After posting that my hemp strop was a failure due to it shedding very fine fibers, I decided to try to soften it. This thread will follow this process to see what works. The first thing I did when the strop was shedding was to apply some carnauba wax, thinking that this might size the fibers and keep them from shedding. This had no effect. I read about softening hemp rope by boiling it in water, so I tried that next figuring that an added benefit would be to get the carnauba wax out of it. I boiled it for ~ 15- 20 minutes and am now drying it under tension.
Hemp strop
- Thread starter bluesman 7
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Have you tried flaming it to burn off all the stragglers?
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- #4
The boiling had a strong effect as far as making the fibers much softer feeling to the touch. I had forgotten to mention that the water got very dark, like weak coffee or very strong tea.
My plan is to run the strop over some angle iron, then burn off the loose fibers with a propane torch this morning and give it another try.
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- #5
I have heard of it. I think it is mentioned in a thread or two around here. Try Google.
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- #6
Running the strop over the corner of a piece of angle iron had it shedding lint like crazy (outside). I couldn't locate my propane torch, so I used a wooden match to burn off the strays. The match seemed to work fine. I stropped a razor on it and could not perceive any shedding, where before it was an irritant in my nose and throat. I rubbed in a very small amount of mineral oil and the strop seems very happy now. I'll report back after a few days use.
Now that is a bowl filled with awesome sauce!
That's the overall process my friends use to condition hemp rope for use as well. Sounds like it worked great!
Hey bluesman, sounds like you got it tamed. That's awesome. Let us know how it strops, compared to linen and cotton.
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- #10
The hemp strop is working great now. I just wanted to recap the process I used, leaving out the useless steps, all in one post. YHMV, Your hemp may vary.
1. Sew on D rings
2. Boil in water ~20 minutes
3. Dry under tension with a weight
4. Run the strop over a corner both sides
5. Burn off stray fibers with a flame
6. Apply a tiny amount of mineral oil. Put two drops on a cloth and start on the back side of the strop.
1. Sew on D rings
2. Boil in water ~20 minutes
3. Dry under tension with a weight
4. Run the strop over a corner both sides
5. Burn off stray fibers with a flame
6. Apply a tiny amount of mineral oil. Put two drops on a cloth and start on the back side of the strop.
Thanks, sounds like a plan.
