Thread: Making a paddle strop--questions.

Hey, I want to thank you all again for your advice. ONe more question: I'm picking up some neatsfoot oil, and I was wondering if I should wait and treat the leather with it BEFORE I glue it down? My plan is to lightly sand the finished side of the leather and treat it with oil to get some nice draw, and treat the velvety side to try to press it a wee bit, just to make it a bit tougher.

Should I do that before or after gluing to the base? Or should I not worry so much and just make the frakking thing?

Jim I see two issues here.
Oil an glue don't go well with each other, so that would speak for oiling it afterwards.
Leather thats been treated, will become softer and possibly more elastic, which could lead to over length.
If you bet on tension, I'd oil it before you put it on, but then nail it onto the head sides of the board.

Originally Posted by JimR

Hey, I want to thank you all again for your advice. ONe more question: I'm picking up some neatsfoot oil, and I was wondering if I should wait and treat the leather with it BEFORE I glue it down? My plan is to lightly sand the finished side of the leather and treat it with oil to get some nice draw, and treat the velvety side to try to press it a wee bit, just to make it a bit tougher.

Should I do that before or after gluing to the base? Or should I not worry so much and just make the frakking thing?

Well, you seem to have a better quality leather then what I used, which were basically unfinished hides from the factory, but I felt it was necessary to treat the back side of the leather with oil before attaching it to make sure that it got a decent saturation. I guess I'd just see how greedy your stuff is for oil first... how much it really needs it.

You may want to look over your material after you attach it, I looked over mine today, and it wasn't quite level in a couple places, I had to go back over a couple surfaces and shave off material with a knife and hand sander. It seems the the outside cupped some, even after having been clamped. But then again, I didnt use very good leather.

You might actually consider a "first run" where you make a junk strop-just attach some of the surplus leather to an old board. That will let you test your techniques and how your plans and materials all get along. I've had to go back and try to fix the first paddle strop I made a few times now... it work alright, I guess, but I don't like it very much, and just use it for kitchen knives.

My very own, handmade, pasted paddle strop! That's some of ChrisL's Chromium oxide on leather, on a cypress (I think) board.

Here's some shots of the leather...smooth:


And not as smooth (wouldn't call it rough...more like velvet--this is the side that got pasted):


It's not perfect, but it's close enough for me, and it's MINE. I'm not a real big guy for making things with my hands, and this is the first time I've been really successful...so I'm really, really happy with it!

Well done! I'm glad it worked out for you!

Regards,
Neil