Thread: paste strop advice...

I'm considering making a leather paddle strop for use with pastes/compounds only. I plan to use green chrome oxide on one side.

1) What compound should I use for the other side?
2) Should I put a compound on the rough side or only use the smooth side - or is a combination on both a wise move?
3) If I make it rough on one side and smooth on the other side, which compound should be used for each substrate?

Thanks for all you guys do to inform us newbies!

The question is what, are you trying to achieve with paste?

Some pastes are for comfort, smoothness, some for keenness and refreshing.

If you paste both sides of a paddle, contamination can be an issue.

Rough is generally not good for razors, tools maybe, suede finish maybe depending on the paste.

Another question would be would you be using diamond as substrate other than leather would be better. Would you want something coarser than crox like 1mic to replace a finishing stone or finer for more keenness or comfort. I would agree with Euclid that rough leather would not be advised

sgwalker,

For me, I prefer a very slight nap to the leather (on the smooth side) for use with CrOx or diamond - I use well washed 600 or 800 'grit' silicon carbide paper to flatten the leather and give it the slight nap.

I also use single-sided strops for CrOx/diamond - as the others have said, you will always get some crap on the other side of a two-sided pasted strop

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

Thanks guys for the advice. I have acquired some remnant leather, (approx. 7/8 oz). After seeing your recommendations and doing some other research on the internet I believe I am going to prepare two, single sided paddles. CrOx on one, 1 micron DMT Dia-Paste on the other. I will be using them to maintain the edge when leather alone is no longer effective.

½ in MDF is great for paddles, flat, inexpensive and easy to work. Glue with almost any glue, the bond does not have to be that strong, I use Yellow Aliphatic Resin wood glue.

7/8 oz is a bit thick, but will work well as long as it is smooth.

1um Diamond is too large for maintenance, I would use .50 or .25 for a better edge. Diamond paste is very aggressive and can leave a harsh edge.

Also all Diamond, is not the same, buy a quality diamond in paste or spray a little goes a long way so it is really not that expensive to buy quality.

Follow your diamond stropping with Chrome Oxide, then plain leather. With the three you can maintain an edge indefinitely…