Thread: Four sided paddle strop...

Hello all,

I picked up a 4 sided paddle strop this weekend, my very first paddle strop. This one is in reasonable shape (read useable). Each of the sides is numbered from coarsest to finest.
The number one side is actually a stone of some sort and that makes me wonder if anyone knows what kind of stone was used and the approximate grit.

The box says:

Razor - Strop Asentator
Streich - Riemen
Cuir A Rasior Made in Germany Cor (mouse bite)

On the handle it says :

Hirsch
Graphic of a Stag with initials F.W.B.
Werkzeuge seit 1780

Randy,
I was told slate was used when I was researching strops prior to making mine.
Most slate seems to feel like the 13,000 Woddcraft Chinese stone I had. probably coarser but similar in feel and appearance.

Tony

Hello Tony,

I did some cleanup work on the paddle strop and also on the stone side. It does not feel like a man made stone so I will guess that it may be slate. It is not anywhere near as fine as the 12,000 chinese stone however. Perhaps more in the 4000-6000 range of grit. Soon I wll purchase
some of the classic pastes from Ray at Classicshaving.com to use on this strop. It will be interesting to compare the performance with other pastes.

I just looked at John Crowleys website, straight-razors-and-stuff.com and his two sided paddle strops have the exact same box as the one that I have. So I guess I have a Dovo 4 sided paddle strop.

Making some Cocobolo scales (handles).....

Randy,
Do you mean the red and black Dovo pastes? I just put some on a german belt strop I have but did not use it yet. I got distracted playing with a couple of barber hones I had here. First time I used a stone to actually sharpen instead of dull a razor!
I have a nos Velvet Edge from Booklady (eBay) and a Raven. The raven must have been oiled at some point and is not as nice to use as the velvet edge which seems to be fairly coarse. I can really feel that one cut when honing while the raven seems too slick because of the oil in it.
Tony

Hello Tony! I see that someone else is up at all hours of the night.

Yes, I was thinking of the red and black pastes. That is what was on this paddle strop so I might as well try those.

You have a Velvet Edge and a Raven? Cool 8) These classic barber hones are fun to try and see where they would fit into the honing process.

I did manage to pick up two hones at garage sale
this weekend. They are the India combination stones. These are old. They have a case that is metal, not wood or plastic. I do have to do some lapping on them since they are not quite flat. My plan is to try to use the fine side as a coarse hone to remove dings and such from the razors edge. In other words a restoration hone.

Oh well, now I am going to sandpaper the lastest coat of shellac on the Cocobolo scales and also cut two more sets of scales. One from Cocobolo and one from Buckthorn. The Buckthorn has some really nice coloring.

Catch you tomorrow,