# razor paddle strop



## SpikeC (Oct 6, 2011)

As I was browsing the weekly flea market down the street from my house I spied an antique Howard #255 razor strop in very nice condition. It is 2 sided and has a little red compound on one side. I talked the guy down to 10 bucks and brought it home, intending to use it on my straight razor, butt I tried it on a couple of knives first. Woo-Hoo!
It brought a fairly sharp edge to very sharp in short order. I do believe that I have a new weapon in the sharpening arsenal.


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## zitangy (Oct 6, 2011)

congratulations.. a good find is most satisfying indeed. IF needed , can clean the red compound off with alcohol. If leather is dry , you will have to make it supple again by oiling it. I used mineral oil.

i trust ht by now all your knives in the hse wld have been stropped!

hv a nice week-end

rgds
d


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## stevenStefano (Oct 6, 2011)

I have seen loads of these paddle strops and have always been curious about them. Does the leather stay flat on them? I use a rather cheap one that has no backing and warps a little, making it pretty useless sometimes


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## SpikeC (Oct 6, 2011)

This one has a little more cushion than my homemade ones, each side a little different. The compound on the one side is just residue, about the right amount I think! This thing is pretty well made, with a heavy wire frame around the perimeter.


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## mainaman (Oct 6, 2011)

stevenStefano said:


> I have seen loads of these paddle strops and have always been curious about them. Does the leather stay flat on them? I use a rather cheap one that has no backing and warps a little, making it pretty useless sometimes


 
if the leather is not flat it will be useless for razors.


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## stevenStefano (Oct 6, 2011)

mainaman said:


> if the leather is not flat it will be useless for razors.



This is what I use. It is very cheap and I use the rough side of it. The smooth side warps a lot and that's why I started using the rough bit. I guess I shouldn't expect too much when it's so cheap, but I guess glueing it to a bit of wood wouldn't do any harm. Needa find a proper strop like the one Dave sells but they are hard to come by where I live


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## Seb (Oct 6, 2011)

I have one of those super-long leather strops from sharper-knives that I loaded with 1.0u diamond and use a bit like a paddle strop. Actually, it's so long that I tuck one end under my chin and hold it like a violin and stroke the knife like a bow (only in one direction along the leather of course).


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## Dave Martell (Oct 6, 2011)

stevenStefano said:


> This is what I use. It is very cheap and I use the rough side of it. The smooth side warps a lot and that's why I started using the rough bit. I guess I shouldn't expect too much when it's so cheap, but I guess glueing it to a bit of wood wouldn't do any harm. Needa find a proper strop like the one Dave sells but they are hard to come by where I live



There's a razor strop retailer in the UK that is supposed to have some nice strops, both hanging & mounted, but I can't recall the business name. If I can find a link I'll post it.


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## Mike (Oct 6, 2011)

There is always Mr. Tony Miller in the UK. I do love his work.


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## mainaman (Oct 6, 2011)

Mike said:


> There is always Mr. Tony Miller in the UK. I do love his work.


 
Tony Miller lives in MD USA, may be you mean Niel Miller?


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## Mike (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks Mainaman, you're right, guess I should have double checked before submitting.


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## Dave Martell (Oct 6, 2011)

I bet it's Neil Miller that I was thinking about.


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## l r harner (Oct 6, 2011)

clean that sucker up nd re load it and go to town i have a block strop and 3 hanging strops cant ever get too many


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## WillC (Oct 7, 2011)

Thats a good find. I use various home made paddle type strops. My touch ups strop is 1mm veg tan leather course side up to hold starky blue compound, then balsa/chrome oxide and a smooth leather one to finish. Knives and razors.


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## Seb (Oct 7, 2011)

Can you please advise where to get some Starky Blue? If needs be, I may ask my brother in the UK (Glocs) to forward it to me.


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## WillC (Oct 7, 2011)

Hello Seb, Starky sharp don't seem to have a website anymore but I have a phone number for them if it still works, I get mine from longstrider on british blades, he deals with them direct. I'll pop you a pm.


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## TB_London (Oct 7, 2011)

I'll put up a link to a seller in a bit, is bookmarked on my other comp


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## TB_London (Oct 7, 2011)

http://www.woodsmithstore.co.uk/sho...ing+and+Tool+Care/Product/Honing+Paste+Stick/

Is uk supplier for Starkie blue


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## TB_London (Oct 7, 2011)

http://www.strop-shop.co.uk/

Strop supplier, but on the expensive side and aimed at razors


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## stevenStefano (Oct 7, 2011)

TB_London said:


> http://www.strop-shop.co.uk/
> 
> Strop supplier, but on the expensive side and aimed at razors



Thanks. I've bought diamond spray from there and they were pretty good. They also have fairly cheap used stones occasionally. The strops are very expensive though. They do a modular aluminum one that looks awesome but is 175 quid sadly


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## Chef Niloc (Oct 7, 2011)

I don't know much about straight razors and i know nothing about stropping them. However I was going to make a thread asking a few questions as I taught it would be fun to make a few.

What is the preferred weapon of chose, the strap, paddle, or hard flat mounted? Is the hanging strop just the old time classic and a flat mounted would work better, or does the handing strap still have it's advantages?

I have made flat mounted Strops before so the rest of my questions are in regards to the hanging strap type strop.

1) how do they work? I know a hanging strop is useless for knives so how/ why do they work on razors?

2) What's the best length and what's the "preferred"/ classic length ( I know they may be different)?

3) i have seen ones with a canvas back strap. Is this a additional strop or just a fancy backing? If it's a 2nd strop what is it's used for? Also is it canvas, what is the texture/ weave like, Is it like denim? 

4) on that last link posted to the english made strop that guy says he uses:


> heavy duty cotton and genuine linen, hard wool felt[\quote]
> What is the best here? I would think felt would cause problems, water + felt = bad news? I would think that Belgium linen canvas would be the most luxurious, but would it be the best preforming? I think the weight and weave would be the biggest factors here?
> 
> That guy also says he uses:
> ...


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