Want to make a strop

cmurphy

cmurphy

Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
142
Hey all
I looked around quite awhile and found heaps of good advice. Im a bit high maintenance I guess and wanted to hear some responses..
I have a LOT of leather, I do some tanning here and there. I've got a horse hide I tanned awhile back and was thinking I need to put it to use. Sooo... I just recently became acquainted with my inner knife geek. For years Ive been using an Old Loray sharpener on any old knife. I'm picking up some stones and would like to learn freehand sharpening and with all the info on here all I need to do is practice.

I found one post about horse hide and the poster stated that horse hide does not need a strop compound. Any other thoughts on this? No disrespect to the poster.
Also, Im guessing that I shouldnt strop a knife unless its damn sharp, right?
Thanks all
 
I have 2 strops made with cow hide. Both were sanded with 600 grit sandpaper. 1 has 1 micron diamond spray, the other I left bare. The bare leather one gets my edges extremely sharp.
 
The poster was correct, no polish compound is needed with horse leather. Noticeable results happen very fast with this type of leather on all types of steel.
 
Its debatable but sanding probably ruined the original effects of your bare strop.
 
Thanks for the quick replies!
Am I correct in thinking that I should use the smooth/grain side on the blade?
 
I lightly sand both of my strops (veg-tanned leather) with something like 220 grit. Personally, I like the results. The fine 'nap' created by the sanding helps greatly to hold the compound on the one and, on the bare strop, enhances the 'pull' that the leather exerts on the edge when stropping. Can really feel the bevel on the strop, it'll get real 'smooth' feeling when the bevel is flush. To me, that helps greatly in developing good technique. That has resulted in more effective stropping for me, with appropriately improved results. I used bare leather 'as is' for quite a while, prior to trying sanding, and seldom saw any significant change/improvement in the finished edge.

Some leather that's been specially prepared for stropping (i.e., boned) will likely be better off not sanded. The boning preparation (wetting the leather, then using a roller or other similar device on the moist leather) will concentrate the silicates nearer to the surface of the leather, making it that much more effective. Obviously, if the leather is sanded afterwards, much of the silicates might be lost.

Based on what I've heard about horsehide strops, they're best used as is (not sanded).
 
cmurphy said:
Thanks for the quick replies!
Am I correct in thinking that I should use the smooth/grain side on the blade?
Click to expand...

There seem to be fans on both sides of this question. I think it'll come down to personal preference. The good news is, basic veg-tanned leather is pretty cheap. You can buy enough to try it both ways, and decide for yourself what works best for you. I'm sure in some cases, it'll come down to the quality of the particular piece of leather, as to which side will be more effective.
 
Ive got two horse hides so Im planning on gluing up a two sided strop. Each side with a different side of the hide exposed.
Thanks all!
 
cmurphy said:
Ive got two horse hides so Im planning on gluing up a two sided strop. Each side with a different side of the hide exposed.
Thanks all!
Click to expand...

Some people are somewhat finicky about keeping their strops extra clean. It's a preference thing (again ;)), but if you're going to use your strop on a bench or table, you might consider making two strop blocks (one-sided), so your nice, clean horsehide leather won't pick up dirt/debris when it's face-down on your bench. Either that, or just make sure your bench surface is clean, or put a paper towel underneath it.

I suspect some members here might actually CRY (:eek:) if they put horsehide face down on a dirty bench!! :p
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Some people are somewhat finicky about keeping their strops extra clean. It's a preference thing (again ;)), but if you're going to use your strop on a bench or table, you might consider making two strop blocks (one-sided), so your nice, clean horsehide leather won't pick up dirt/debris when it's face-down on your bench. Either that, or just make sure your bench surface is clean, or put a paper towel underneath it.

I suspect some members here might actually CRY (:eek:) if they put horsehide face down on a dirty bench!! :p
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When you have been working on a blade for hours then strop your mirror polished edge on a dirty strop, yes, crying is in order.

OP, don't use the back side of the horse hide, its the skin side that has the abrasive qualities for stropping.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Some people are somewhat finicky about keeping their strops extra clean. It's a preference thing (again ;)), but if you're going to use your strop on a bench or table, you might consider making two strop blocks (one-sided), so your nice, clean horsehide leather won't pick up dirt/debris when it's face-down on your bench. Either that, or just make sure your bench surface is clean, or put a paper towel underneath it.

I suspect some members here might actually CRY (:eek:) if they put horsehide face down on a dirty bench!! :p
Click to expand...

The poster is correct. Two sided strops simply aren't worth the extra bother of preventing cross contamination.

Wood is quite inexpensive compared to quality horsehide. I make one sided strops with red oak, and store them in the plastic bags that the newspaper carrier uses on rainy days.
 
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