Thread: Strop

If you must use leather, find a farm store and look at the leather strapping in the horse tack section.
Because the leather rebounds at the passing of the tool edge, I abandoned them years ago.
Instead, I use a strip of some sort of box card, mounted on a flat surface with dabs of masking tape.
Scribble CrOx/AlOx all over it and go to it. Easily refreshed and economical.

For the crooked sweeps of all my Pacific Northwest style carving knives, I wrap a 3' x 5" office filing card around a tube mandrel.

You don't need particularly thick leather. Any offcut will do, really.

Head to the local saddler ... ask if they have some offcuts ... I just made one with a scrap of upholstery leather about 1mm thick

The inside surface from the box card from a box of Rice Bubbles is easily good enough for a strop.

I have the full-sized Stubai carver's adze. It is a 7/75 with an inside bevel. I use a tennis ball as the strop.

An old whipmaker friend of mine used a tanned kangaroo tail for his strop. He was a real old-timer and it was something passed down in the trade.

Originally Posted by Glenn.Visca

Head to the local saddler ... ask if they have some offcuts ... I just made one with a scrap of upholstery leather about 1mm thick

And where exactly do you find a saddler in Melbourne suburbia?
I googled a bit but could not find anything. Some places selling saddles but not exactly a craftsman.

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

You don't need particularly thick leather. Any offcut will do, really.

If the leather is thin and flimsy won't it tear with the pressure from chisels and knives?
I was thinking about an offcut too but I cannot figure out where I can find that in Australia. All my online searches have given me no results at all.

For leather offcuts try an upholsterer.

Glue the leather to a strip of straight, smooth wood. Pull strokes only. 6-8 will be enough.
Watch the bevel & edge with a 10X magnifier Paint the bevel with a black felt marker so you can see instantly what's rubbing.

Originally Posted by Pagonelos

And where exactly do you find a saddler in Melbourne suburbia?
I googled a bit but could not find anything. Some places selling saddles but not exactly a craftsman.

Maybe some of these ?

Yellow pages .. saddlery .. South Morang


Yellow Pages

National Equestrian Wholesalers
Saddlery & Riding - Thomastown, VIC

No opening hours provided
6.02km
1
36 Northgate Dr, Thomastown VIC 3074
(03) 9464 1599
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Upstart Sulkys
Saddlery & Riding - Thomastown, VIC

No opening hours provided
Thomastown VIC 3074
0403 565 123
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Ransome
Saddlery & Riding - Hurstbridge, VIC

No opening hours provided
8.05km
2
128 Halleys Gulley Rd, Hurstbridge VIC 3099
(03) 9718 2099
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Easy Starr Protective Clothing
Saddlery & Riding - Hurstbridge, VIC

No opening hours provided
8.05km
3
128 Haleys Gully Rd, Hurstbridge VIC 3099
(03) 9718 2099
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Horseland
Saddlery & Riding - Epping, VIC

No opening hours provided
6.01km
4
Unit 1/ 88 Cooper St, Epping VIC 3076
(03) 8405 3474
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Horseland
Saddlery & Riding - Greensborough, VIC

No opening hours provided
5.87km
5
87 Main St, Greensborough VIC 3088
(03) 9435 7544
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Hurstbridge Saddlery Pet and Stock feed
Saddlery & Riding - Hurstbridge, VIC

No opening hours provided
9.58km
6
942 Heidelburg Rd, Hurstbridge VIC 3099
(03) 9438 2300
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Paul Broadfoot
Saddlery & Riding - Preston, VIC

No opening hours provided
12.79km
7
Suite G 6/ 84 Hotham St, Preston VIC 3072
1300 987 744
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Unicorn Equestrian Goods
Saddlery & Riding - Campbellfield, VIC

No opening hours provided
11.02km
8
89 Mason St, Campbellfield VIC 3061
(03) 9357 9533
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Virtual Tack Shop
Saddlery & Riding - Kangaroo Ground, VIC

No opening hours provided
Kangaroo Ground VIC 3097
(03) 9712 0995
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HORSE-IN-THE-BOX
Saddlery & Riding - Doncaster East, VIC

No opening hours provided
13.97km
9
1 Brooke Dr, Doncaster East VIC 3109
(03) 9841 6659
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The Riders Shoppe
Saddlery & Riding - Research, VIC

No opening hours provided
10.28km
10
Unit 5/ 1637 Main Rd, Research VIC 3095
(03) 9437 2609
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We have 12 results for Saddlery & Riding in SOUTH MORANG, VIC available in the Yellow Pages[emoji768] directory. You can refine and sort your search for SOUTH MORANG Saddlery & Riding by distance, specialty or service options. You can also use the interactive map of SOUTH MORANG to find the exact location of the business and get directions from wherever you are.
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Saddlery & Riding in VIC
Saddlery & Riding in South Morang, VIC 3752

Most leather suppliers have an offcut bin

Leffler Leather Melbourne Australia | Contact Us with this form | You will be able to contact the staff at Leffler using this page

A fellow woodworker in Townsville tried to make and sell boxed strops on an auction site a couple of years ago but was suspended from the site almost immediately for selling animal products (leather) without being able to prove it was harvested sustainably so finding this type of product online can be difficult.

Crazy thing is he purchased the leather he used from another seller on the same site, go figure?
Cheers, Ian

I've purchased leather for various projects from NSW Leather Co (Collingwood) and Lefflers Leather ( North Melbourne) both have a good rang in varying weights and grades, and both have offcut bins where you can often find gold. I've made strops with leather from both places.

Ollie.

Why use leather? It's no more than a carrier for the honing compound. Other easier and more economical modern
things will do better.