Kevlar Strop !

Was reading all the post on canvas strops and stops from fire hose. Decided to see what I had to make my own. Looked around the shop and found an old pair of Kevlar welding sleeves that were torn up by the cuffs. Turned it into a strop. washed it , and ironed it smooth. Have yet to try it and see what the results are, still damp from washing. It is quite a heavy canvas type of material, it might be 100% kevlar or a mix of some sort, don't know. Has anyone else ever tried kevlar ?

Cut proof?

Seraphim said:

Cut proof?

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Could be the holy grail of beginner strops.

Seraphim said:

Cut proof?

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Ha! I didn't even think of that, thats a riot !

Might be too much for razors. Probably get an axe shave ready.

Interesting idea. Me want.

Sounds like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Actually, it is quite intriguing and I'm interested to hear how it works for you.

Interesting and creative. Let us know how this works out.

As someone who played about 1000 ice hockey games and dealt with a lot of kevlar, I can assure you that kevlar is NOT cut proof.. It also breaks down like any other fiber albeit at its own unique rate.

GolFisHunt said:

Sounds like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Actually, it is quite intriguing and I'm interested to hear how it works for you.

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I will for sure give some feed back on how it actually works out.

BSAGuy said:

Interesting and creative. Let us know how this works out.

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Took my old rwell and osmond razor, found it at an antique shop, I'd say its a middle of the road quality razor, compared to what I have experienced so far. The thing actually is more than ready to be re-honed. Stropped it for a count of 50 on the kevlar, then 50 on the rough side of leather and 50 again on the smooth side. Was popping very fine hairs HHT quite well. It was not passing the HHT prior to the stropping.
Most likely unspectacular results, I do not have experience on any other canvas strop at this point, to make judgement.

I like the ingenuity. However, I'm a chemical engineer and have a bit of familiarity with Kevlar since my pop's a senior reliability engineer at the plant where they make it.
1. They only use it for stitching in the gloves. In it's raw form, it's single, yellow strand which gets put together with multiple strands to be used for sewing. It's not very good for this task because it lacks the little ends of fibers protruding from the "thread", which other, woven textiles have to maintain integrity, so it's a relatively poor choice for weaving. If you've ever had a pair of older motorcycle jeans, that's why they don't last too long.
2. The material does get cut. An operator has to cut the fibers as they come out of the final rinse onto the bobbins. We spent a lot of time sharpening scissors because they get dulled quickly by the material when the cuts are made.

I"m pretty sure the welding sleeves are all Kevlar - at least, some of them are.
I think there's a chance it would do well as a strop - depends on the stiffness, weave, weight of the fabric, etc.

Gents....
i am weaving pararamidic fibers in South Carolina....Kevlar, Twaron or whatever the brand ....if this works indeed I'll have a lot of fun
Now, pararamidic fibers are bullet proof but stabbing has always been a probelm. This is why some body armor manufacturers use chainmails for stab protection.
Nevertheless ...I'll try from next Monday...might have some 100 000 yards available

I don't see the anti-cut aspect being anything important.
If the material works well as a pre-leather strop - then that's that.
Should it turn out to be cut-resistant - great. If not - whatever.
If I was worried about cutting the strop I'd be more interested in learning how to strop correctly than I would be in alternative strop materials.