Will this leather work well for a strop?

K

KennyB

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Jan 19, 2010
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I had to fix my leather reclining couch and this big piece had to be taken off. Wondering if this leather is suitable for use in a strop. I don't think the grain side is (you can see it in the upper left corner, folded over), but what about the suede side? Planning to load it with CrO. RAT card shown for scale.

leater.jpg
 
lol - not long ago, I took a piece of sample/patch leather beneath my couch and tried to strop on both smooth & rough sides. It didn't worked & felt funny, it just too soft & thin. The rough/nap side is lumpy and clumps came off.
 
That leather looks very, very soft and pretty thick. I don't think it would make good strop leather.
 
With compound, and on a firm or hard backing (hardwood, glass, etc.), virtually anything can work. Sometimes the simplest materials can even work great. If it's soft, but thin (1/16" or less), the hard backing should help. Stretching it over the hard backing could also firm it up. Give it a try; that's the best way to find out. And the more refined your edges are off the hones, the easier stropping will be on almost any surface.

It's always a good idea to try out several materials and variations, so you can see what works best for you.


David
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
With compound, and on a firm or hard backing (hardwood, glass, etc.), virtually anything can work. Sometimes the simplest materials can even work great. If it's soft, but thin (1/16" or less), the hard backing should help. Stretching it over the hard backing could also firm it up. Give it a try; that's the best way to find out. And the more refined your edges are off the hones, the easier stropping will be on almost any surface.

It's always a good idea to try out several materials and variations, so you can see what works best for you.

David
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Doesn't look thin to me. That's why I don't think it will make good strop material. It *can* be used to make a strop, though, of course, and I agree that the OP might want to just try it out and see what happens. I'm curious to see the results myself. With aggressive compound, a hard backing, and a light touch, it might be a great strop. I wouldn't use it, though.

OP, if you do decide to try this as a project, I'd dress that leather after putting it on the backing and let it dry overnight before applying compound.
 
FWIW, it doesn't have to be thin, to be useful. My favorite strop for 1095 and simpler stainless is a leather belt that's about ~1/8" thick or so, used with green compound. How it gets used, with regard to pressure, and speed of stroke, is what can make a big difference. Different steels will respond in different ways to the substrate and compound. Especially with more refinement of the edge off the stones, it can be somewhat amazing what will produce noticeable and quick improvement in an edge (stropping on denim/jeans, on the 'soft' backing of one's thigh, is a perfect example of this). This is why I recommended trying as many variations as possible.

Don't close your mind to trying different things. With some patience and careful observation, many of the so-called 'unworkable' things might surprise you.


David
 
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It's not the thickness/thinness that's the problem. It's the softness combined with the thickness. You admit as much yourself in your above post: "If it's soft, but thin..." Your leather belt isn't made of plush sofa leather... at least I'm assuming it isn't.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
It's not the thickness/thinness that's the problem. It's the softness combined with the thickness. You admit as much yourself in your above post: "If it's soft, but thin..." Your leather belt isn't made of plush sofa leather... at least I'm assuming it isn't.
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I've used any number of different types of leather, some of which are quite soft (like chamois, for example), thick, or both. My belt isn't exactly firm either (and I'm using the suede side with green compound, BTW). What I'm recommending to Kenny is based on if he runs into issues with the softness (if any), stretching it over a hard backing may help. This is how I used the chamois, by the way, with alox compound, and it worked great. I do like to use firmer backing, generally, but I don't limit myself to it. An individual edge, at any given time, needs what it needs. And sometimes they respond well to a few feather-light strokes on a 'gentler' backing (again, stropping on jeans, for example).

Upholstery leather usually isn't very thick (else it'd be extremely expensive, and much more difficult to work with, for furniture). I doubt the thickness of this leather would be so prohibitive as to make it unusable for stropping. Again, it's up to the person with the leather in-hand, to decide whether it'll work or not, as opposed to blindly rejecting it based on what it looks like in a picture, to somebody else.

Kenny, you are the best judge of what will work for you. If you're tempted to give it a try, go for it. It's a piece of scrap anyway, a great opportunity to learn something. Nothing to lose.


David
 
No argument here. In fact, I said he should try it in my above post. No one said he should blindly reject it based on what it looks like. I said it looks thick and soft and probably not ideal. But agreed 100% that he should go ahead and make a strop and let us know how it works.
 
You might want to find out how the leather was tanned. I have heard that you want vegetable tanned. There are many types of tanning, and I was told that some of those chemicals can cause or encourage corrosion. Perhaps not as much of a problem on a strop, but more of a problem for sheaths because a knife spends more time there.

Sincerely,
--Lagrangian

P.S. I didn't find a definitive source, but here is one website:

"Knife Sheaths:
Almost exclusively made with vegetable tanned leather with the exception being the lined area's that do not come in contact with metals. The chromium salts used in chrome-tanning can corrode some metals over time."
http://www.waterhouseleather.com/leather_buying_guide.htm
 
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'Almost' all (but not all...) furniture leather is chrome tanned. Same with the very soft garment leather. Heavy duty motorcycle jackets are usually veg tanned, but softer fashion stuff tends not to be. Looking at the swatch of leather in this photo, it really looks like thick, soft chromed tanned leather to me. And that thickness combined with softness is going to be the death of an edge...

With a piece of leather like that, I'd turn it into a coin purse. Leather belts, even when chrome tanned, tend to be much stiffer than this leather looks. Of course, without feeling it, it's really hard to judge.

Stitchawl
 
Well I decided to just try it out...

2013-02-17_22-03-33_162.jpg


Haven't really used it enough to be able to comment if it really works.
 
Absolutely, try it and learn! That's the best anyone can do! Once you "get it" you'll feel and hear when you're doing it right!
 
Wow, nice job on the strop. Talk about "let the fibers do the work!" I prefer smooth leather for a strop, but if you're going with the nap, might as well go big, right? :D :D :D Seriously, though, use very, very light pressure. Don't even let the softness of that leather play a role. Finish the edge as much as you can on the stones, and just let the fibers "glide" over your edge with that strop. I think that will probably be the best way to get the most out of that strop.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Don't close your mind to trying different things. With some patience and careful observation, many of the so-called 'unworkable' things might surprise you.
David
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Got a good chuckle of that as it couldn't be more true. I have access to all manner of really hard cardboard that comes out to my job sites, and my FAVORITE strop is an easily made, disposable model that I make about every 4 months.

I find some hard cardboard that I can cut into 2" wide strips about 14" long. I charge it with a bit of green stainless polish, and that's my strop. I can take these anywhere I go, touch up my knives out on the job as needed, and they are ridiculously cheap and easy to make.

Take the cardboard strop out and lay it on something hard and smooth like a piece of plywood or 2X4, and 4 - 5 passes per side and that's all that is needed.

I have also found this to be useful when keeping my wood chisels in top shape, too. And at these prices, I can put a strop in tool boxes, the chisel box and my glove compartment. They are also dandy when camping as long as you don't get them wet.

Robert
 
Magnaminous_G said:
Wow, nice job on the strop. Talk about "let the fibers do the work!" I prefer smooth leather for a strop, but if you're going with the nap, might as well go big, right? :D :D :D Seriously, though, use very, very light pressure. Don't even let the softness of that leather play a role. Finish the edge as much as you can on the stones, and just let the fibers "glide" over your edge with that strop. I think that will probably be the best way to get the most out of that strop.
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Thanks. Heh, glad it wasn't just my imagination that the fibers were a little bigger than normal lol

Sounds about like what I was doing with it. I think the fibers might be a little too big though, because without pressing them down a little the edge never really makes complete contact with the surface underneath of them. I dunno, I guess time will tell!
 
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