Strop leather

[Rwe2156]

Mike, when I was looking for leather to line my vise jaws I discovered leather is sold in oz's which reflects the thickness. Check it out here.

You have to be careful how thick the leather is and that leather looks pretty thin. Still will work for a strop, tho.

I know a saddle maker who is willing to practically give away her cutoffs. Something to think about if there's a shop around you.

Jeff, no you don't need a strop. Even still, I use one, but not all the time. If you're sharpening correctly then 8 or 10K you should be getting a polished, razor sharp edge.

Personal preference, but I, for one, want my edges razor sharp. This amounts to 15 seconds so why not?

And yes, the wood does care how sharp the blade is.

 

[Chris C]

I cut a section off the end of mine and attached to a short board. That way I can clamp it to the edge of the bench (and remove it) quickly.

I use green chromium oxide on mine. I have added a touch of machine oil but don't see any real advantage. It may help.....may not but definitely doesn't hurt.

 

[Tarhead]

I
2. I saw a couple videos where the guy sanded the strop to rough it up a bit first then used mineral oil on it and once that soaked in he heated the strop a little and coated it in the green chromic oxide honing compound saying the heat helped open up the leather to accept the compound "better" and he loaded up the strop like this only the first use. Is all of this really worth it or recommended as a best practice ?

Thanks in advance !

Congrats on the new stuff!
I normally don't use a leather strop on my bench chisels as I'm happy with the edge I get honing with 2 micron diamond paste on telephone book paper taped to glass. I do use a leather strop for carving knives to polish and remove the burr but have switched to 2 micron diamond paste instead of the green compound. Most green compounds have a wax base and should load just fine without extra heat and oil. Just rub it vigorously in the area you plan to use on the strop and go at it. The heat generated as the blade rubs over the leather will move it into the leather.

As a word of caution before loading up your strop...research the compound. Brent Beach posted an article where he discussed using strops and looked at different compounds, including the LV green compound crayons, and found they contained lots of different sized particles and different minerals than just chrome oxide. http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/Stropping.html Seems there is no official standard for them and some can leave a rougher edge (deeper/wider scratches) when examined under a microscope than that from other abrasives with much higher grit. Whether this matters in the end is up to the user. The cost of diamond pastes have dropped quite a bit and can be used as an alternative for precision honing if it is something you want to try.

 

[Mike Davis]

Mike, when I was looking for leather to line my vise jaws I discovered leather is sold in oz's which reflects the thickness. Check it out here.

You have to be careful how thick the leather is and that leather looks pretty thin. Still will work for a strop, tho.

I think this is plenty thick.

 

[Frank Berry]

Mike, that was me asking bout the leather back when we were at the Wood Store in Graham. I had contacted a leather supplier and he sent me about 62" of 3" wide Herman Oak leather and charged me only $24. That even included the shipping. I told hime what I wanted it for and he suggested the Herman Oak. He said he would cut a piece and make it a large belt order so I would get it a bit cheaper. It worked out perfect for my strop. I made a nice strop on a thick piece of kitchen back splash granite I found for $2 at a resale for Habitat store.

 

[Frank Berry]

Those of us old enough to remember when barbers used straight razors to shave faces and necks also remember those "razor strops" usually attached to the side of the chair. They weren't there for looks! A good barber would strop that razor almost every time between customers.

Not many on here know more about sharpening than Mike Davis.

:notworthy:

I have learned more about sharpening from Mike Davis in about an hour then I have learned in the 65 years I have been alive. That one simple hour that Mike worked on my planes and chisels to get them sharp has honestly changed my way of thinking and doing when it comes to sharpening, and I am for ever grateful to him for that knowledge!

 

[Lowlander]

Very nice strop
http://pinewoodforge.com/product/fine-grain-leather-strop/
No affiliation

 

[danmart77]

Each to his or her own.

Mike I use the strop but I do use the "to each his own" method in my shop. Unlike most others I watch that set the strop on wood on the flat bench and pull the carving tool or chisel along the surface, I put the tool against the edge of my bench and polish the edge with the strop in my moving hand. It seems backwards at first and I guess it is really but I have more control as I polish the edge quickly and I can see it.

Years ago I saw Wallace Gusler --

a rifle maker at CW use stones this way and I couldn't believe it. He held the Arkansas stone in his working hand and honed the carving tool set against the bench. What?

It works great and you can see the micro-bevel as you are working by eye.

This might seem crazy but give it a try. Its a little like the first time I tried a Japanese saw. Well sort of.

Dan

This is an engraved and silver wire inlay rifle that Gusler did. He uses the backwards technique to sharpen carving tools, engraving tools and the liner to set the wire inlay. It seems to work well for him .. I'm trying to catch up to him but it doesn't look like I'm closing the gap.

 

[TBone]

Coffee maker broke - oh my God i would.just stay in bed. I gotta have coffee to wake-up. Without coffee in the morning you might as well just #### in my cheerios because you already know Im gonna be a.mean ### SOB.

This would require truck keys. A cup purchased on the way to buy a new coffee maker.

 

[Mike Davis]

Mike I use the strop but I do use the "to each his own" method in my shop. Unlike most others I watch that set the strop on wood on the flat bench and pull the carving tool or chisel along the surface, I put the tool against the edge of my bench and polish the edge with the strop in my moving hand. It seems backwards at first and I guess it is really but I have more control as I polish the edge quickly and I can see it.

Yes, I do this on my carving chisels, much easier to see what is happening at the cutting edge.

 

[Mike Davis]

I use hand creme to soften the leather every couple years when the strop starts drying out. Just clean the strop, squirt some hand creme on there, rub it in and let it dry, then the strop is soft and good to use for a couple more years.

 

[KenOfCary]

Mike I use the strop but I do use the "to each his own" method in my shop. Unlike most others I watch that set the strop on wood on the flat bench and pull the carving tool or chisel along the surface, I put the tool against the edge of my bench and polish the edge with the strop in my moving hand. It seems backwards at first and I guess it is really but I have more control as I polish the edge quickly and I can see it.

The larger flat stones are made to run the tool over the stone, but (especially Arkansas) slip stones are meant to be run over the tool. They are smaller and come in many contoured shapes so are intended to work on the inside curves or other complex surfaces of the tool.

Must admit I've never seen a strop used that way before though. But whatever works best for you is what you should be doing.

 

[Chris C]

Mike I use the strop but I do use the "to each his own" method in my shop. Unlike most others I watch that set the strop on wood on the flat bench and pull the carving tool or chisel along the surface, I put the tool against the edge of my bench and polish the edge with the strop in my moving hand. It seems backwards at first and I guess it is really but I have more control as I polish the edge quickly and I can see it.

Years ago I saw Wallace Gusler --

a rifle maker at CW use stones this way and I couldn't believe it. He held the Arkansas stone in his working hand and honed the carving tool set against the bench. What?

It works great and you can see the micro-bevel as you are working by eye.

This might seem crazy but give it a try. Its a little like the first time I tried a Japanese saw. Well sort of.

Dan

Interesting....I'll have to give that a try.

 

[Rwe2156]

I think this is plenty thick.
View attachment 21828

Yup! I made mine rough side up. Wish I hadn't. That's a whole 'nother discussion......

 

[danmart77]

The larger flat stones are made to run the tool over the stone, but (especially Arkansas) slip stones are meant to be run over the tool. They are smaller and come in many contoured shapes so are intended to work on the inside curves or other complex surfaces of the tool.

Must admit I've never seen a strop used that way before though. But whatever works best for you is what you should be doing.

No Ken I am not referring to a slip stone size. Gusler picked up a 2 x 6" flat stone and worked the edge. His words on it were: the gunmaker files more than anything else. The motor skills of working like this are deeply rooted and that makes it more natural. He added not seeing the edge you are working was silly. I still get a kick out of his logic. I does make some sense to me. I still like to run my wide edge tools on a stone/plate that is stationary. Again, to each is own.

later

 

[Mike Davis]

Yup! I made mine rough side up. Wish I hadn't. That's a whole 'nother discussion......

I have made them both ways different tool for different purpose.

I also have several antique hand strops, some are four sided with supposedly different compound on each side. Some are two sided with nap on one side and smooth on the other. One is.. aw heck I just need to make some photos and post.

 

[Jeff]

1 leather ounce = 1/64" so an 8 ounce piece of leather is 1/8" thick. Belts are usually about 7-8 oz leather.

Courtesy of Mike Davis: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B..._detailpages00&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1

 

[Mike Davis]

 

[Frank Berry]

After the schooling I got from Mike Davis on how to make a strop for planes and chisels, I was able to locate a couple pieces of granite. The larger piece from a member here and the smaller piece I located afterwards at a Habitat resale store for $2.00.
I glued the 180 paper on the large 36" granite and the smaller one as well and on opposite side of the smaller piece I glued a 3X21" leather strip for my strop. Now it takes me no time at all to get my plane irons and chisels back to razor sharp again. I thought the large piece might be a bit big, but it works out very well giving me a nice long stroke without stopping. It makes easy work in cleaning or flattening the planes.