Bi-Cast leather for honing strop?

[John B Mooney]

Hi All -

I'm probably displaying my ignorance again, but here goes anyway.

I have recently replaced a worn out cheapo office chair from Staples, and have the old chair sitting awaiting disposal. It occurred to me that I might skin the chair and use the "leather" for various shop needs (shims, washers, fenders, and most importantly, strops to hold rouge for sharpening).

The reason for my post is that since it's a cheapo chair, the leather is "bi-cast" leather, which as I understand it is cheesy leather with a polyurethane coating on it to provide an even and shiny finish and some moisture resistance (hence the quotation marks around "leather").

What do you all say about this idea? Has anyone tried it? Am I going to mess up my chisels and plane irons doing this? Will I use up so much rouge that it's not worth it? I like the idea of re-purposing something I would otherwise throw out, but not if it's going to cause problems with my tools (I'm not that good at sharpening them yet anyway!)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

- John

[David Weaver]

If you want a cheap strop, look for 8/9 ounce vegetable tanned leather on ebay. it's about $12 a square foot, cut to the number of sq feet you want. Just check with the seller and request that the smooth side be absolutely smooth.

[Jim Koepke]

With all the posts from people using MDF, paper bags, the palm of their hand et al, I do not think the world will come to an end nor will your blades suffer irreparable damage from using a recycled chair covering.

Give it a try and let us know.

If it is like naugahyde and has a cloth backing, try both sides.

jtk

[Bob Glenn]

I use the back of Silicon Carbide (scary sharp) sandpaper with a little diamond paste.

[Mark Hulette]

Hi All -
the leather is "bi-cast" leather, which as I understand it is cheesy leather with a polyurethane coating on it to provide an even and shiny finish and some moisture resistance (hence the quotation marks around "leather").

I don't know if it will 'hurt' anything or not but if it is indeed 'leather' it's probably chrome tanned vs. vegetable tanned- I believe that tanning process involves some metals that may be, although microscopic, embedded in the leather. Chrome tanned is the type of leather used for shoes. Veg tanned is what is used for carving and stamping and what leather workers use to strop their knives.

Don't know if it will make a difference or not but I'd tend to stick with what the folks that do know use...

[Mark Wyatt]

Like others, I don't know how well this "leather" will work. When I went looking for leather for a strop I was fortunate to find a large, old leather retailer still in operation in Indianapolis. When I described what I was looking for, they recommended a vegetable tanned leather belt blank. It works great. Mine is 3" wide and a very thick and heavy duty leather.

A google search for "vegetable tanned leather belt blank" will offer many online options.

[John Coloccia]

You can go to the scrap bin of your local Tandy Leather, and get all the strop material you want for a couple of bucks.