Source of Leather for strop

[Brad Swanson]

I'd like to make a 2 sided leather strop, and am wondering if the neander community could recommend a source for the leather. I've never used a strop before. Thanks very much.

Cheers,
Brad

[David Weaver]

Ebay. If you want cowhide, look for Veg. Tanned cowhide in 8/9 ounce weight.

if you want horsehide, look for "horse butt strip" in a similar weight (if you can find it).

(the weight is not critical, if you get thinner or thicker, it will work fine).

Some of the leathers are fairly rough when you first get them. Once you glue them to a strop you can oil them or sand them. My preference is to oil them, because it makes it very easy to see if you don't have a good edge (if you have a nick or failure to polish to the edge, the leather will show it easily when oiled by leaving lines in the surface where the nick roughs up the leather. A single pass with a polished edge then smashes the leather back into the dark even coloring of the rest of the strop. the other benefit to oil is that you can keep cleaning the surface of a strop by using an oily rag - which will keep the leather supple and not dry, and get most of the swarf off).

[george wilson]

I've been pretty happy with my MDF and green compound strop. I hate the looks and feel of it,but it does a razor sharp job without rounding the edge at all.

I don't usually bother getting kitchen knives so sharp,but just yesterday I got my pocket knife,and the LV 6" Japanese kitchen knife sharp enough to shave with. That Japanese knife will really take a super keen edge.

Since my wife was a book binder(I taught her and the shop how to sharpen their tools on request),she can use it without being afraid of it,or cutting herself.

Normally I just grind kitchen knives sharp enough for food on my 3000 grit disc on my horizontal/vertical diamond grinder at 200 rpm. I start with the 260 grit disc. The knives get whacked on the wooden cutting board,so getting them excessively sharp doesn't last a long time. But,I was up for a bit of fun. Seeing how sharp that laminated Japanese blade will get is a treat. The hard steel in it is only about 1/100" thick,or so.

[Paul Sidener]

You can get leather in a lot of places. You just need a couple of scrapes. You can get by with 6-7 oz. 8-9 oz would be better. Look at Hobby Lobby, Tandy Leather. Just make sure it's veg tanned.

[John Coloccia]

The MDF and compound works quite well. I still use leather because it's just what I've always used. I'll second Tandy Leather. They usually have a scrap bin and you should be able to find appropriate pieces there. There are tons of other uses for leather in the shop. Vice jaw faces, lining various jigs and things to keep from marring surfaces, hard leather wrapped around wood for cushioned sanding forms (a closet pole flattened on one side works great for this), etc. Me loves the leather.

[Brett Luna]

As mentioned, look for vegetable tanned cowhide and from higher up the hide it comes, the better. Look for terms like 'strap leather' or 'belt shoulder'. Stay away from belly cuts. It's too soft and stretchy for strop work, IMO. Another option is bridle leather. One of my straight razor strops is made from it but I use it without dressing. The other strop is linen.

[Jerry Thompson]

I got my leather at a shoe repair shop. I told him what I wanted it for and he cut a piece off of a hide and sold it too me. I don't know how it was tanned or its weight but it works.

[Justin Green]

We have several tack shops nearby that make saddles and belts and other leather goods and will sell various types of leather pieces at a reasonable price.

[Brad Swanson]

Thanks for the input. I have plenty of MDF around and some green compound on the way, maybe I'll start with that.

[Tony Shea]

For plane blades and chisels I still fall back to the MDF with green compound. Most of my sloyd carving knives will go on the leather with a light touch to prevent rounding the edge.

[bridger berdel]

For shop tools I use hard maple, planed smooth (not sanded) with green compound. For razors I have a "scotch shell" strop that I treated lightly, once, long ago with jeweller's rouge. Kitchen knives get maintained on a medium smooth steel.

[Michael N Taylor]

Tandy leather craft has all kinds of leather and you can usually find what you want, if there is not one in your area you can order online.

[Roy Lindberry]

I had good luck with this.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/129...ip-Makers.aspx

[Roger Nair]

The following link is for horse butt appox. 14 x 48 in. More than eight times the leather than Woodcraft, plus it's horsehide plus it's less than twice the price of the Woodcraft item.


http://www.sheridanleather.com/Horse_Strips_p/3104.htm

[Mike Brady]

I second what Roger says about horse butt and the source for it. I don't recommend Tandy unless you can actually go to their store. Their prices are very high, but you can negotiate with them. Unfortunately, they sell mostly "sides", which are 1/2 of a cow. This is about a $200 investment.

Tools for Working Wood often has horse butt strops.