Miller? Paddle? CrOx?

Hey all,

I have an old Dubl Duck hanging strop with individual leather and fabric sides. However, it has a bend in the middle (unfortunately that's how the previous owner stored it). Should I purchase a new strop or can this be (somehow) easily corrected? I should mention that the 'wave' is more of a problem on the fabric side, as I've been hanging this strop for a while and the leather seems to have straightened out pretty well on it's own.

As far as purchasing a new strop, I've heard great things about Tony Miller's strops. My only hesitation is that I tend to be a perfectionist, and think that a paddle strop may be better for me (if only to give me peace of mind :D). Moving to that option, can you find paddle strops with a linen side? Which paddle strops can anyone recommend?

Onto pastes. What is appropriate use for pastes? I understand that some don't find paste necessary, while some think it useful. I lean toward the use of a treatment, as I use a coated ("Herb's Yellowstone") strop for kitchen and pocket knives that I have great luck with. Should paste be used on the same leather that you regularly strop on (i.e. can the CrOx pastes be wiped off when not needed, to reveal bare leather)? Does paste get applied to a 'roughly' finished or 'smoothly' finished piece of leather? What micron rating is advisable? I understand this last question is probably a matter of taste, so mine is to use the pasted strop for the occasional touch-up beyond the capabilities of un-pasted leather. Would 0.5 micron compound fit the bill?

Thanks for the help!
Gus

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Originally Posted by gjcourt

Hey all,

I have an old Dubl Duck hanging strop with individual leather and fabric sides. However, it has a bend in the middle (unfortunately that's how the previous owner stored it). Should I purchase a new strop or can this be (somehow) easily corrected? I should mention that the 'wave' is more of a problem on the fabric side, as I've been hanging this strop for a while and the leather seems to have straightened out pretty well on it's own.

As far as purchasing a new strop, I've heard great things about Tony Miller's strops. My only hesitation is that I tend to be a perfectionist, and think that a paddle strop may be better for me (if only to give me peace of mind :D). Moving to that option, can you find paddle strops with a linen side? Which paddle strops can anyone recommend?

Onto pastes. What is appropriate use for pastes? I understand that some don't find paste necessary, while some think it useful. I lean toward the use of a treatment, as I use a coated ("Herb's Yellowstone") strop for kitchen and pocket knives that I have great luck with. Should paste be used on the same leather that you regularly strop on (i.e. can the CrOx pastes be wiped off when not needed, to reveal bare leather)? Does paste get applied to a 'roughly' finished or 'smoothly' finished piece of leather? What micron rating is advisable? I understand this last question is probably a matter of taste, so mine is to use the pasted strop for the occasional touch-up beyond the capabilities of un-pasted leather. Would 0.5 micron compound fit the bill?

Thanks for the help!
Gus

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Woah ! What a huge load of questions !

can you find paddle strops with a linen side? : never seen one of them.
What is appropriate use for pastes? : stropping after honing, touching up an edge.
Should paste be used on the same leather that you regularly strop on (i.e. can the CrOx pastes be wiped off when not needed, to reveal bare leather)? : NO !
Does paste get applied to a 'roughly' finished or 'smoothly' finished piece of leather? : It won't affect much the effect of the oxyde.
What micron rating is advisable? : It depends on what you intend to do : touch ups, use after a hone... But generally if you are generous with the Crox, you will find it really polyvalent and useful.
Would 0.5 micron compound fit the bill? : Hmmm... 0.5 micron compound is generally Crox, so go on ! :D

Great answers, dudenes, however I feel 0.5 micon (diamond?) is lots more agressive than CroOx!

That's right, I thing it depends partly on the hardness of the particles, althought I read somewhere that Croox is equivalent to corundum, so a big 9 on the Moh scale (diamond is at 10, hardest material).
Concentration of the oxide in the paste and on the strop may also have an influence.
But if you ever try a Mastro Livi paddle, you'll see that Croox is a real quick cutter. We, straight razor users, are generally told to paste it sparingly, I can assure you he doesn't (M.L.).

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Originally Posted by dudness

Woah ! What a huge load of questions !

can you find paddle strops with a linen side? : never seen one of them.
What is appropriate use for pastes? : stropping after honing, touching up an edge.
Should paste be used on the same leather that you regularly strop on (i.e. can the CrOx pastes be wiped off when not needed, to reveal bare leather)? : NO !
Does paste get applied to a 'roughly' finished or 'smoothly' finished piece of leather? : It won't affect much the effect of the oxyde.
What micron rating is advisable? : It depends on what you intend to do : touch ups, use after a hone... But generally if you are generous with the Crox, you will find it really polyvalent and useful.
Would 0.5 micron compound fit the bill? : Hmmm... 0.5 micron compound is generally Crox, so go on ! :D

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I always get that I ask too many questions! :D

Thanks for the help. I'll likely end up looking for an additional strop that I can paste, keeping the DD for stropping without the CrOx.

You may want to maybe check out the srd modular paddle strop, it doesn't have linen but has a felt pad which is used in place of the linen. You can also switch out the pads so you can try pastes on different surfaces

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Originally Posted by dudness

can you find paddle strops with a linen side? : never seen one of them.

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Starshave sells a felt paddle strop, not linen but close.

2 Sided Paddle Strop, Balsa/Felt