spaceconvoy
Senior Member
I usually bash the use of strops, but for some reason I got the itch to have one again. The impulse started with a piece of 12 x 3 x 1" marine grade teak I bought as a base for an aoto that I'm pretty sure I'll sell soon. It's so nice - dense, heavy, very straight and flat, and should be dimensionally stable for the rest of my lifetime.
The top is a horse butt strop, flesh side up so I could sand it flat after gluing. I could have pre-sanded it then glued it down to use the harder hair side, but I prefer it this way to achieve ultimate flatness. I'm not a razor guy and to me this feels optimal for knives. It's still really hard with no perceivable give, but you could dig into it with a fingernail. Flattened with 200 grit sandpaper spray-adhesive'd to a board, then finished with 1000 grit - just happened to be what I had on hand. Coated with Bick 4 leather conditioner it feels really slick and nice.
The base is a piece of textured neoprene for traction, same 1/8th thickness as the leather. Doesn't look so pretty after the waffle pattern picked up sanding dust. If I did it again, I'd wait to attach it after flattening the leather. Works well enough to keep the strop from moving, and there's a nice visual symmetry instead of using feet. The feeling of a solid block is really nice too, like a leather stone. I used Master's contact cement because it was recommended for shoe making in a few leather forums, and the bond feels really solid even while trimming and sanding the edges.
Very satisfied with the way it came out, and it feels like the perfect strop to me. Not sure that I'll use it much, but it's something I've been wanting to have around just for kicks.
The top is a horse butt strop, flesh side up so I could sand it flat after gluing. I could have pre-sanded it then glued it down to use the harder hair side, but I prefer it this way to achieve ultimate flatness. I'm not a razor guy and to me this feels optimal for knives. It's still really hard with no perceivable give, but you could dig into it with a fingernail. Flattened with 200 grit sandpaper spray-adhesive'd to a board, then finished with 1000 grit - just happened to be what I had on hand. Coated with Bick 4 leather conditioner it feels really slick and nice.
The base is a piece of textured neoprene for traction, same 1/8th thickness as the leather. Doesn't look so pretty after the waffle pattern picked up sanding dust. If I did it again, I'd wait to attach it after flattening the leather. Works well enough to keep the strop from moving, and there's a nice visual symmetry instead of using feet. The feeling of a solid block is really nice too, like a leather stone. I used Master's contact cement because it was recommended for shoe making in a few leather forums, and the bond feels really solid even while trimming and sanding the edges.
Very satisfied with the way it came out, and it feels like the perfect strop to me. Not sure that I'll use it much, but it's something I've been wanting to have around just for kicks.