Leather for a Hone

A

arijer

Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
745
Not sure if i am posting in the right place.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to buy quality leather online for making your own strops and hones. I want to make a few and also a few small field hones to put in my packs.

Thanks for the help
 
oh well actually nothing in that thread nor the linked threads on online sources for good leather for hones. thanks though
 
Handamerican compressed leather works great. You can find it at wood worker type shops, and they have internet sales too. Try woodcraft, I believe they have an on line store. Great leather for strops. $15 will make you 3 paddle strops, you supply the wood and glue, the rest is up to you.... Hee Hee.
 
I went to a local boot, shoe repair shop, the young man that owned the place was more than happy to sell me enough leather to make several strops for $10,,just a thought
 
For that matter, you can go to a local thrift shop, pick up leather belts for a dollar, and perhaps luck out and find some leather clothing for $5! That can be cut up for a lot of strops! If you're using compound, as long as the substrate is firm, flat, and smooth, it doesn't make a difference what kind of substance or what kind of leather you use. But... if you're going to use the leather without compounds, you need to use vegetable tanned cowhide or horsehide to get the best results.

The leathers sold by Jantz and Texas KMS are veggie tanned leather.

Stitchawl
 
I went to a local Tandy Leather shop, and purchased a 5-1/2 sq. ft. piece of 7 - 8 oz. veg-tanned cowhide for about $17. Going to get a LOT of strops out of that. They've got stacks & stacks of the stuff, so you can cherry-pick which piece looks best for you.

Hobby Lobby stores also carry a 3 lb. bag of leather 'scraps' for about $6.00, most of which can be utilized for decent-sized strops (up to 10" - 12" long). Some of the pieces will obviously be a little 'rough' for this use (I found one piece with a 7" SCAR on it, complete with stitch marks), but it's still a great bargain.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I went to a local Tandy Leather shop, and purchased a 5-1/2 sq. ft. piece of 7 - 8 oz. veg-tanned cowhide for about $17. Going to get a LOT of strops out of that. They've got stacks & stacks of the stuff, so you can cherry-pick which piece looks best for you.

Hobby Lobby stores also carry a 3 lb. bag of leather 'scraps' for about $6.00, most of which can be utilized for decent-sized strops (up to 10" - 12" long). Some of the pieces will obviously be a little 'rough' for this use (I found one piece with a 7" SCAR on it, complete with stitch marks), but it's still a great bargain.
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It's interesting that you bring that up. Would Hobby Lobby's scrap leather bag contain leather that's too rough for a fine strop? I ask because I was mulling over purchasing a bag to make one..
 
BladeChemist said:
It's interesting that you bring that up. Would Hobby Lobby's scrap leather bag contain leather that's too rough for a fine strop? I ask because I was mulling over purchasing a bag to make one..
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If you plan to use compound with your strop, you can always sand down rough leather... After you've sanded it, wet it down well, let it dry until the color is 'almost' returning to normal, then roll on it with a heavy rolling pin. You'll have an excellent surface for a strop!


Stitchawl
 
Keith with HandAmerican has moved. He is working with Mark at Chef Knives To Go. He really does have the best stuff. There is usually a Tandy within reach of most people. It's a leather Store. If you cant find it there you must not be trying.

Hard leather is good. I have one hone (from HandAmerican) that is actually a very short napped suede, that I use with 1mic diamond spray (also HA), that works extremely well, which surprises me, but it does.

One of the coolest things about HA products is that you get a variety of honing materials, all with magnetic backing for use on his steel base. Works really well.
 
grizzled gizzard said:
Keith with HandAmerican has moved. He is working with Mark at Chef Knives To Go. He really does have the best stuff. \.
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I second that......I've made a few using his horse hide....I really like the idea of not needing any compound...and they work great for my purposes:thumbup:
 
BladeChemist said:
It's interesting that you bring that up. Would Hobby Lobby's scrap leather bag contain leather that's too rough for a fine strop? I ask because I was mulling over purchasing a bag to make one..
Click to expand...

Some pieces in that bag will undoubtedly be a bit 'rough'. But, the best thing about this particular deal is, you can use many of the scraps in that bag to experiment to your heart's desire (smooth side vs. rough side, using with compounds, sanding, wetting/rolling, etc.) without risking disappointment and/or ruining some more expensive leather. This is what I use it for, and once you find a particular method/treatment that works well for you, that knowledge can be applied to some higher grade leather, if you wish.
 
Experiment ... Yes . I've been discovering that my finer, level strops, loaded with diamond slurry do not remove small burrs like my less fine, less level strop loaded with the green rouge . Go figure . DM
 
rayban said:
I second that......I've made a few using his horse hide....I really like the idea of not needing any compound...and they work great for my purposes:thumbup:
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Good quality 'horsehide' is to strops what EdgePro is to sharpening devices. HA sells very high quality Horween horsehide, and it just can't get any better than that! :thumbup:

When you pull a blade along a horsehide strop you can feel it pulling back!


Stitchawl
 
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