Thread: Paddle vs Hanging

In a quest to gain more knowledge I have a question on pasted strops.

I originally was using some .5 CrOx ( green crayon ) that I purchased from SRD and used it on a flax linen back piece of a beater hanging strop and had pretty decent result just doing 5-10 laps after coming off my JNAT finisher.

Well fast forward me reading thru tons of info on the internet ( if you read it on the internet it must be true right? ) anyway I had read where using CrOx on a hanging strop was not recommended as it has a tendency to convex the edge and it's better to use on a paddle so I ordered a paddle strop that the panels can be replaced and currently have the paddle that has a piece of black roughed leather pasted with the same CrOx so with all my rambling which is better in the long run for a pasted strop or does it matter.

Sentences are helpful!

There always is a possibility of a hanging strop not being entirely straight if it is not held taut. If that abrasive strop is slightly concave during the stropping, then that can in theory contribute to convexing. For that reason, a paddle strop is going to be less likely to cause con vexing as it always is going to be straight.

I never put CrOx on my hanging strop.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Sentences are helpful!

There always is a possibility of a hanging strop not being entirely straight if it is not held taut. If that abrasive strop is slightly concave during the stropping, then that can in theory contribute to convexing. For that reason, a paddle strop is going to be less likely to cause con vexing as it always is going to be straight.

I do tend to just type one big sentence, I really need to work on that, I have really never been grammatically correct, I try to type things in a word doc and then run it the it's built in checker but sometimes I get in to big of a rush.

I didn't mean to be critical, though I was. It's just that I'm interested in what you have to say and if it runs on too long it becomes more difficult to understand.

Originally Posted by doc47

I never put CrOx on my hanging strop.

I've never used it on any strop. Seems good old leather works fine and has for generations. Perhaps if I stumble across some beater strop I'll give it a go, but it sure isn't going on my Herold or Tony Miller

“So, with all my rambling which is better in the long run for a pasted strop or does it matter.”



It does not matter, if you have mastered stropping, but for new stroppers, a paddle and too much pressure can cause edge chipping, as was common a couple years ago, when a balsa strop was all the rage.

A hanging strop will have more give, to compensating some, for excessive pressure.

Slightly Convexing a bevel is a good thing.

Yes, both strops, (paddle and hanging), will put more pressure on the edge of the bevel. You can easily test this, by marking the bevel with ink, strop a lap or two, and notice the ink removed at the edge and slightly convex the bevel/edge.

A convex bevel is microscopically thicker, and there for a stronger bevel and edge. But it is so, microscopically and not something to fret over. The ability to polish and straighten the edge is more important than, what it looks like under a SEM.

It is more a matter of the spine leading stroke, than the strop.

Try a couple stropping strokes, (spine leading) on you highest grit stone. You will quickly see, that the stroke will polish the leading quarter to one third of the bevel, the same thing occurs when stropping on linen, leather or pasted strop.

A few years ago, several of us stropped the same razor on a Chromium Oxide strop, daily for up to a year, with no ill effect to the razor, bevel, edge or shave, except that all the visible stria was removed from the bevels after a few weeks. The shaves, were excellent, keen and smooth. And none failed.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I didn't mean to be critical, though I was. It's just that I'm interested in what you have to say and if it runs on too long it becomes more difficult to understand.

Oh no Brother I took no offense to it , i am an Old Windbag, I do it all the time and the Mrs and my son always point it out and tell me to quit running on with one never ending sentence, my son to has commented that he gets tired long before he's done reading it so no worries.

Thanks for all the great advice guys, I normally don't use a pasted strop unless I have honed a razor and then taken it to linen and leather and after that I do an HHT and if it's not at least a 3+ with my test I then take it to the CrOx for 10-12 laps and that seems to get that last bit of keeness out without going back to the finisher.

When I first started useing a pasted strop i had a oil tanned beater from Scrupleworks ( lots of nicks and scrapes ) so I pasted the linen and was doing the same 10-12 laps and then wiped the blade clean and used the leather to strop, after that it hardly got used, it was not until many, many months later I had read that a hanging strop was not the perfect way to use CrOx on so thats when I got the paddle.

I consider my stropping very solid and the spine never gets lifted and i don't use what i call a lot of pressure but i also don't use just the weight of the blade either, there is some flexing.

In case you'd like a third alternative…

I always have a couple of newspaper strops in use. Both are VERY lightly impregnated with mineral oil.

One also is marked with just a few X's from a Chromium Oxide crayon. That one is labeled "Hone." I use that strop to clean off any hone debris off of a freshly honed razor so that I do not transfer any debris onto a linen or leather strop.

The other strop is labeled "Shave." That one is only used to clean up an edge after shaving.

Whether concerned about convexing or not, both newspapers strops are held taut. A great advantage of the newspaper strops is that they are entirely disposable.