# Kangaroo Leather Strop



## Grunt173 (Aug 20, 2018)

I have a Kangaroo leather strop. What is a recommended micron size and abrasive to load it with ?


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## Godslayer (Aug 20, 2018)

1 micron is what I use on my roo and it works exceedingly well


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## Marek07 (Aug 20, 2018)

Godslayer said:


> 1 micron is what I use on my roo and it works exceedingly well


Noob question... do you use the grain side or the flesh side of the roo?


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## Godslayer (Aug 20, 2018)

Marek07 said:


> Noob question... do you use the grain side or the flesh side of the roo?



I want to say flesh, but I'm not actually sure which is which lol...


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## Marek07 (Aug 20, 2018)

Godslayer said:


> I want to say flesh, but I'm not actually sure which is which lol...


AFAIK, the smooth side is the grain side and the suede-like side is the flesh side. In my experience, the flesh side of bovine leather is good for deburring while the grain side takes the pastes for stropping. Please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. But with roo, the flesh side is so soft and smooth, I'm not sure which way to go.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 20, 2018)

Marek07 said:


> AFAIK, the smooth side is the grain side and the suede-like side is the flesh side. In my experience, the flesh side of bovine leather is good for deburring while the grain side takes the pastes for stropping. Please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. But with roo, the flesh side is so soft and smooth, I'm not sure which way to go.


My understanding is the smooth side(hair side) is the one to use.Because the hairs grow close together,they leave little pockets that will take and hold an abrasive like say a CBN or diamond spray, nicely.I'm not sure what the flesh side of mine looks like because I have a backing on it.


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## catalystman80 (Aug 20, 2018)

I concur smooth side is the side to use a suitable paste/emulsion. For kitchen knife usage, just stropping on a "naked" ‘roo strop will help with deburring, and it also has a natural burnishing effect on the edge (and I find this more than suffices for my taste).

For my high alloyed steels on my folders that I mostly do hobby sharpening on, I have ‘roo strops with CBN emulsion from 1 micron down to 0.025, and it’s surprisingly effective (before actually using them, I was skeptical). But really, it’s truly just for fun to go that low (e.g. make curls on free hanging hair), and not worth the extra time and effort (especially if you don’t enjoy the very act of sharpening).

But I'd imagine you won't know until you try it for yourself. So 1 micron is a good start (and typically the "coarsest" - how ironic - you want to start with a 'roo strop). One could argue at some point in the finer range, you'll want to go to a nano strop to eliminate any natural abrasive effect from the strop itself, but I never bothered going into that rabbit hold because I don't have spray emulsions.

Afterthought: So I was thinking about what I said above overnight, and just wanted to point out that there's no right side or wrong side per se. Many people use the flesh side (suede like side, which is the side that was connected to the meat) as strops. I personally use the flesh side of cow hide for deburring, and for stropping with Bark River green and white compounds primarily used for my outdoor knives in O1, A2, 1095, etc steels that aren't considered high alloyed steels. The reason why I would say you want to use the top grain side instead (the smooth side) is really specific to kangaroo leather (this also doesn't mean top grain side of other leather types aren't "good"). Kangaroo leather (relatively) has very little give and is also very smooth. So when you're doing a fairly precise stropping (and also with very strong abrasives such as diamond or CBN compounds), it is one of the go to mediums to use (nanocloth being the other that are popular). This doesn't mean you couldn't or shouldn't use the flesh side, but one wouldn't be maximizing the investment (considering kangaroo leathers tend to be more expensive).


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## bahamaroot (Aug 21, 2018)

Where is a good place to get Kangaroo leather?


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## catalystman80 (Aug 21, 2018)

I'm still fairly new to this forum, so not sure whether it's the right etiquette to link to a non-supporting vendor, but google will take you to the link of vendors that have them.

I've used some from a well known chef's knives web store as well as that of a well known one man abrasives supplier out of CA, and they are all good. But I'm a bit OCD, and I've learned that the actual product you get sometimes isn't as good cosmetically as they are pictured (though it typically doesn't affect the performance). So I've sourced some myself directly from Australia, got some flat plates, and stuck them together with transfer tape. The leather I got had some spotty area as well, but I had full control of which part of the leather to use. It's cheaper too, I've made 6 of them (mine are 3" x 8") for about 20 bucks each at the end of the day.





















bahamaroot said:


> Where is a good place to get Kangaroo leather?


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## Grunt173 (Aug 21, 2018)

catalystman80 said:


> I'm still fairly new to this forum, so not sure whether it's the right etiquette to link to a non-supporting vendor, but google will take you to the link of vendors that have them.
> 
> I've used some from a well known chef's knives web store as well as that of a well known one man abrasives supplier out of CA, and they are all good. But I'm a bit OCD, and I've learned that the actual product you get sometimes isn't as good cosmetically as they are pictured (though it typically doesn't affect the performance). So I've sourced some myself directly from Australia, got some flat plates, and stuck them together with transfer tape. The leather I got had some spotty area as well, but I had full control of which part of the leather to use. It's cheaper too, I've made 6 of them (mine are 3" x 8") for about 20 bucks each at the end of the day.


You do nice work.


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## catalystman80 (Aug 21, 2018)

Thank you! I try.... ^_^


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## Nife (Aug 23, 2018)

.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 23, 2018)

Nife said:


> .


and why did you make such claims,Nife ?


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## Ruso (Aug 24, 2018)

Any other exotic (for northern hemisphere) animal leather is good for honning?


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## Grunt173 (Aug 24, 2018)

Ruso said:


> Any other exotic (for northern hemisphere) animal leather is good for honning?


Don't know but I once had a pair of Lizard skin cowboy boots that I bet would have worked well for stropping.


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## parbaked (Aug 24, 2018)

Ruso said:


> Any other exotic (for northern hemisphere) animal leather is good for honning?



Unicorn, if you can find it...


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## Grunt173 (Aug 24, 2018)

I was being serious about my lizard skin cowboy boots. I think the grain structure would have been perfect for stropping.To bad I don't still have them but my dog had a better use for them as a chew toy.


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## KJDedge (Aug 25, 2018)

The nice thing about a kangaroo strop is you can just put the blade
in its pouch when you are done stropping


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## Grunt173 (Aug 25, 2018)

KJDedge said:


> The nice thing about a kangaroo strop is you can just put the blade
> in its pouch when you are done stropping


lol


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## Keith Sinclair (Aug 25, 2018)

Have a alligator wallet. My favorite is a Roo bought from down under.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 25, 2018)

Keith Sinclair said:


> Have a alligator wallet. My favorite is a Roo bought from down under.


Keith,do you load your Roo with anything or just strop bare?
More importantly, how did you make out through the big storm?


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## Xenif (Aug 25, 2018)

I sense a KKF roo leather group buy momment coming soon


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## Keith Sinclair (Aug 25, 2018)

The Roo is a wallet too so don't do much stropping on it. 

Quite a bit of rain yesterday & last night. Even late as early morning yesterday it was still a cat4 on a direct path to hit Oahu. It did not turn west early as predicted by models so were expecting the worst. Instead it broke apart from wind shear and rather quickly degraded to tropical storm. Not too far from the south shore of Oahu.
The Mayor said we dodged a bullet not an understatement.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 25, 2018)

Keith Sinclair said:


> The Roo is a wallet too so don't do much stropping on it.
> 
> Quite a bit of rain yesterday & last night. Even late as early morning yesterday it was still a cat4 on a direct path to hit Oahu. It did not turn west early as predicted by models so were expecting the worst. Instead it broke apart from wind shear and rather quickly degraded to tropical storm. Not too far from the south shore of Oahu.
> The Mayor said we dodged a bullet not an understatement.


Good deal,so glad you are safe.


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## KJDedge (Aug 26, 2018)

catalystman80 said:


> I'm still fairly new to this forum, so not sure whether it's the right etiquette to link to a non-supporting vendor, but google will take you to the link of vendors that have them.
> 
> I've used some from a well known chef's knives web store as well as that of a well known one man abrasives supplier out of CA, and they are all good. But I'm a bit OCD, and I've learned that the actual product you get sometimes isn't as good cosmetically as they are pictured (though it typically doesn't affect the performance). So I've sourced some myself directly from Australia, got some flat plates, and stuck them together with transfer tape. The leather I got had some spotty area as well, but I had full control of which part of the leather to use. It's cheaper too, I've made 6 of them (mine are 3" x 8") for about 20 bucks each at the end of the day.


how did you affix the leather to the board?.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 27, 2018)

KJDedge said:


> how did you affix the leather to the board?.


I would imagine that any leather glue or contact cement would work just fine for the project.


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## Stonetherapy (Aug 27, 2018)

I made a few leather strops using some nice jarrah, (hardwood), using a reasonably foodsafe pva adhesive. 
Only toxic if ingested, and relatively inert once fully cured.
Oiled the timber with my orange oil blend for the cutting boards and have had no issues at all.


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## catalystman80 (Aug 27, 2018)

Grunt173 said:


> I would imagine that any leather glue or contact cement would work just fine for the project.



Yup, this... or transfer tape. They all work fine.


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## Keith Sinclair (Aug 27, 2018)

Made some horsehide strops used contact cement and a wooden roller. Then weighted them. Worked OK for me.


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## catalystman80 (Aug 27, 2018)

yeah, weighting is a very important part of the process imho. you want the leather to adhere to the board as evenly/flatly as possible (of course you want to make sure the board is as flat as possible - though I don't think you need to get super anal about it, most folks would agree a perfectly flat surface isn't necessary when stropping or even sharpening the actual cutting edge).


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## Migraine (Aug 28, 2018)

I'd like to make a strop like this, but getting K-leather in the UK seems really difficult. You can get it off eBay but the postage is as much as the leather which is a bit yikes. IDK if it might get in trouble at customs as well.

What would be the best leather to use instead or does nothing else quite do the job?


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## Grunt173 (Aug 28, 2018)

Migraine said:


> I'd like to make a strop like this, but getting K-leather in the UK seems really difficult. You can get it off eBay but the postage is as much as the leather which is a bit yikes. IDK if it might get in trouble at customs as well.
> 
> What would be the best leather to use instead or does nothing else quite do the job?


I heard that Horse Butt leather is the next best thing but since I am somewhat of a cowboy who owns horses and loves them,I can not justify using it.So maybe what I would recommend is nice soft chap leather like my chaps are made out of.I think that is from the belly hide of a cow.


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## Migraine (Aug 28, 2018)

So err...I guess shut your eyes horse lovers but this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soft-HOR...669582?hash=item3fa80267ce:g:CqgAAOSw4RZbHd~V

?


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## Grunt173 (Aug 28, 2018)

Migraine said:


> So err...I guess shut your eyes horse lovers but this:
> 
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soft-HOR...669582?hash=item3fa80267ce:g:CqgAAOSw4RZbHd~V
> 
> ?


Good research.I think that looks like a nice piece of leather for a strop.


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## Migraine (Aug 28, 2018)

Much appreciate the help.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 28, 2018)

Migraine said:


> Much appreciate the help.


You are more then welcome.


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## catalystman80 (Aug 28, 2018)

I’ve noticed too that shipping in general from Australia (especially through the Australian Postal Corp) is pretty expensive.

And right, I believe the seller must have a special export permit to export ‘roo leather (at least that’s what I heard from the seller before...I could have been totally lied to for all I know....). I got decent quality stuff, so it worked out alright.

For general stropping, I don’t think you really need to go with kangaroo leather. A local leather tooling shops (like Tandy in the US) will often have spare leather section and you can go through them to look for something nice, smooth, and even. I think half the fun is just trying different materials out and see how it works.


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## Grunt173 (Aug 29, 2018)

catalystman80 said:


> I’ve noticed too that shipping in general from Australia (especially through the Australian Postal Corp) is pretty expensive.
> 
> And right,I believe the seller must have a special export permit to export ‘roo leather (at least that’s what I heard from the seller before...I could have been totally lied to for all I know....). I got decent quality stuff, so it worked out alright.
> 
> For general stripping, I don’t think you really need to go with kangaroo leather. I local leather tooling shops (like Tandy in the US) will often have spare leather section and you can go through them to look for something nice, smooth, and even. I think half the fun is just trying different materials out and see how it works.


This is true.I have friends that just use newspaper to strop on and swear it is better then anything.My first strops were purchased from KnivesPlus on line.They are the" Strop Blocks" with either a green compound or a white compound,which is about 3 microns.Not sure what the green is.But I still use them since they are both made out of good,soft, chap leather.In fact,I keep them in the kitchen where I can touch up my knives on the run.


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## Migraine (Sep 9, 2018)

That bit of leather arrived.

Processed it as instructed by a user on a razor forum (wet, dry, compress with a rolling pin etc) then glued it to some wood I had.

Irritatingly right at the last moment as I was trimming the leather I accidentally put a little scratch in the surface with the Stanley knife (didn't notice the tip of the blade was bent) but I don't think it's disastrous. You can see it along the right half towards the bottom edge.

Going to put some shoe cream on it as advised then ready for use. Pretty happy, scratch aside.


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## Grunt173 (Sep 10, 2018)

Migraine said:


> That bit of leather arrived.
> 
> Processed it as instructed by a user on a razor forum (wet, dry, compress with a rolling pin etc) then glued it to some wood I had.
> 
> ...


I like it.That's a nice strop.You did good.


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