Thread: Table Strop Suggestions?

Originally Posted by Gasman

What im getting from this thread, is that a paddle or bench strop is leather laying on a hard surface. So no give in the strop. But, shouldnt there be some give? A piece of leather strop mounted on a wood block with rubber feet or bubber strip under it to keep it from sliding would work? Or should it be stretched in a way to hold it up off the base a little so its suspended above base just a little? I think that is what im seeing on Toms strop.

I ha e a piece of leather and was thinking of making one of these myself. I will be watch.

I have a paddle strop that has grooves cut parallel to the stropping surface that are supposed to offer the effect of stropping on a hanging strop. I also have a bench strop in which the bridle leather is glued right to the hardwood base. To be honest, I can’t tell that there is much difference in the feel of the razor on the strop.

I have three hanging strops as well and tend to use them most often, but the bench strop sure made stropping easier for me when I was starting out and I found the muscle memory for flipping the razor did transfer to the hanging strops.

I also read somewhere that stropping on a bench strop is less likely to round the edge than stropping on a hanging strop, especially for newbies who haven’t quite figured out how to tension correctly.