Thread: Rubber Strop ??

Hi,

I just recieved an old paddle strop... it is a paddle shaped metal plate (Flexible) with a rubber plate on each side. Basically a rubber strop...

Has anyone seen anything like this? I find all kinds of strops here on the forum, but have not seen one like this.

Thanks
Chris

lets see a pic man

Pic will help but as to the question at hand I have not seen a strop like yours but did a have a pike strop/hone that the strop part was rubber. So at some point rubber must of been used for strops.

The Swiss firm allegro made a series of paddle strops. One model - the "Flexible" - had what they called a 'stone' on one side but it wasn't a natural stone, nor a synthetic stone as we would know it, more like some hard rubber man-made substance with red abrasive matter in it and supplied with separate tub of red paste that you put on the synthetic side as and when required. It wasn't quite rubber, but had a kind of rubber feel, very hard, but not as hard as plastic.





Regards,
Neil

I had a hanging strop that had a rubber back instead of The linen... I can't remember the name of of it.. I just remember that rubber back sleeve that didn't seem to have any purpose... That was before I knew what "paste" was though..

Neil,Was the rubber like paddle sort of like Cratex?

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Neil,Was the rubber like paddle sort of like Cratex?

Ah - you have me there! I know what Cratex is, but I haven't ever handled it. I do have some Foredom rubber/abrasive-impregnated burrs and it feels a bit like them, but you can't see any glittery bits, so I am supposing that the abrasive used was very fine, like rouge/crocus powder.

Are you familiar with the sheets of formica you could once buy (probably still can, for all I know!) for cladding walls, worktops, etc? If so, imagine it to be 1/8th of an inch thick by 1.25ins wide by 8.25 ins long. If you held that sized bit of formica at either end and attempted to bow it, it would bow a little bit then break. This stuff is still very rigid, but will deflect maybe three quarters of an inch or so at either end when you try to bow it and you begin to feel that if you applied more pressure it would snap. It is not brittle at all, though - it can be sanded, you can mark it by digging a finger nail into it and from the fine nicks along the edges of the panel I can see that a razor can cut it easily.

Regards,
Neil

I use Lipshaw microtome strops which have a diamond patterned rubberized material on one side. I do not know what it is, but it surely works well. The flip sides are clad in Neil Miller Leather!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I use Lipshaw microtome strops which have a diamond patterned rubberized material on one side. I do not know what it is, but it surely works well. The flip sides are clad in Neil Miller Leather!

God Bless The Lipshaw Microtome. The best stroping system ever devised.

Amen to that. A really professional, dedicated, solid bit of machinery, which is probably why it didn't gain the popularity it deserved. In a contest of dedication v convenience, convenience usually wins, sadly enough.

Regards,
Neil