing the leather... rolling it with a rolling pin... actually turning leather into a real strop rather than just a strip of leather... I should have thought of that.
You might find that ordinary hand cream with lanolin will make your leather strop last a few generations longer than if you use a petro-oil based topping. If you are using WD-40 to clean or refresh your strops, you can get the same results WITHOUT the petro-oil by using lighter fluid or Coleman gas. (While they are petro-chemicals, they both evaporate and leave no residue in the leather.) Then apply hand cream, shoe cream, leather conditioner, mink oil, even ArmorAll, and the leather will be revitalized without needing a petroleum oil bath.
Stitchawl
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,855
Neatsfoot oil works great.
Neatsfoot oil will work perfectly, and be much better for the leather's condition. It's a natural animal oil rendered from the shin bones of cows. However, it's best to check the name on the bottle, as today many brands are selling neatsfoot oil 'compound' or 'prime' neatsfoot oil, which are blends of natural animal oils and petro-chemical oils.
Regardless of which you use, use it sparingly. Paint or pour it on and you will soften the leather. You do NOT want a soft strop unless you plan to convex your edges. Put some on your fingertips and rub it into the leather.
Stitchawl
Thank you Hoosier. The leather that I got, was from a leather place, for belts I guess. It's reallt thick stuff, about 3/16'' thick, maybe a bit more. It's high quality stuff though. I let it dry good, and took a knife, and lighly scraped the rough side, to get ti back to having some grain. I would say that worked well. Then I just loaded it with green compound. It's ready to go now. Hope this helps. Josh
What a great idea! Imagine... casing the leather... rolling it with a rolling pin... actually turning leather into a real strop rather than just a strip of leather... I should have thought of that.
You might find that ordinary hand cream with lanolin will make your leather strop last a few generations longer than if you use a petro-oil based topping. If you are using WD-40 to clean or refresh your strops, you can get the same results WITHOUT the petro-oil by using lighter fluid or Coleman gas. (While they are petro-chemicals, they both evaporate and leave no residue in the leather.) Then apply hand cream, shoe cream, leather conditioner, mink oil, even ArmorAll, and the leather will be revitalized without needing a petroleum oil bath.
Stitchawl
Stitch, I think I am picking up the possibility that maybe I read this from you? Please advise on this. LOL If so, thank you.
What a great idea! Imagine... casing the leather... rolling it with a rolling pin... actually turning leather into a real strop rather than just a strip of leather... I should have thought of that.
You might find that ordinary hand cream with lanolin will make your leather strop last a few generations longer than if you use a petro-oil based topping. If you are using WD-40 to clean or refresh your strops, you can get the same results WITHOUT the petro-oil by using lighter fluid or Coleman gas. (While they are petro-chemicals, they both evaporate and leave no residue in the leather.) Then apply hand cream, shoe cream, leather conditioner, mink oil, even ArmorAll, and the leather will be revitalized without needing a petroleum oil bath.
Stitchawl
Off-hand, I'd guess that I've posted instructions for this at least 8-10 times over the past five years. It's what turns a strip of leather into a strop. Otherwise, it's nothing more than a strip of leather glued to a stick. (But usually lots of sanding done to make the stick really nice...)
Done correctly, it changes the density of the leather into a hard, solid substrate for compounds, or a concentrated natural silicate surface for bare leather stropping.
But then I keep seeing people reporting that leather is too soft to use as a strop... Which tells me that they are using leather that hasn't been made into a strop. It's only been cut to size and glued to a stick. A year or two ago, some folks called for turning one of my instruction posts into a 'Sticky,' but I guess the Mods decided they preferred people not have the information so readily available. Perhaps they just like seeing people complain that their strops are dulling their edges? A soft piece of leather is going to round off an edge if there is any pressure used. Often just the weight of the blade is more than enough pressure to do that.
If you can easily dent your strop with fingernail pressure, the leather has not been properly prepared to use as a strop for beveled edges. It will be fine, however for convex edges. I guess it just depends upon what folks want for edges.
Stitchawl
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