Premature Ejubilation?

Okay, I found a premade paddle strop at Hobby Lobby. I mean, it's perfect, a little more than three inches wide and almost as long as a full strop. I had an old latigo strop laying around, and I was so excited about this find that I decided to glue it to this paddle immediately after getting home, thinking that I can take it with me when I go to Oregon later this month. Now I'm seeing that I should have put something under the leather so it will "give" a little. So, is it really that important? And if so, what's the easiest way to remove leather that has been super-glued to wood?

I have a smaller TI paddle strop, and it has thin little slots cut into the wood. Might want to look into doing that.

http://www.fendrihan.com/images/THI002-2.jpg

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Originally Posted by goaT

Okay, I found a premade paddle strop at Hobby Lobby. I mean, it's perfect, a little more than three inches wide and almost as long as a full strop. I had an old latigo strop laying around, and I was so excited about this find that I decided to glue it to this paddle immediately after getting home, thinking that I can take it with me when I go to Oregon later this month. Now I'm seeing that I should have put something under the leather so it will "give" a little. So, is it really that important? And if so, what's the easiest way to remove leather that has been super-glued to wood?

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was it a premade paddle without the strop or did it already some sort of leather on it?

This is what I bought. No leather attached.

Paddle Board

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Originally Posted by goaT

what's the easiest way to remove leather that has been super-glued to wood?

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First, get a fresh piece of leather. Then you need a new piece of wood......:)

Have you given your paddle a test drive yet? Why not just give it a go. Depending on the adhesive you used it may be impossible to get the leather off without a fight.

Yeah give it a go . It may be fine as is but if you want more give you could glue a second piece of leather onto the first.

Well, here's an update. I tested it as-is and it didn't feel good. It was very bumpy because the board wasn't sanded flat (I told you, premature ejubilation). So, I was able to rip the SRD Latigo off the board. I'll have to sand the board down to make it even again. What should I put underneath the latigo next time? Just another piece of leather? Or will any fabric work?

You might try a pantleg from a worn-out pair of Levi's. I have a friend who takes an old bluejean pantleg and folds it smoothly length-wise around a wooden plank and staples the canvas underneath to the plank and strops away-like using an expensive linen strop! Pantleg denim fabric just might work as a cushion for your leather. Try it out.

Should be ok. People use balsa to make strops all the time. Use that rubber cement with the brush to attach the leather, it works well and you can remove the leather as you want. Be certain that the glue isnt causing lumps, that can happen. Happened to me alot when I made strops with gorilla glue, had to sand the leather down--you may want to test the leather now to make sure its flat. Also, thinking about baseball may help with the ejubilation problem.

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Originally Posted by timberrr59

You might try a pantleg from a worn-out pair of Levi's. I have a friend who takes an old bluejean pantleg and folds it smoothly length-wise around a wooden plank and staples the canvas underneath to the plank and strops away-like using an expensive linen strop! Pantleg fabric just might work as a cushion for your leather. Try it out.

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I like this idea. You could then use a spray on contact cement that goes on evenly & the leather could easily be replaced down the track. Super glue is overkill as there are no real stresses to pull the leather off while stropping.

The old strop back barber hones had a layer of felt under the leather, about 1/8-3/16 thick. But your best bet, probably to late for this now, is to have the leather skived. That makes it a uniform thickness and eliminates a lot of the bumps.

You could put it on a table saw and cut a thin slice of the wood with it then put spacers at the edges and reassemble?

Using saws and skiving are simply beyond my skillset, and I don't have the tools. I'll try using denim underneath, that's a great idea! Thanks everyone for your input.