Thread: Finished my new paddle strop

It's been a bit since I last posted. I finally got some time and thought I'd share this project I finished a couple of weeks ago.

I decided to make a new paddle strop since I haven't cut my original in a while, kind of a self-reward thing . I wanted to do something a little different and went with hemp webbing and horsehide. The handle material I chose was oak.



I got some 3" webbing with a herringbone pattern from https://www.rawganique.com/hemp-webbing-s/122.htm They had good customer service and the price was right.

The horse hide I got from https://www.zackwhite.com/Horse-Leather_c_265.html I went with the 7/9oz option and the piece I got was closer to 7.

After cutting and shaping the paddle I decided to torch the wood a little to bring out the grain and finished it off with some dark walnut stain.



I cut a slightly oversize piece of the leather and glued it up. After it thoroughly dried I trimmed it to the edge of the paddle.



I treated the webbing by soaking and pounding it with a smooth mallet until no color came out in the soak and the edges were nice and flat. I also did a bunch of "shoe shine" work over a smooth metal pole. I brought out the torch again to burn off any loose fibers and to further soften the material (recommended by the seller).

I ran a line of fray check across the webbing and cut through the line of fray check. After gluing I repeated the fray check/cut to trim off the long end.



Finally, I burnished the leather with a highly polished piece of ebony until it had a nice glossy/satin finish and added a piece of brown and tan nylon boot lace to hang it up.



I've used it a few times now and am quite pleased with it. It's not perfect, but I'm happy. The horsehide is a lot harder and denser than my cowhide strop, and the draw was a lot faster. I slowed it down a bit with a few oil treatments. It's still faster, but I like the feel and my edges are still giving good shaves.