Thread: First Diy Paddle Strop

Howdy

So I had some free time on Sunday and figured I'd make a paddle strop.
All the leatherworking stores were closed on Sunday, so had to have a hard think.
Ended up at a Spotlight( fabric store) which sold strips( same size as the strop I made)
Leather/Glue and Tasmanian oak wood total cost $9 AUD
No idea what type of leather it is, but had the smoothest feel of the bunch.
Made many mistakes along the way and bought extra leather and wood for the better version.
Also plan on staining/sealing the wood.
Mistakes I made:
Using superglue to glue down some edges I missed, this stuff dries too hard and caused minor bumps
Probably the leather.
Using metal cutting bit and not wood cutting bit for jigsaw( realised after a few minutes )
Not sure if its long enough, but size was determined by the leather length I bought
Dodgy Jigsaw cutting

Not sure how your dimpled leather will work
I would have used the back and sanded with 2000 or more grit sand paper if coarse

Thanks, I wasn't sure either, it is a rather fine dimple.
Did a bit of a test with a restored razor and seemed to be ok.
Hopefully I can pick up some horse hide to make a nice one this weekend

Roo works great also

Zim,
Don't let the texture of quality finished leather put you off. I'm a strop maker and wet shaving instructor. Your razor will not be negatively affected by the textured surface as long as the surface is smooth as I clearly see in your photo. I routinely use water buffalo to teach stropping to beginners and it works really well. All leather has texture because it is real animal skin originally. Stropping effectiveness is not determined by texture or the absence of texture. Technique has more to do with the end result of stropping than the substrate used.

Originally Posted by Ozarkedger

Zim,
Don't let the texture of quality finished leather put you off. I'm a strop maker and wet shaving instructor. Your razor will not be negatively affected by the textured surface as long as the surface is smooth as I clearly see in your photo. I routinely use water buffalo to teach stropping to beginners and it works really well. All leather has texture because it is real animal skin originally. Stropping effectiveness is not determined by texture or the absence of texture. Technique has more to do with the end result of stropping than the substrate used.

Awesome thanks for the heads up, super keen to make sometime a bit nicer this weekend with more time/preparation

Never seen a dimpled leather strop
Looks cool hope it performs to your liking

Nice, most any size works, I have some as short as 6 inches.

Most any glue works, white or yellow woodworking glue works well and give you some open time.

Next time you are in the fabric store, pick up some Cotton or Polyester canvas, makes a great linen replacement. Or you can buy real linen, but be careful of the weave, it can unravel easily. Iron on fusing tape is super strong and easy to use. It is also sold in sheet for large applications.

Canvas has a tight, self healing weave and can be use with a cleanly cut edge, it will tighten up and stop fraying.

Here are some pics from an old thread on making a polyester canvas hanging strop.