Make A Leather Strop To Help Sharpen Everything In Your Shop

My high school workshop teacher had a saying that I always keep in mind: Keep your edges sharp and your dough dry. While I don’t pay much attention to powder dryness these days, I do care a lot about my tools. Sharp edges are safer, more accurate, less annoying, and more fun to work with. This is one of my secrets to keeping them cut at their best. You may have seen a jump in an old barbershop. It was a thick, long, narrow piece of skin that hung on the wall. The barber would take his straight-blade razor and smack it up and down the surface a few times before turning his attention to his client’s face being made up. This simple movement is really a big part of keeping that blade honed, as it straightens out the microscopic curvature of the metal edge. or rounded, and it needs to be treated before you damage a cut, or press too hard and cut one of your delicate fingers. I’ve been hanging a simple leather belt in my shop for a while, and it works well as a makeshift version of that barber’s haircut. But this wooden strop project makes for a much easier way to keep my tools honed and it looks better, too.

Hardwood Backing Board – The main concern with backer wood is that it will always be flat and flat, so choose a piece of hardwood like maple or walnut, and go with precious lumber if possible for stability. I cut a piece of walnut from a larger piece on a circular saw. MDF will also work.
Leather strip – The leather for this project should be solid, untreated leather if possible. I picked up a part from here ($15) that I’ve used on a couple of projects over the past few months. The leather should be coarse to hold a bit of the honing compound, or you can sand the leather fine with a bit of 300-400 grit sandpaper for a smoother finish.
Glue – You can use standard yellow wood glue or 5-minute epoxy ($10) to secure the leather to the wood.
honing compound – This gives the skin a little more effect. You can use honed compound rods ($12) or diamond paste ($8). Either way, it’s effective for months of normal use, so a little will go a long way.

StepsRead more: how to bun a synthetic wigCut and flatten the support board – As I said earlier, it is important that the support board is stable and stable. I cut a 3/4 inch slice of walnut from a piece of solid wood, then stacked it on the saw table. To make sure it was flat, I did a quick sanding on a sheet of 100 grit sandpaper glued to my workbench.Create notch – This is an optional step, as you can glue the leather directly to the back cover panel. But I wanted the leather to feel a bit more finished so I traced the thickness of the leather from the board with a cross-cut sled and stopped on each side.Cut the skin and protect – This is an important step, so use a fresh and very sharp knife. I cut the leather a little larger than the finished size and set it in place to cut to fit. You’ll definitely know it if this piece is too small or crooked, so take your time. Once I had the suit fit perfectly, I used a 5 minute epoxy (yellow wood glue works well) to secure the leather to the back panel. Read more: how to send videos on kik | Top Q&AFinished with mineral oil – The entire piece, wood and leather must be coated with a good coat of mineral oil to complete the project. Mineral oil protects the wood and charges the leather so that the honing compound can be adherent and effective. I rub the oil with my hands all over the cloth, then wipe it off with a rag.Add honing compound – The final step is to grind a bit of .5 micron diamond honing compound or paste. If using a stick, rub the skin several times from top to bottom. If using glue, add a bit more to the center of the metal stick and use a flat metal tool such as a scraper to rub around the surface. for regular sharpening, it will certainly prolong the life of those edges during daily use. Once you see how effective they are, you can make some extras to always have one at hand. Read more: how to connect wii to computer monitor