Thread: Leather type for pasted strop?

Hey all. I'm working on my honing skills, and I'm thinking of experimenting a bit with the pasted strop approach to see how that goes for me. I grabbed a small bar of the 0.5 micron chromium oxide compound at the local Woodcraft store since it was conveniently located near where I work, cheap enough, and was just begging me to try it. I want to try it out on some leather to help me decide if I want to go with a REAL pasted paddle stop or not. Now, I noticed at the Woodcraft store that the paddle strops they had were suede covered. So should I try some thick heavy suede or I have some thick heavy smooth cow hide and thick but soft elk at home. I just want to experiment with what I've got for now. Does it matter much what type of leather I use? If one is better, I'd rather not waste a good chunk of the other leather.

Mike

I'd probably try the suede or cowhide. Elk would be overkill.

You should be able to remove the chromium oxide by using non-citrus Goop cleaner. It has lanolin as well to condition the leather. Check handamerican.com for more info.

I've been using pasted strops for about 18 months with great success in maintaining edges. I'm using 0.5 micron chromium oxide as my finisher. You're definitely on the right track.

Apply the paste sparingly & rub it in. You want to be able to see the leather through the green color. Too much paste just gunks up your razor. I applied a few pea-size dots and rubbed it in. Use latex gloves to keep from getting green fingers. Rub with a paper towel to remove the excess. If it's plain leather, lay it on a table (I use a keyboard wrist pad) and strop as normal. Light pressure just like normal stropping. I usually hit 30-50 round trips. You'll hear and feel the edge chaning if you pay close attention. Let us know how it goes!

Ah, but what I've got is not a paste, though; it's a solid bar. I got it since it was convenient, and I thought, 'What the heck, I'll try it.' I'm leaning towards the suede at the moment. I'd sort of color it with this "green crayon."

Color away man! I would imagine it would work the same way.

I've been using the same Chromium Oxide stick on both suede and brushed leather. Both seem to work well, but the old piece of seude I was using started forming little balls which is why I moved to the brushed finish. I suspect you will get good results that way.

X

Thanks X...

I ended up trying it on a piece of smooth thick cow hide. I wasn't really happy with the result. It didn't go on the way I was thinking/hoping it would. I would get these slightly raised streaks on the leather, so since I didn't seem to have a flat uniform surface, I didn't think it would work all that well. I tried rubbing it into the leather to smooth it out, but it seemed that I was rubbing it right off the leather. I gave up on it; thinking I should have just waited and gotten a product made for strops like the new liquid 0.5 micron from handamerican or some of the Dovo pastes from classicshaving. You have inspired me to go back and try it again -- this time on suede. Knowing that someone else has used the same thing successfully and that I'm not wasting my time is good news!!