Thread: Taping while using paddle strop

I had a little visit with MVCrash yesterday. He's working on building a full setup of bench strops for razor maintenance with pastes. One of the things he talked about is using tape while using a pasted paddle or bench strop. Coincidentally I've also been using tape when I go to a paddle strop whether it's pasted or not.

The idea here is that on a razor that has been honed with tape, you will get better edge contact on the flat surface of a paddle. On a hanging strop there is slack, so you can strop without tape. In my own experiments, I've definitely gotten better edge contact while using tape.

I know some will disagree with this but I figured I will share for the purpose of discussion.

I would not agree or disagree. I think there is much technique for stropping and depending on how much pressure you use, tape (or not) could work very well.

Well, the idea is that every strop has a minimum slack, so the tape is not needed.

I tape the whole strop to avoid nicking it.

Originally Posted by ace

I tape the whole strop to avoid nicking it.

It's easier to just tape the edge of the razor

I leave the tape on when I go to the pasted strop after the hones. Once thats done and I go the regular hanging strops the tape gets removed. The tape ensures the same contact with the paddle as it got on the hones.

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

It's easier to just tape the edge of the razor

I do both, but it does seem to slow down the stropping results. But, what the heck, what's 10,000 laps anyway, eh?

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

It's easier to just tape the edge of the razor

I do both, but it does seem to slow down the stropping results. But, what the heck, what's 10,000 laps anyway, eh?

It ain't my fault, dang it! If I can strop 10,000 laps, I oughta be able to submit a single post, but nooooooooooooooooooo!

I believe it might depend on the Strop..

Although I personally don't like Balsa strops, if I were using a Pasted balsa I would leave the tape on, but on any "Material" strops ie: leather felt webbing etc: even if it were a bench or paddle I don't leave the tape on...

I use tape when using a abrasive pasted paddle strop but remove the tape when using a abrasive pasted hanging strop. The goal is to maintain the bevel angle as much as possible.