Thread: Pasted Hanging Strops

I have a trio of dedicated diamond pasted hanging strops. I have found that diamond paste on the outer skin side causes too much "stick" to be easy to use. So I have three strops that are rough side out so to speak that I use. This course texture to the leather eases the draw, "stick" to a useable minimum. As to the ability of these strops to sharpen a razor....a big YES. Stropping on a pasted hanging strop does not harm the edge at all and can really bring a tired edge back to life.

PuFF

Puff,
Thanks for the input. I was concerned the paste may come off of the very thin flexible strops Lou will need to the setup. I've used it on heavy strops with okay results but these will be thin like an autostrop razor type so was concerned.

Tony

I have two hanging strops with diamond paste on them. I seldom use them but on ocassion do but I keep the strop on a flat hard surface when I strop. I find the stickyness factor to be pretty hard to manipulate. Being on a flat surface makes the stropping easier. The strops are effective though. Sometimes when nothing else works, they do.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I have two hanging strops with diamond paste on them. I seldom use them but on ocassion do but I keep the strop on a flat hard surface when I strop. I find the stickyness factor to be pretty hard to manipulate. Being on a flat surface makes the stropping easier. The strops are effective though. Sometimes when nothing else works, they do.

Try keeping the strop taught and strop with the toe leading at almost a 45 degree angle but with light to moderate pressure. Too much diamond paste can make it a pain to use but with a good splash of water to dilute the paste as you spread it makes a big difference I found. When the paste gets too sticky after lots of use I just wet it again and re spread.

Diamond paste on the skin side of the leather does work but it really increases the draw to the point where it is better for a paddle tbh. If you do use diamond paste on the skin side then I suggest you knock down the paste with water till its a milk then apply it to the strop. On the rough side of a strop this is not needed as the surface contact is broken by the texture of the strop face. You will also get this effect with the TI white paste.
Old style soap pastes will give better results on the skin side of a leather strop as well as the rough side.

PuFF

How much paste is always an issue. I tend to past my wn strops very lightly and just reaply paste as needed. On those I sell I tend to go a bit heavy so the customer feels good about what he gets even though most of the $5 fee is labor, not paste<g>. BUT, heavier pastings do come with a down side. I notice not that summer is coming humidity seems to have an effect on the pastes. They tend to be hydroscopi, picking up mointure from the air and previously dry strops f mine are feeling a bit sticky this time of year. My thinnly pasted ones less so than the heavily pasted ones. I usually wet them as Puff mentioned and spread the pastes of thinner if I can.

Lou, I am a bit concerned now whether paste will work well on these strops. Maybe the older, waxy Dovo pastes are a better choice as they are so flexible.

Tony