Thread: Making a Paddle Strop

I've got a nice piece of Latigo leather in the form of a practice strop from Tony Miller, and since I'm not using it, I'd like to turn it into a paddle strop. I've got some white oak flooring left over from a project that I can glue together and put through the planer, but I don't know what kind of glue to use. Is plain rubber cement OK to use? Any better ideas?

Thanks!

I used plain old white Elmer's glue on mine. It worked and I've been using them for about two years now with no trouble.

-Pary

Originally Posted by TULIP

I've got a nice piece of Latigo leather in the form of a practice strop from Tony Miller, and since I'm not using it, I'd like to turn it into a paddle strop. I've got some white oak flooring left over from a project that I can glue together and put through the planer, but I don't know what kind of glue to use. Is plain rubber cement OK to use? Any better ideas?

Thanks!

I have three red oak paddle strops almost finished and used contact cement to attach the leather and balsa. The balsa one is on the left.

bj

Elmer's is fine, but requires clamping until the glue is dry and introduces some extra moisture into the wood. Shoemakers use Barge contact cement because it's fast and just requires hammering for a very durable bond. Were I making a paddle strop, I'd use a non-water based contact cement and after placing the leather on the paddle, I'd take a rolling pin and lean on it as I rolled the leather against the paddle to make sure there was 100% contact between the leather and the wood.

One recommendation I have is that you glue leather to both the top and bottom surfaces so that the moisture uptake or release from the wood paddle is uniform on both sides. If you put leather on only one side it likely will create an imbalance in how ambient moisture is dealt with by the wood. The side that can pick up moisture faster will grow faster than the opposite side and create a cupped surface on the other side. It may not be much, but it probably will be enough to screw up how the razor gets honed.

Hope this helps, Bruce

Thanks for the feedback.

I'd planned on sealing the wood to avoid swelling, and 2Sharp, mine won't be as pretty as yours, but you've inspired me to add a handle. I was just going to lay it on a table to use.

Heres one I am working on.

You may wish to make a bench-hone instead. I used a piece of machine-flattened marble tile. A new marble or granite tile costs $5. Having access to a tile-cutter may be an issue. After that I just used some generic contact cement and have been using the bench hone for a couple of years.

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

Doc, that's a nice piece of wood you're working on. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a lathe, and if I did, I wouldn't know how to use it!

Firestart, what do you mean exactly when you mention bench hone? Did you glue a piece of leather to a marble tile, or are you actually using the tile to hone your razor?

Thanks!

Hi Folks,
I'm pretty new to all this, I've only been using my Wapi for a week, with mixed results, mostly i think because of bad stropping, poor technique etc. basicaly I need to practice. But reading these threads, making a strop seems to be one area you can do yourself without years of practice. The strop I am using came with a cheap set my wife got me at Christmas and only has about 8" of working area, so you just get going when you have to turn around.(I never thought i'd be complaining about only having 8 inches)
Anyway, since folks seem to be using all sorts of material, from balsa to beech, to belts, I got to thinking (dangerous, I could hurt myself) what about chamois leather. It is nice and soft, would be pretty draggy and if glued to a paddle shouldn't stretch. just a thought.
Interested to see what you guys think.

B

Tulip: I glue leather to the tile, load the leather with the abrasive (0.5 micron chromium oxide in my case) and that's what cuts the metal. You want the tile backing the leather to be perfectly flat and for that reason you should use machine-flattened marble or granite.