Leather vs. linen strops...

S

shadowspawn

Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
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So I was going through a bunch of things we brought while moving over and I found my grandpa's barber's old strop. It's pretty banged up but I should be able to fix it up with some sandpaper laps. Anyway it's a leather/linen strop and I was wondering what the difference between the two was. Does stropping on a leather strop have any significant advantage over a linen strop?
 
The linen is to be used first as a burr remover then followed by the leather for final polishing.
 
Good question, as I also have a very old barber strop my grandfather handed down to me. One side is plain leather and one side is cloth (not sure what kind) with white dry compound (guessing jewelers rouge). Nothing scientific but I like the cloth side for a real quick follow up after stones. I don't use it often but when I do I am always happy with the results. It seems to take off any burr that is left while leaving me with the feel I had off the stone.

Here is an old pic I found of mine
BWMLE-Machete.jpg
 
So basically linen strop is enough to deburr? And it wouldn't make sense to strop with the leather side unless I add a compound right?

@rich: I've never been exactly sure of stropping. For the most part I simply laid my strop on a flat countertop and used it just like I would my stones except using only a trailing stroke (no push stroke). Are there any disadvantages to this method besides personal preference?
 
shadowspawn said:
So basically linen strop is enough to deburr? And it wouldn't make sense to strop with the leather side unless I add a compound right?

@rich: I've never been exactly sure of stropping. For the most part I simply laid my strop on a flat countertop and used it just like I would my stones except using only a trailing stroke (no push stroke). Are there any disadvantages to this method besides personal preference?
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I don't believe so- though I use mine under my foot and in my left hand(if that makes sense)
Mines long :D
 
The strop you have is made of horse hide leather and is the very best leather you can use for the final finish of razors or knives. The deburring canvas/linen side is for use after a finishing stone to remove the micro burr often referred to as a "Finn" by those into razors. This burr/Finn of metal is nothing like a burr that you can see or feel, in fact it takes extreme magnification in most cases to see it. This is the type of burr you will find on a 6000-8000 grit edge if you finish with a 600 stone then try and use this stropping you may damage it because the burr is too large especially for the leather side.

Now for the leather, if damaged and in need of re-finishing I would go with a 1-0.5 micron compound depending on if you want it for knives or razors. if the surface still looks useable then DON'T TOUCH IT, horse leather, especially in a barber strop like that is of a extremely high grade and will work best without compound.
 
Hmmm. I'll go take a pic of the strop I have. I believe it's horse leather since it has a pic of a horse on it LOL. Brand is "Old Gold" if that helps in identification. As I said though, it's pretty old and banged up and looks to be in some pretty dire need of maintenance. What grit size would that be? I heard that fine grit sandpaper would work well for smoothing it out but I don't see how compound can be used to repair the leather.

EDIT: Back with pix :D Sorry about grainy quality.
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I had to re-finish my Russian strop because the surface was dry, cracked, and not suitable for stropping. I used 320 & 600 grit to sand the surface then applied compound. I also used leather conditioner prior to the compound because the leather was really dry.
 
600 seems a bit coarse. Is that really the best grit to fix it on? Also I thought I read somewhere that just massaging the strop will soften that up for you. Something about the natural oils in your hand being able to moisturize the strop or something.
 
Got a shot of the middle of the leather? That looks to be in good shape and I wouldn't do a thing to it, maybe clean the linen side but that's it.
 
It looks pretty bad to me. It even feels bad. Lemme go take one and hopefully it's not all grainy.

EDIT: Still a bit grainy but you can see some of the deeper scuffs and scratches when the light reflects at the right angle:
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Also any tips for cleaning the linen? There's this black crud on it (I have no idea what it is) and I'm not even sure if it's safe to try to take it off since it's stuck on and pretty solid. It does seem to stiffen the strop where it exists. There are also these small hairs stuck on the end. I managed to remove the bulk of it but the bit that is still there is stuck in pretty good and I'm not sure if I should try to remove it since it's stuck in there almost as if it's part of the strop itself.
 
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Hard to tell maybe shine a flashlight on it and take a pic, at this point I still feel it does NOT need to be refinished. Truthfully that's to be your last option with this strop.

To clean the linen start by removing the screw at the top and separate the pieces. Is say dish soap and water with a soft nylon brush but get a second from someone like classicshaving.com if you want.
 
Shadowspawn - This thread here has the best illustration I have seen for strops http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750008-Stropping-angle-plus-pressure

Mine has a hook on one end and a handle on the end of the leather and linen. I lust hook it to something, pull it tight and strop lightly. It only takes a few passes on the linen. I have used the leather a few times but I prefer either my handmade strops on a wood block or my leather belts on my sander.

If you are interested in making a leather strop it is fairly simple. I find a piece of wood and flaten it, then on a 4x48 sander finish the surface at about 320. I do the same to the back of the leather. Then I spray both sides with 3m contact cement and let them come to a tack for about 30 minutes. Then I made two blocks of wood finished flat and smooth, and put the strop between them in my vise. Let it dry for a day. Then simply sand the edges flush on my 1x42. Then to flatten the top of the leather I buff on some green compound and sand by hand on a piece of 600 sandpaper on glass until all of the compound is gone. Then I load the strop with a small cotton buffing wheel packed full of green compound. Make sure to buff out toward the edges or you can raise them with the buffer and lose your flat surface. This has given me better results then any strop I have bought.

Good luck and I don't know about refinishing your barber strop, sorry.

Kevin
 
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Well I couldn't find a soft bristled brush around (all we have are hard bristled ones similar to toilet scrubbers) so I ended up kind of "massaging" the soap in with my index and middle finger. It removed most of the black crud but there is still some staining around but that's probably from age. I'll take some pics later on when it's finished drying off.
 
Something to consider with your horsehide strop...
The reason horsehide is preferable over cowhide is the natural silicates in the leather. If you're going to cover these up using compound, you might as well use an old belt instead of this lovely strop. Just because the surface 'may' be dinged up a bit, it doesn't mean that you've 'worn away' the silicates. They are distributed all though the leather, though the heavier concentration will be towards the surface. Smoothing the surface with 600-100 grit sandpaper will remove your scraps and dings, (not really necessary to do this anyway except for cosmetics) and make the strop look nice. A few drops (only!) of good quality shoe cream (NOT shoe polish!) worked into the strop will help preserve the leather. Please... do NOT cover it up with compound.


Stitchawl
 
knifenut1013 said:
Stitch, good to see ya around.
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I've been here all along, just not bothering to repeat myself. If people don't bother to do a search first, I don't bother to contribute. A Google search brings up past posts from here just as easily as a local search. We have a ton of valuable information already written about all facets of blade maintainance, care, and sharpening. People are just too lazy to look for it! I got tired of saying the same things over and over again.


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
I've been here all along, just not bothering to repeat myself. If people don't bother to do a search first, I don't bother to contribute. A Google search brings up past posts from here just as easily as a local search. We have a ton of valuable information already written about all facets of blade maintainance, care, and sharpening. People are just too lazy to look for it! I got tired of saying the same things over and over again.


Stitchawl
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Also glad to hear you chiming in again.

I've actually found it easier to Google search for some past threads (did this last night, in fact), than to use the local search. Seems like the local search misses a lot, but then presents a lot of 'less relevant' returns that have to be sifted through. I'm somewhat sympathetic (with qualifications), if a new user has trouble finding what they're looking for in the local search. I'm also getting more zealous about subscribing and/or bookmarking threads that look useful over the long run, many of which include your good advice, Stitch. :thumbup:
 
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