Making a Straight Razor Strop 

Funny, it's what I would use to discipline your mother last night.

That’s kinda classy to get your ass whipped with a leather strip instead of a belt.

😂 and your dad was using it to discipline your mom 😭😭

​@@d-towngv3201 well it's been in the family for generations.

I love to be discipline like that

You run the razor across it. It hones the edge.

Same, still don’t know what it is used for

​@@Laluan It's a tool barbers used to use to keep the edge of their blades well.

I was hoping the snoop dog theme would play

I was hoping some macleod would play

They are definitely an essential part of keeping a blade sharp!

Ditto here 🙋. When I was younger I tried and tried and tried to get my knives to shave hair and could NEVER do it. Until I stumbled across the unbeatable combo of diamond plates and made myself a few good strops; one with green compound (medium), one w red (fine) and finally one with black compound (ultra fine). Well those things and finally learning how to get a nice even bevel. Add mentioned above, a good leather strop is 100% MUST have if you're even remotely interested in sharpening you own knives. Great video thanks for the effort! 😁👍

@@taviss2775 i used a regular stone sharpening tool. Followed by one of my dad's ceramic coffee mugs. Then the strop. Sometimes id run out of wax and use buffing compound for cars. Worked just as good.

@@taviss2775 wow so would you sweat over leather sharpening vs whetstone? Some of my knives are only to be sharpened on whetstone as the steel is so hard

I was going to say you started shaving with a straight razor at the age of 12 lol

Really? Wow that's surprising Anybody leather belt from the op ship will do

You really don't

@@carlito19934 Well he didn’t

I appreciate that! Glad you enjoyed watching the process

Nah you don't

They are meant for straight razors

If you gots to know, there are videos out there but you basically move the blade backwards across the length of the strop at the angle of the bevel on the blade. If you move it forwards then you will cut the leather. There are cutting compounds you can rub on the strop to make it take material off the blade better and the canvas strop is there to buff the blade after and really get a fine edge. Same technique.

I have strops I have made that are just like that for my utility/workshop/edc knives.

Thank you! deaconleather.com

About as often as I think about my burger and steak being a cow. It's an interesting fact of life. Whats weirder is this book I found. I don't think it's leather was cow...

I’m trying to keep it as traditional as possible and almost every high quality vintage horsehide strop has foil stamping at the top and bottom. Doesn’t impact usability whatsoever. You should look them up sometime, the vintage ones are beautiful.

No you didnt

Probably just scrolled into it

Not to be rude like I kinda get it’s convenience, but why not just get a strop for the purpose and keep your nice leather belt looking nice and not using stropping compounds on it

@@billym7930 because that side of it doesn't get seen. Also, for bushcraft never really used a compound either. Keep in mind my strops are for knifes, not a barber's straight razor and that I'm by no means any kind of professional. Still get them shaving sharp most of the time.

It’s a high quality hemp webbing. Helps clean and prepare the straight razor prior to stropping

Yes, helps with durability, protection, and helps prevent fraying. It essentially pushes and collects all the fibers into the line.

Same question here

Same question here

To help with sharpening a straight razor

Beeswax

😂

Would guess it's for honing

It's the last step of sharpening. Any sharp knife can cut meat, but you need surgical sharpness to cut hair, and the smoothness of the strop gets that last bit of ultimate sharpness. It's also for maintaining the edge and overall maintenance.

Think of it as the final polish after rough sanding, it smooths away any fine burrs, polishes the cutting edge and fines the edge up nicely. There are alternatives to stropping such as using a block of soft wood with diamond powder impregnated into the surface but for professionals who need their blades ready in a hurry the strop is the way to go.

Is it just thick leather? Never thought it would sharpen

@@your_uncle_barry_6700 Yes it is, and it's not for removing material to form an edge like a file or sharpening stone, it's the last step that essentially buffs out the work you did with those, into an even sharper edge. Think of it like using finer and finer grit sandpaper, until it gets to the stage when you're using cloth or a polishing sponge. The leather is metal's polishing sponge.

Hello yes I do, they are made by me in my workshop in the USA. You can check deaconleather.com for availability. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions

Honing the edge of a knife or razor.