Gluing leather to MDF

[Dave Zellers]

I just bought a piece of hard 5mm thick leather and I'm thinking of gluing it to a piece of MDF to use as a strop. Normally I'd just use Titebond II but I thought I'd check in here first since it was a bit pricey and I'd rather not ruin it.

Any opinions?

[glenn bradley]

An adhesive that remains a little flexible like E6000 or 3M spray 77 would be my choice. The E6000 grips like crazy, the 77 can be released with a heat gun.

[Brian Hale]

I've always used 3M Super 77 spray adhesive like Glenn suggested. You won't need much

[Dave Zellers]

Ooh! I think I have the 3M 77 spray. Cool.

[Brian Hale]

I put the fuzzy side up

[Dave Zellers]

I put the fuzzy side up

I've heard folks say that- can't bring myself to do it. This is hard black leather and the smooth side reminds me of an old barber strop.

But the piece is 12" x 12" and I'll probably cut off 3" for the strop so I could actually do one each way. My thinking at this point is to make 2 and use compound on one and keep the other one clean.

After maybe 2 years of pestering folks here with sharpening questions and acquiring various stones, I think I'm starting to get it.

When friends visit now and want to help in the kitchen, the first thing I do is warn them that the knives are *SHARP!*

We moved the band-aids from the upstairs medicine cabinet to the kitchen a while ago...

[Stew Denton]

I used 77 to make my strop, and it is holding well.

Regards,

Stew

[Dave Zellers]

So glad I asked this here. I would have not thought to use this.

I especially like that it can be released with heat.

[les winter]

I have made several, including a double layer of leather. All smooth side up. I used Titebond liquid hide glue. Easy to use, almost no squeeze out if you coat only the leather. After applying the glue, turn it upside down and clamp it evenly to your workbench. Let set for a couple of hours. Works great.

I choose to use planed hardwood as a substrate.

[Dave Keele]

I make a power strop for my woodcarving tools using MDF for the wheels ( 8" x 1.5"). In years past, I've used 3M 8001 weatherstrip adhesive. The past couple of years I've gone to contact cement. Both work very well, but have found the contact cement to spread easier, as it's a bit thinner on application. Apply two coats to each surface prior to joining. Because the wheel turns at approx. 400 RPM, I can't afford to use any type of releasable glue. (I have never had the leather separate from the wheel on any of the wheels I've made.)

As far as rough side/smooth side out.... My first sharpener was built in 1980 with smooth side out (that was common place at that time). 2 years ago I rebuilt wheels on this original sharpener and re-used the same leather on a new wheel, putting the rough-side out, as that seems to be the thing to do today. (I also put rough-side out on new sharpeners.) To be honest, I can not tell a difference in my edges with use. I'm convinced it really doesn't matter.

I believe the thinking may be that the rough side will hold the compound in place better.... and maybe it does. I believe the more important thing is the technique used to hone vs. rough/smooth side.

FWIW.... I'm not sure using a bare leather strop will do much good. It's the compound that does the work, not the leather. One can use several things to hold the compound besides leather... non-printed side of a cereal box cardboard, jean denim, wood, etc. I know several people who apply the compound directly to the MDF wheel and hone just fine. There is a cardboard (paper) wheel commercially made that is used with compound applied directly. Some folks don't like leather, as it's softer and gives a bit, making it easier to round the edges, but it's what you get used to. I like leather.

Edit: ....apologies for posting about power device in this forum.


Sharpener 1.jpg

[Don Dorn]

I didn't glue, rather using two sided carpet tape. Still using the same strop years later. Just lazy I guess.

[Dave Zellers]

That's interesting too. I have some of that as well.

Thanks.

[Luke Dupont]

I've heard folks say that- can't bring myself to do it. This is hard black leather and the smooth side reminds me of an old barber strop.

But the piece is 12" x 12" and I'll probably cut off 3" for the strop so I could actually do one each way. My thinking at this point is to make 2 and use compound on one and keep the other one clean.

After maybe 2 years of pestering folks here with sharpening questions and acquiring various stones, I think I'm starting to get it.

When friends visit now and want to help in the kitchen, the first thing I do is warn them that the knives are *SHARP!*

We moved the band-aids from the upstairs medicine cabinet to the kitchen a while ago...

I felt the same at first. But in my experience using both, the rough side is better at removing burrs and refining the edge for anything coarser than a razor.
*this applies mainly to strops without compound. Once you put compound, any strop smooth or not will remove burrs easily.

Actually, I sharpened a razor the other day on arks, and the steel was a bit gummy and I couldn't remove the burr easily on stones, or my smooth leather strop. Switched to the rough side of the strop and the burr was removed easily. Then refined it on the smooth side and got a decent shave.

For the OP: I use wood glue (PVA) usually, and just used hide glue on leather vice jaw linings yesterday. PVA has always worked well for my strops and I'm sure hide glue or anything else would as well.
A bit of stiffness in a strop is good for woodworking anyway: a strop that is too soft may dub your edge -- a problem that I've never had.

[Dave Zellers]

For the OP:
A bit of stiffness in a strop is good for woodworking anyway: a strop that is too soft may dub your edge -- a problem that I've never had.

That’s exactly what struck me about this piece. It’s hard!

[Stewie Simpson]

If you take into account the merits of applying camber to the cutting edge of your plane irons, some give within the leather used on a stropping block makes perfect sense. Bearing that info in mind, apply light downward pressure when stropping the back of the iron. As to the question of having the smooth or rough surface of the leather exposed, my personal preference is the smooth side.