Customizing a strop ?

[LEGION 12]

Hello all my bladeforum friends havent posted here in a while . My ? is i recently got a hold of some quality leather for a strop its 27" long by 1 3/4 wide one side smooth the other rough also purchased a tube of chrome rouge compound . Already have used it on a few knives without applying any compound and am impressed with the results . My thought was to make a few strops from it since its so long maybe make two or three from it one on a block rough side up for the compound one smooth side up without any compound and any left for a portable strop . What i was wondering was what length i should cut the blocks at my longest blade is abought 9" long dont want to cut em to short or to long . Also i have never used any kind of compound i know that it goes on the rough side and not to add to much i have read through many threads and didnt see anything on this particular compound anybody use this stuff . Thanks for any help Rich

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Not quite sure what you mean by 'chrome rouge' compound, unless you're referring to the green stuff (chromium oxide). Most prefer to use the smooth side of the leather (with or without compound). The 'rough' side is often very inconsistent in texture, some areas softer and others are quite literally rough & hard. With my compounded strops, I've used veg-tanned cowhide that I've sanded lightly on the smooth side (with some medium grit sandpaper). That gives it just a little 'nap', which really holds the compound well.

As for the size of your strops, that's entirely up to you. For large blades, to be stropped on the bench, anything around 10" to 12" of leather is just fine for most people. I like to 'freehand' strop, with the strop block held in one hand, so mine are sized a bit smaller (~ 5-1/2" long, by 2-1/2" wide) to allow for that. On shorter length strops, you can make them more usable on large blades by widening them. I think a 3" wide strop is ideal, at any length.

The link below is an excellent reference, for making your own strop:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/770338-demo-how-to-build-you-own-strop

 

[LEGION 12]

Obsessed thats some good advice and yes i do have [ chromium oxide ] paste mfgs. calling it chrome rouge same stuff . As for making the strops shorter i suppose i could just glue two pieces side by side to get more width . Didnt know i shouldnt use rough side but that makes sense and thanks for the link didnt see it in my search . Rich

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Obsessed thats some good advice and yes i do have [ chromium oxide ] paste mfgs. calling it chrome rouge same stuff . As for making the strops shorter i suppose i could just glue two pieces side by side to get more width . Didnt know i shouldnt use rough side but that makes sense and thanks for the link didnt see it in my search . Rich

You might find, on occasion, a piece of leather that has a pretty decent 'rough' side. I think some actually use a wire brush on the rough side, to sort of 'fluff it up' a bit. There's nothing at all wrong with trying both sides of the leather. Some say they like it for convexed blades, and a lot also depends on the degree of finish on the edge. Personally, I'd be leery of trying to strop a highly polished edge on 'rough' leather; a 'toothy' edge, on the other hand, might work well with it.