I was fielding a question about strops and abrasives when I noticed an Amazon listing for something very close to the setup I’ve winnowed my way toward for shoemaking:
If you have wood, some wood tools, a leather scrap bin, and some adhesive to hand, there’s obviously no read to go paying for a strop. Just make one! But for someone starting out, just looking to get started, this strikes me as a good buy-and-go option from a reputable importer.
After making and buying a few strops of my own and tweaking them over the years, the size I’ve landed on to keep where I make shoes is about 2½×8″, with about a 4″ long grab handle. That’s nearly exactly the same as the Sharpal strop, which has a leather surface of 2.4×8.5″. The slightly longer 4.7″ grab handle is probably better, too. Mine occasionally feels a bit short, with my long, narrow fingers.
The green chromium oxide compound is also exactly what I prefer. I have coarser and harder compounds in drawers, but I’ve long given up using them. I never noticed a big difference stropping again on a finer grit, and certainly not a difference worth the extra step. When edges get bad enough that I need something coarser, it’s way faster to use a stone or a diamond plate.
The little plastic sharpening angle guide that Sharpal include isn’t something I’d use now. But as a beginner, it might be a real help, figuring things out. When you’ve got used to the motions and developed some confidence, you can put the guide away. I don’t suppose it adds much to the overall price.
The only quibble I have with the kit is that I wouldn’t bother using both sides. The back of my own strop was a strip of leather for a while, but I ended up just peeling that off to keep in reserve, for when the leather surface I actually use wears out. I lined the bottom of my own strop with some scrap foam to keep it from sliding around. I personally prefer rubbing compound on the flesh side of leather, but I’ve done both, and I don’t think it matters that much.