Leather Strop Making

Making a Leather Strop

My Old Leather Strop was getting a little worn so I decided that it was time to make a new one. My old one was 1 inch wide by 6 inches long. It was a handy small size and worked well but for my new one I wanted to make something a little bigger. 

After scrounging around in the hardwood bin I found a nice piece of Mahogany that would work great for the strop. 

 I played around a little with the shape and eventually came up with a paddle shape that had a handle on the end. I used a paint can to make the radius transition between the wide and narrow portion of the strop. 

 Then off to the band saw to cut it to size. 

 Here is a Tip: If you are going to counter sink a hole in wood. Do the countersink first then drill the hole. This will create a clean countersink and avoid the chatter and rough edges. 

 Here is the clean countersunk hole complete. 

 I decided that I wanted one side of the strop with the rough side out and one with the flesh smooth side out. I will charge the rough side with compound and leave the flesh side bare for final stropping. 

 A little contact cement to bond the leather to the strop. 

Here is the completed strop all that needs to be done is to charge it with compound and it will be ready to sharpen, knives, chisels, plane irons, gouges, etc.