Thread: Linen, or Canvas or Horsehide, OH MY!

Tony, In the past I have uses hanging stropes and they worked just fine for me. About three years ago I bought a TI paddle strope using one side with there sharpining paste and used the other side for everyday honing. I just used the pasted side a few times. I like to use barber hone. About six or so weeks ago I bought your red latago/horsehide paddle strope size 3 1/4" x 10" --------Love It--. I do three to five passes on the latigo and about fifteen to twenty passes on the horsehide.
I (at times) would like to be a little longer.
You are correct in saying it may be too heavy, but it is made out of oak.
I think one made out of a lighter stable wood would be fine.

Stefan,
My earlier paddles were all poplar which weighed less but I never felt they were as stable, nor as nice looking. Anything lighter or thinner may warp over time. in about a month or so we will be making a maple 4 side paddle with an integral turned handle patterned off of a vintage paddle I saw. Not quite as heavy as the oak but every bit as stable. The flat paddles will continue in oak.

Tony

A paddle strope of a larger size must me lighter and stable.

Common guys, I'm sure we have some woodworkers out there who can figure out this question.

Remember the wood should be lighter than say maple or oak, be stable,
and be cost effective. We can't have a 3" X 18" by 3/4" thick piece of wood cost $50.00. No exotic wood that is hard to get.

Originally Posted by Stefan

A paddle strope of a larger size must me lighter and stable.

Common guys, I'm sure we have some woodworkers out there who can figure out this question.

Remember the wood should be lighter than say maple or oak, be stable,
and be cost effective. We can't have a 3" X 18" by 3/4" thick piece of wood cost $50.00. No exotic wood that is hard to get.

It's the leather and labor that cost, the wood is the cheapest part of the equation. Saw, sand , varnish, drill, buy the handle, attach the handle, buy the leather, ship the leather, cut the leather, throw away the bad wrinkly parts of the leather (paid money for them too), glue the leather, press the leather, buy the bag, buy the box, etc.....The wood itself is maybe $2.25 a linear foot <g>.

Tony

Originally Posted by Stefan

For me I would like to see a large paddle strope in horsehide say 18"X3 1/4".

And when you were done shaving you could play a right proper game of cricket.

Cheerio,
Josh

My great uncle, uncles, and cousins were/are pattern makers. Their favorite wood for stability is/was mahogany although they would use sugar pine, yellow poplar, and cherry for specific applications. Now they use woodlike products such as Renwood as the real stuff from large trees is getting difficult to find and difficult to afford.

Bruce

Bruce,
I apprenticed as a pattern maker in a foundry and my day job is still in the foundry industry where I run an NDT lab. We use mahogany much of the time for long running jobs, poplar for short ones. The new Renwood/Renshape products are taking over now and what used to be hand made is now chopped out on a 5 axis router.

www.dankoarlington.com

Tony

Tony,

AHA! Brothers of the blade and board. How about that?

Bruce

I worked on a blade a couple nights in a row to take out a nick, set bevel, and hone to keen. Had it just right. . . and in a moment of insanity picked up a dremel with a wire brush to 'touch up' the spine. Got a little careless and touched the brush to the edge.

Magnification showed a jagged, wiry area along a shallow divot. I decided to try the linen on it. I looked at it again after 40 passes. The jags and wires were diminished to a surprising degree. I observed a difference before to after.

I test shaved it the following day and it was more than passable smooth.

I think I go to the linen when others go to paste, just because I prefer it.

Up above someone said 'leather is leather' or some such. I think I would say cowhide is cowhide. But, there are many different finishes of cow leather that produce extreme differences in the way a razor draws across it.

Horsehide was historically popular because it was considered tougher than cowhide. One example: Major League Baseball changed from horsehide baseballs to cowhide in 1974. Before '74, when the catcher allowed a ball to hit the dirt around the plate, the umpire would inspect it for scuffing. . . about half the time he'd put it back in play. Since cowhide balls (baseballs) came in, the ump throws them out after any contact with the ground.

Buffalo hide had wide industrial application in the 19th century. It supplied the drive belts that turned the wheels of the US industrial revolution. Because. . . it was stronger than anything else available . . . and, coincidentally, killing buffalo served US political ambitions of that era.

In this world, I use straights and all the related paraphernalia because I get a sense of stepping away from the confusing and confused aspects of 21st century life. My gear includes horsehide and linen because it works for me and my razors.

Of course, YMMV

Would any of the cedars make a good paddle frame, I can see it meeting the requirements for lightness and stability. Alaskan white cedar is clean reasonably light and dimensionally stable. Quarter cut would be best for any wood though. There are many woods that could meet the requirements for a good paddle. Why can the paddle not have a stretched loom type leather instead of the glued down type? Well I suppose it's production costs to sales return that prohibits this

waffle over

PuFF