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Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
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Optimal size for strops
- Thread starter Barmaley
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 34
I would assume 3" FOR ME but everyone's needs is different. For smaller pocket knives 2" works well. Larger knives 3". I have made 3"X12" strops for my needs , everything from small knives to larger 7" blades.
Also I use the white compound on one , and the green on the other. White compound cuts much faster . I also have one with the slick side up and no compound.
Also I use the white compound on one , and the green on the other. White compound cuts much faster . I also have one with the slick side up and no compound.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,393
In my experience, I've never needed anything wider than 2" at most. And of the strops I've made myself, most of those are on 1.5" width board stock. For any EDC or normal-sized blades, even up to kitchen knives, that's been plenty for me.
I've tried wider stropping surfaces. But I've noticed with most blades, the blade edge only generally makes contact within a 1-1/2" to 2" margin along the near edge of the strop, nearest to the ricasso or handle of the knife. Anything in width beyond that, on the strop, goes essentially unused.
A wider strop could conceivably be useful by turning it to one side or the other for two-stage stropping, putting a compound along 1/2 of it's width, and leaving the other half bare. But in my view, it'd be just as easy to divide the leather into two narrower sections, used independently.
Adding length to a strop is more useful than adding width. A longer strop facilitates a smoother and more complete pass of the whole blade (heel to tip) over it, and is much more comfortable and pleasurable to use. I think an ideal strop would be up to 18" or so in length, and needing no more than 1-1/2" - 2" of width. As a reference, the paint-stirring sticks made for 5-gallon paint buckets are about perfect in size for a ready-made paddle at about 21" overall, including roughly 3-1/2" of handle, and about 1-3/8" in width (as measured on one I made from one of these paint-stirring sticks).
I've tried wider stropping surfaces. But I've noticed with most blades, the blade edge only generally makes contact within a 1-1/2" to 2" margin along the near edge of the strop, nearest to the ricasso or handle of the knife. Anything in width beyond that, on the strop, goes essentially unused.
A wider strop could conceivably be useful by turning it to one side or the other for two-stage stropping, putting a compound along 1/2 of it's width, and leaving the other half bare. But in my view, it'd be just as easy to divide the leather into two narrower sections, used independently.
Adding length to a strop is more useful than adding width. A longer strop facilitates a smoother and more complete pass of the whole blade (heel to tip) over it, and is much more comfortable and pleasurable to use. I think an ideal strop would be up to 18" or so in length, and needing no more than 1-1/2" - 2" of width. As a reference, the paint-stirring sticks made for 5-gallon paint buckets are about perfect in size for a ready-made paddle at about 21" overall, including roughly 3-1/2" of handle, and about 1-3/8" in width (as measured on one I made from one of these paint-stirring sticks).
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,393
Glue it first. Depending on what's used to treat the leather, if any of it penetrates through all the way, it might impede or weaken the adhesion of the leather to the plank. You want the leather clean & dry for best adhesion. Personally, I've never felt the need to do anything to the leather for conditioning, in strops I've made. Whatever's used to condition the leather, make sure it's done minimally, just on the surface.
Some oils or other solvents used to condition or clean the strop, after the fact, might also penetrate and weaken the glue bond. So that's something to be careful with.