FYI: Leather for strop sharpening
 

Just to let you all know, for those that sharpen their own chisels and plane
cutters, there is a seller with the best leather there is for this purpose which
is "horse butt" (as I have read), on ebay and on with their own website. I
ordered one for my DP wheel (almost done making that) and will use another
piece for hand stropping. Supposedly this is very thin leather (5/64 to 5.5/64)
that is extremely tough, these pieces are "vegetable tanned" (veggy oil?). It is
a nice large whole piece, not diced-up. He emailed me back in reply and said
they have thousands of whole ones. I read in a forum that if used correctly
one piece will last a lifetime.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=8113490412
http://www.brettunsvillage.com/ then "side leathers" and scroll down to
"North of Cordovan" and you'll see it. I think it would better not to glue
it to a piece of wood when you can flip it over and have two qualities of
grain.

Alex

AAvK notes:

piece for hand stropping. Supposedly this is very thin leather (5/64 to
5.5/64)
that is extremely tough, these pieces are "vegetable tanned" (veggy oil?).

Not oil. Vegetable tannins. Actually the only way leather is 'tanned' which is
the process of changing it from raw skin to leather.

Charlie Self
"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not
hereditary." Thomas Paine

Weeell, maybe not. One of the first things we were advised about the locals
up in Alaska was to avoid purchase of mukluks/parkas from them which
employed an animal acid - urine- to preserve them.

Those kinds of things keep you warm outside at -30, but can drive you into
the cold again if you let them thaw indoors.

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
that is extremely tough, these pieces are "vegetable tanned" (veggy
oil?).

Not oil. Vegetable tannins. Actually the only way leather is 'tanned'
which is
the process of changing it from raw skin to leather.

"George" george@least wrote in message
...
Weeell, maybe not. One of the first things we were advised about the
locals
up in Alaska was to avoid purchase of mukluks/parkas from them which
employed an animal acid - urine- to preserve them.

Those kinds of things keep you warm outside at -30, but can drive you into
the cold again if you let them thaw indoors.

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
that is extremely tough, these pieces are "vegetable tanned" (veggy
oil?).

Not oil. Vegetable tannins. Actually the only way leather is 'tanned'
which is
the process of changing it from raw skin to leather.


Guess you all never heard about using brains to tan buckskin. For example
http://www.nativetech.org/tanning/tanintro.html
"every animal has just enough brains to tan its own hide"

Del Cecchi responds:

George" george@least wrote in message
...
Weeell, maybe not. One of the first things we were advised about the
locals
up in Alaska was to avoid purchase of mukluks/parkas from them which
employed an animal acid - urine- to preserve them.

Those kinds of things keep you warm outside at -30, but can drive you into
the cold again if you let them thaw indoors.

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
that is extremely tough, these pieces are "vegetable tanned" (veggy
oil?).

Not oil. Vegetable tannins. Actually the only way leather is 'tanned'
which is
the process of changing it from raw skin to leather.


Guess you all never heard about using brains to tan buckskin. For example
http://www.nativetech.org/tanning/tanintro.html
"every animal has just enough brains to tan its own hide"

Not tanning. Curing. Without tannins, you aren't tanning, regardless of what it
is called, but there are numerous other ways to cure skins and turn them into
leather. Over the years, several of them have come to be called tanning, but...

Ah. I see. Smoke the hides first. Or use wood ash.

Vegetable tanning.


Charlie Self
"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not
hereditary." Thomas Paine

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 07:00:16 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:

avoid purchase of mukluks/parkas from them which
employed an animal acid - urine- to preserve them.

Those kinds of things keep you warm outside at -30, but can drive you into
the cold again if you let them thaw indoors.

I think I've ****ed in every pair of my walking boots. How else do
you wear them in properly ?

Not to mention the number of woven fabrics traditionally using urine
(or "lant") in their processing.

--
Smert' spamionam

My dad taught me to face downwind....

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...

I think I've ****ed in every pair of my walking boots. How else do
you wear them in properly ?