Thread: vellum on tile paddle

After getting annoyed at having to lap my hardwood paddle for the umpteenth time due to warping, I finally got off my duff and made a vellum-on-tile paddle.

I used an 8x3 glazed tile and lapped the back (unglazed) side flat with some emery paper on my lapping tile, then glued the vellum down and clamped it hard between two other pieces of tile for a few hours. Once it had cured I lapped it on 1k grit sandpaper, gave it a light smear of chrome oxide and was in business.

The vellum-on-tile feels almost identical to my old hardwood paddle, with no draw and no give whatsoever. This makes it very easy to use just the weight of the razor on the paddle for a bit sharper edge. The downside is the same as a hardwood paddle - the lack of draw means it's very slow working; my hardwood paddles are maybe 1/4-1/8 as fast as a typical leather-covered paddle, and this new one is likely in that ballpark as well. But there's no chance of warping, and I get a better edge than the leather-covered paddle.

Interestingly, the calfskin vellum was so thin after I lapped it that the razor sounds like its on a hone, with that characteristic clack-swish-clack-swish sound.

Food for thought... thanks for sharing

I myself was thinking of using a tile and some strop leather because of warping issues

CHeers
Ivo

Very cool mparker. Where do you get vellum?

I'm surprised it doesn't get shredded by the 1K sandpaper.

It's not paper, it's very thin stretched skin. Sands just fine.

I ordered mine over the net. It was about $20 for a sheet.

The advantage of a hard paddle is it doesn't deform from the blade passing over, so it doesn't seem to undercut the fin.

The advantage of a slow paddle is the lack of drag makes it easy to use just the weight of the blade like you do with a hone, you don't have to use pressure to keep the razor from grabbing and skipping.