Quote Originally Posted by ppetresen View Post
In preparation for making my own I've been looking at a few paddle strops and a fair number of them have slots, generally two, cut into the sides which supposedly give it some flex
......
Anyone with some experience or thoughts on this?
Sort of. I play with pasted wood strops from time to time.
I commonly use the thinnest plywood with a balsa or clean birch surface
and they do not flex very much at all.

They are light and easier to handle.

I also have some pasted leather on 8" oak that I use like a bench stone.

My thought is to take two thin 1/16"x3"x18" stropping surfaces and glue a handle and foot to them.
Then mark the grit and paste. 1 micron or less should do it.
CrOX is much more abrasive (and messy) than many give it credit for.

They seem to work for a "shaver" but cannot be lapped flat or rubbed clean under water
like an quality rock so honemasters discount them as finishers.

I made one about three foot long and with CrOx it does give a nice long polishing stroke
but is a pain to store and keep dust free. At three feet it only flexes a little with stropping or honing pressure.

My bias is weight and feel not flex.
Too much fun to not try...


Thin wood cups... I have taken my DMT and sanded some flater.
Solid 1/8" balsa can be sanded flat with a DMT or planed flat a couple times.
Common sand paper sheds grit so avoid it.