Help me make my strop

[southernfryedyankee]

I bought 2 pieces of 8-9 oz cowhide leather strips, 1 2"x24" and the other 4"x24" the leather has a rough side and a smooth side, which side should I use? I have black, white and green stropping compound on its way to me and plan to make a couple of paddle strops 1 solely for my house and 1 to take with me. I had bought 1 from a member and the leather he used seemed very rough, whereas the rough side of the leather I have is a much more uniform rough but VERY stiff. Am I supposed to "break in" leather before adhering to a paddle? I was thinking about using 5 minute epoxy to adhere the leather to the wood or is there a better alternative? any advice would be great.

 

[gomipile]

If it's flexible enough to lay flat against the block, epoxy it to the block first. Then use Lexol leather conditioner to soften the leather.

The suede side is good for liquid metal polishes like Brasso or Zephyr. The smooth side is good for chromium oxide, white diamond, DMT diamond paste, jewelers rougge, etc. So you'll probably want to use the suede side and the smooth side on different paddles.

P.S. you'll get better responses if the moderators move this to the maintenance, tinkering and embellishment subforum.