Thread: convex paddle strop - why?

17 new heads and 14 new handles..............

Sort of like guys with their old Harleys.

The have replaced the frame and forks and installed a new motor twice etc. but it is still a 1950 model!

Apparently no cell in the human body lives longer than seven years...

A fortuitous breakthrough in the Mystery of the Bowed Paddle Strop!

It seems the one I saw for sale a few weeks ago has been re-listed:



You can see the bright green on the convex side, which on closer inspection appears to be an after-market modification. But, what is more important, we now know the name of the strop, the Aluminiograf II. I assume it acquired this name because of the elaborate aluminium spring arrangement. Knowing the name, a quick search revealed another example:



This is more interesting, assuming Wilhelm Hetzel was the maker (not the retailer), it was made in Offenburg, which is not far from where I am located, about 50k up the road. A quick search reveals a Wilhelm Hetzel born in Offenburg in 1896 and living until 1949. Also, the bow in this example is black, perhaps it was originally green and has become blackened with use, it could also have been pasted with something more black than green.

Another model of Aluminiograf also came up, the Aluminiograf-Universal:



This one is even more complicated, with a wooden spring and felt backing for the leather. The bow on this example is also dark, does anyone have a suggestion what it might originally have been pasted with?

Strop pastes come in a variety of colours which denote various grits.

file:///C:/Users/Bob/Downloads/Dovo%20Strop%20Paste%20Guide.pdf

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Strop pastes come in a variety of colours which denote various grits.

file:///C:/Users/Bob/Downloads/Dovo%20Strop%20Paste%20Guide.pdf

Bob

Thank you! I have Herold Red and Black pastes. But I don't think I've seen many (or any?) contemporary strops pasted with black paste from the get-go. The Aluminiograf strop I have was very black, but I recall that the compound actually seemed green underneath the black.

The question is more about what they were pasting strops with in the 1930s-40s. Perhaps the pastes then were the same as today, this is not something I know.

Originally Posted by Montgomery

Thank you! I have Herold Red and Black pastes. But I don't think I've seen many (or any?) contemporary strops pasted with black paste from the get-go. The Aluminiograf strop I have was very black, but I recall that the compound actually seemed green underneath the black.

The question is more about what they were pasting strops with in the 1930s-40s. Perhaps the pastes then were the same as today, this is not something I know.

You are welcome. Strop pastes have been around for ages and I would think that it is anyone's guess if the formulations have changed or not over the decades.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

You are welcome. Strop pastes have been around for ages and I would think that it is anyone's guess if the formulations have changed or not over the decades.

Bob

I see! This is not something 'we' know then. Many thanks!

Originally Posted by Montgomery

I see! This is not something 'we' know then. Many thanks!

It is possible someone does but at least I do not. There are a great many things I do not know. Good luck in your quest for the answer though.

Bob