Thread: Hanging or Paddle???

Get the modular paddle from SRD, it's awesome! If you nick it or tear up the leather you can just buy another leather pad for it for 15 or 20 bucks. I started out with cheap hanging strops but wish I would of had a paddle at first, the paddle seems to offer less oppurtunity to do the "wrong" thing when stropping.

Both have their advantages. With a paddle you don't ahve to worry about holding tension on the strop to keep the lether taught. However, a hanging is more forgiving if you press the razor into it. Ultimately you should be able to learn fine with either as long as you take time and care while doing so. I learned with a hanging strop, and while it has a couple nicks in it, it is still very much usable today. My paddle strop is pretty much exclusively used as my travel strop now.

A hanging strop is just a table away from functioning exactly like a paddle strop. A paddle strop cannot make the same claim.

Why not one of each? An old pair of jeans and a block of balsa wood and you have the best of both worlds. Play around. Experiment. Do what feels comfortable. Most of all have fun!

I think a paddle for a noob. Most noobs will damage their edge while stropping. The tension on the strope is just something else for the new guy to be concerned with. Consider the SRP modular paddle you will be able to do your normal stropping plus paste if you desire and if you go to a hanging strop you can use it for paste.

To paddle or not to paddle? I believe a paddle strop is easier to learn with as it is a known flat surface, where the hanging strop can curve and potentially round the razors edge if your tension is not right (too loose).
I attach my hanging strops to a bed post, and the cross piece between posts at the foot is at waist height, and just a perfect fit to make my hanging strop like a paddle with a simple 90 degree turn…
Like everything else in shaving, it is all user subjective… YMMV.
Both have their advantages, disadvantages and you need to weigh out the pros, and cons to best suit your needs.
Having both, I prefer the hanging strop for daily use as it has a more natural feel for me, and I prefer the paddle for travel as it is easier to pack in the suitcase, not knowing if I’ll have a decent place to attach the hanging strop where I am going.