Thread: Kangaroo Leather Strop

Back in the late 1960's I befriended an old whipmaker. He used the tanned tail of the kangaroo for his strops which he added valve grinding paste.

'Valve grinding paste" great if you were stropping hedge shears, just about any fine grained leather can be used as a strop

The very last thing that I would ever wish for in a strop is "supple."
What goes wrong, in particular if you apply pressure, is that the leather deforms under the tool and rebounds right at the edge you are attempting to hone.
That will round off the bevel to something too big to be the least bit useful.

All my crooked knives (both single edge and double edged) are sharpened to 12 degrees, total included bevel. Because of the sweep of the blades (eg Mora #171 & 188), I use breakfast cereal box cardboard wrapped around a piece of 18mm Al tubing and 50,000 grit chrome oxide green honing compound. Works correctly, every time. That edge is a dream to work with for no more than 30 minutes max then do it again.

I agree, Robson, supple - in the sense of too soft to resist compression - is bad. Will dub the edge. However, I think leather can be supple (rather than stiff) and still make an excellent strop. Think of a barber's strop. They can feel as hard as glass, but will deform - bend over - the spine of the razor nonetheless.

While that's true, don't forget what that razor is designed to cut: wet protein.
Consequently, the barber can lay that flat on the leather for a very, very slim profile. Clearly the barber isn't pressing with two hands to try to get a shiny shank!
I wonder, despite the apparent flexibility, if a barber's strop is really all that pliable.

I made a really nice, soft leather strop, on an 18mm dowel, for my crooked knives.
The knife is clamped to the bench and you move the strop. Dreadful edges! Really frustrating. When I finally smartened up and threw it in the trash, got busy with the cardboard and the pipe, my worries were over.

Recently, I've used the crooked knives to carve my first spoons in birch hardwood (PIX later) and my current method really held up well. The frightening thought is that it all went so well that I just might make some more spoons.

Originally Posted by China

'Valve grinding paste" great if you were stropping hedge shears, just about any fine grained leather can be used as a strop

His knives cut redhide whips out with ease; so the valve grinding compound worked very well for him. This old guy was a fair dinkum craftsman and I was proud to know him.

I guess he learnt to get the best out of what tools he had! Roo leather for whips is surprisingly supple and the way they taper it by hand is tough art! If the knife is not super sharp you can forget it! Cutting shoe leather is easy when you compare it to free hand tapering whip leather.

I have heard others talking about valve grinding paste as a stropping compound. I always assumed it was far too aggressive.
Maybe it breaks down rapidly to a finer grit?

I did make a roo leather Barber style strop once but I did not get great results with it. I tried it pulled tight over a flat hardwood block with better results but to tell you the truth, I can't help but be too heavy handed when I strop. It did not suit my style.

Probably a better strop would be an old stiff belt from an op shop. By all means give the roo leather a go though! Maybe the soft leather and valve grinding paste might be a great combination!

It is most likely more a matter of feel as to what you charge your strop with I have tried valve grind paste and personaly I find it too agressive for stropping, I like a finer sdge on my leather working knives