Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/469

Rh 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

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, 1½. in. wide and ¼ in. 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, 1½ in. wide and about ¼ in. thick. Coil one strip of leather to fit into a tomato can. This will save space and material. Get 25 cents worth of crocus (accept nothing but dry, bar crocus) from a ma- chine shop supply store or a polishing concern. Mix this with enough kerosene to make a thin paste. Pour this on 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

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 pieces one on the end of the steel shaft of the motor, and the other on the end of the shaft 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 with this apparatus. The base being rested against the body and the current switched on, the apparatus does the rest.