Starting with a belt how do I make a strop?

Rev. Pete

Rev. Pete

Joined
Aug 25, 2001
Messages
843
I want to make a strop. I've never used one and have only seen one used out of the corner of my eye at a barbershop. I have an old leather gun belt that is about 1 1/2" wide and twice as thick as a normal belt. It is slightly shiny on both sides. It is not cracked or damaged. Can I use this to make a strop. Starting from here (or a regular belt), how do I make a strop? How do I use it? I appreciate your sharing your experience with me!
 
Well, you can just pick it up, pull it taught against something, and use it as a strop... anything you do with it should be to prevent cracking... ie leather conditioner or stop paste... if you want extra stropping power, you can rub it with some sort of polishing compound, the names of which escape me right now. However, I've not had any problems stopping on bare leather.
 
Rev. I have a friend that uses a old peice of sole leather from a shoe as a strop and it works great. A man once showed me that when stroping a knife you should lay the leather down on something hard and not hanging loose like you would with a staight razor, this has always worked out to be true for me so when you say making a strop I would say if you have a peice of leather then your already to go :)
 
I've also hear a good thing to do is to cut to equal sections out of the belt and glue them on opposite sides of a piece of wood: one with the smooth side up, the other with the rough side up. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like a good idea...
 
Hi Rev,

That should be fine. Just remember if using the strop loose, keep it pulled taught. I've used both versions (hanging, glued down) I personally favor the glued versions.

My version was also made using an old belt section glued to the back of my sharpening stone cradle. Loadings will vary, I use red rouge.
 
Hey Rev,

If you are interested in adding some polishing compound, you should try Chromium Oxide. If you buy some from www.handamerican.com, you can ask them to throw some leather cut-offs in with your order at no extra charge. This is the same leather they use for their hones. I would recommend you get a bottle of their CrO2 liquid compound which is described HERE.. Heck, check out the rest of their site for info on using a strop properly, and also using a steel properly. Fair warning though, you will probably do like I did, and buy a nice leather hone from them along with a nice half groove steel. Here is a copy from their site regarding the cut-offs.

Customer Give-Aways
We generate leather and Corian cutoffs. Leather cutoffs run 1-3 inches in width and 3-6 inches in length. Corian runs the gamut. If you would like us to include cutoffs of either material free of charge let us know in the 'special instructions' section of your shopping cart.
Click to expand...

Here is the Leather Hone I just bought. It comes with some CrO2 liquid compound and two different grits of Silicone Carbide. You get four different honing surfaces with one of these hones. Really are nice, and can't be beat.

If you are using a belt, make sure it isn't a stitched leather belt. Those can ruin any good you do to the edge. At least this is my personal experience. That's why I went ahead and bought the hone.

HTH

Mike
 
Thanks for the tips, Mike. As a matter of fact upon close inspection there IS stitching on my belt :eek:. Which size strop did you get and what is the biggest knife you will sharpen? Which grits did you choose? Finally, how long did they take to ship?
 
I ordered the ProCombo 10" and 800/1200 grit silicone carbide. I won't hone anything longer than my 9" filet knife I suspect, but you never know what the future holds;). It took them about a week to ship, but this was around a holiday also, so your times might be less. Remember, if you order a couple grits that you find don't meet your needs, you can either buy different grits, or order a new plate for your hone, which will come with two more choices of grit. This would make your hone incredibly versatile, and probably cause your current sharpening devices to gather dust.

Mike
 
The Strop I use to touch my knives up with I use only strop paste on. The Other can be used with rouge from sears and mixed with a little brasso (to loosen up).

You can use th strop without it being mounted (I have both kinds). The strop needs to be pulled taunt to be used. I have thick rawhide loops that I attach one end to a door knob, the other I pull tight with my hand while taking the blade in my free hand and strop! When using the strop its much of the same principle as using stones. find the angle of the bevel and pull the opposite way (of course) that you would when using a stone (away from the edge).
 
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