Popular Science Monthly 



441 



How to Make a Self-Honing 

 Razor Strop 



MANY men do not know how to 

 hone a razor. Twice a year they 

 give their good razor to a barber or a 

 tool grinder to hone, and it is often re- 

 turned with the temper so far gone that 

 it will not hold an edge. The red side 



The proper and improper method of strop- 



ing a razor, showing why a flexible strop 



ruins the blade 



of every strop, which is used for sharp- 

 ening, is a strip of leather soaked in a 

 mixture of crocus and kerosene. The 

 black side (finishing side) is soaped, 

 black, tanned leather. To retain a sharp, 

 straight edge on a razor for life without 

 honing, a straight flat strop must be 

 used. You cannot hold a flexible strop 

 tight and straight enough to prevent the 

 formation of a blunt or rounded edge 

 on a razor. That is why a razor must 

 be honed every six months ; it will not 

 shave if the edge is too thick. The thin, 

 concave edge that cuts can be retained 

 only by using a flat and straight, non- 

 bending strop, like the one illustrated. 



Get a piece of hard wood 14 in. long, 

 11/. in. wide and Vj^ i"- thick. Plane and 

 sandpaper it to a smooth surface. Cut a 

 handle at one end. Get two strips of 

 smooth-finished horsehide for cowhide, 

 if you cannot get the other) 10 in. long, 

 \y-2 in. wide and about ^s iu. thick. Coil 

 one strip of leather to fit into a tomato 

 can. This will save space and material. 

 Get 25 cents worth of crocus (acce])t 

 "nothing but dry, bar crocus) from a ma- 

 chine shop supply store or a polishin-;^ 

 concern. Mix this with enough kerosen: 

 to make a thin paste. Pour this en the 

 strop until it is covered above the strop 

 level and allow it to soak seven days. 

 Clean off with cloth, and cement both 



leather strips on the wooden strip, using 

 a good tire or leather cement, and allow 

 it to dry, using several flat-irons as 

 weights. 



Crocus is the finest emery there is. It 

 is used for polishing nickel and brass 

 and does not scratch. The finishing side 

 of the strop should be lathered with soap 

 and rubbed in until dry. 



Do not throw the crocus mixture 

 away. Bottle it, and use it for polishing 

 purposes. Also apply it to your strop 

 once a year to keep it effective. 



Strop your razor flat. The lower dia- 

 gram shows how a flexible strop wears 

 down the edge of your razor to a round- 

 ed edge. — F. T. BuscH. 



An Electrically-Operated Screwdriver 



A HANDY and practical screw- 

 driver, operated by electricity, 

 will more than pay for itself in a very 

 short time. 



An electric motor is fastened at the 

 left side of a base of wood. A small 

 wooden structure, as depicted, is built of 

 posts, and a small hole is drilled at the 

 top cross post to admit and allow the 



Scretvc/n'ver - Oif 



This electrically driven screwdriver may 

 be conveniently held in the hands 



free movement of the steel shaft with 

 the chuck. An arrangement by which 

 the motor rotates the steel shaft (with 

 chuck) is clearly shown. This device 

 consists of two threaded ])ieces one on 

 the end of the steel shaft of the motor, 

 and the other on the end of the r.haft 

 with chuck. A chuck is threaded on to 

 the upright shaft, and with a set of bits, 

 drills, and so forth, including taps, very 

 good and quick work can l)e done witli 

 this apparatus. The base being rested 

 against the body and the current switched 

 on, the apparatus does the rest. 



