would this stuff mke a decent strop

Jeltz

Jeltz

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Location
Wiltshire
On the basis that as a total novice I'm likely to destroy my strop with nicks while I get my technique sorted I wondered about making one.

I found this leather on the bay and wondered how it would be for making a strop?

Clearly there is more than I need for just one so I could also make a couple of paddle strops for Cr2O3 or diamond spray etc.

A far as other suggestions for DIY strops I also have several pairs of old jeans I could cut up and loads of off cuts of wood (pine, oak, beech, cherry) and a surface plainer in the workshop to get them flat! But alas no balsa and no craft shops near by to get some.
 
I've heard newspaper works as a strop, and from what I hear is pretty cheap. I'd imagine it might be worth shelling out for a broadsheet.

You might be as well buying a decent strop, and practicing with a knife if you're concerned. I never nicked my first strop, I was being very careful. My second strop I was over confident with and put one little nick on it, doesn't really make any difference and what difference it does make will decrease with time.

I think there's a pretty good chance you won't destroy your first strop.

For an extra fiver you can get a strop from Neil.

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If you look after it well it will serve you well as a travel strop, give you something decent to compare other strops to and be very handy when trying to convert friends to straight shaving.

55 inches of ENGLISH NATURAL VEG TAN BELT or 17.5 inches of strop from Neil? I know where I'd put my money. I'd love to recommend Tony Miller too but I don't think he's making an awful lot of strops these days.
 
Proinsias said:
55 inches of ENGLISH NATURAL VEG TAN BELT or 17.5 inches of strop from Neil? I know where I'd put my money. I'd love to recommend Tony Miller too but I don't think he's making an awful lot of strops these days.
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That is a valid and fair point, however I am one of life's tinkerers and if I can put my own labour into creating something I get a great deal of satisfaction from doing so. Which is just as important as the cost saving.
 
I considered the same stuff a while ago (I was determined to make my own! Tight budget and all that!), got in touch with the seller and they told me it's very similar to what they use for their own strops (which look pretty good if you're on a budget). It's actually the very same leather you can buy from Tandy Leather. In the end I got some leather from another source. To be honest though, by the time you've bought all the fixing and fastenings it's a bit of a false economy, but it's good to have something you've made yourself I think. Having said all that, I'm going to buy a proper one as soon as I've mastered my technique.
 
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