what kind of leather to use in making a leather bench strop

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pmthk

Joined
Jul 1, 2004
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22
hi everyone!

i'm trying to make a leather bench strop and was wondering what kind of leather to get to make one. specifically, what weight leather should i use? if anyone knows a good source to get one please let me know. finally if i were to get one, do i glue down the smooth or the rough side of the leather?

thanks for the help!
 
I bought leather from leevalleytools.com.

They sell premade strops there. Or, you can get a stroping leather package which is just a few pieces of leather. They also have the leather belt for belt grinders that you can cut up for a longer strop.

They also sell the stropping goop.

I use the smooth side up.
 
Any leather will work...I have ones of an old plain leather belt as well as ones we made at the MWKK last year of virgin leather. They all hold compound (technically, "goop") and work perfectly. As for which side up, I have both...don't think it really matters, but *I* use the rough up for lower grits and smooth up for higher.
 
You don't have to buy the leather, just use an old belt. If you have the rough side up, it will hold compound better. I doubt that the roughness of leather will affect its "grit".

I think you can use a wire brush to roughen leather. At least, I've seen leather roughening brushes in catalogs and they look like glorified wire brushes.
 
I found an old weight-lifters belt at a garage sale. Nice 6-inch wide piece of thick leather. Cost 50 cents. Loaded it up with Lee Valley's green polishing compound. Works great.
 
It's a trick question really....


Leather does impact it's own "grit"....just like any material would...but hardness/softness also come into play.

Regular green compound/rouge on the rough side
Finer powder/compound on the smooth side


Sure wish ole Warren was around....he had this all figured out nicely. That's who your belt came from, Nasty. ;)
 
Dan, have you ever tried using Mother's Billet Polish as a stropping/sharpening compound? I put some on a felt belt today, and I really liked the results. It really polishes well, if you're trying to get a polished edge. You might want to try it sometime, if you havent already.
 
Yup...Warren did us all well in the materials he supplied. I've had a couple of emails with him...guess life got busy.
 
I have been using both sides, on a 3mm thick peace of untreated leather. I've been using a diamond compound, but a polishing compound for watches works great as well. It's called polyWatch Polish, and you should be able to buy it through any watch-dealer. So far, this stuff works best for achiving a polished edge, if that's your goal.

regards, Keno
 
I get mine from HandAmerican. They supply Woodcraft and other companies, and have a large supply of strop compounds.
I have tried using the fine green compound from Lee Valley - it works great, but I am allergic to the stuff.
I have gone to using 1200 grit Silicon Carbide on one side of a two-sided strop, and nothing on the other.
The company sells premade strops and leather to make your own.
 
I had a few 5 gal paint stirrers. Paint stores used to give them out with 5 gal of paint, don't know if they still do.

Took a couple of old belts, glued one side with strip of belt, smooth side up, the opposite side of the stirrer, rough side up. Works good for me.

Took one stirrer and glued wet/dry sandpaper on it, too. I used the 800 grit on one side, 600 grit on the other.

I made several using different compounds on the belt, leaving the smooth sides without compound.

Easy to use while sitting in chair watching your favorite program on TV.
 
Warren had compiled probably 15 different fine-honing compounds. He literally scoured the internet looking for all the different products. Most of them he got for free....very enthusiastic guy. He brought a lot to the forum. Missed, indeed...!!


My last contact with him was to order a few Warren-strops. I've given all but one away....worth every penny. Very handy.....I will probably end up making my own....but I will never take credit for the idea....it was absolutely brilliant. Warren called me before the MWKK (right when we were starting to put it together) and we hashed the strop idea back and forth. He liked the Lee Valley double strop but wanted something even more handy....portable. We tried one at 1.5" square - too big. 1" square - still too big. 3/4" square and 10" long.....just perfect!!



For those of you who are lost on this....I'll try to get a picture taken and uploaded to help explain.

Not a new idea, but a great take on an old one.
 
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