Hey guys. I use a paddle strop. 2 sided leather. I have one side with .25 diamond spray and the other side is plain leather. Now I have no issue with how the knife edges are after the stropping. They shave hair like crazy. Is a hard felt paddle worth looking into? Or balsa perhaps? What do you guys use? Thanks in advance for your feedback .
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- Thread starter Bill3152
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Personally, I have a few, but no matter how many I have with oxides or diamond spray, I always finish with bare horsehide.
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Paper over a hard stone. A dollar bill works very well too.
Maybe a hundred dollar bill works better? Lol
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If going for a high-polish finish with compound, I've liked basswood or any similar smooth & tight-grained, firm wood. Balsa's OK, but I prefer something a bit firmer than that; balsa is more prone to compression, denting, cutting, gouging, etc. So it's a little more needy in terms of upkeep, with more frequent cleaning (loads up very fast) & resurfacing to be done.
For convexed blades at high polish, denim or linen over a hard backing (wood, etc) works very well with suitable polishing compounds.
Most of my stropping these days is very minimal. Little or no compound, and I prefer to maintain a more toothy bite coming straight from the stones I use. So, I've been using just bare leather (sueded side of a belt) or a piece of paper laid over an oiled stone, per HH's suggestion above.
So, a lot depends on what your objective is, as to which media for the substrate will work best for you.
For convexed blades at high polish, denim or linen over a hard backing (wood, etc) works very well with suitable polishing compounds.
Most of my stropping these days is very minimal. Little or no compound, and I prefer to maintain a more toothy bite coming straight from the stones I use. So, I've been using just bare leather (sueded side of a belt) or a piece of paper laid over an oiled stone, per HH's suggestion above.
So, a lot depends on what your objective is, as to which media for the substrate will work best for you.
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Thanks for the tips. I got a 3 inch by 3 inch by 12 inch piece of balsa. I lapped all 4 sides. Going to use white, green(1/2 micron) and diamond (1/4 micron) and am gluing a piece of veg tanned cowhide on the last side. I had the compounds already from my straight shaving days. The leather too. I got a 1/2 inch pipe flange and pipe I'm gonna screw in for a handle. Well it was laying around. I probably have a few screws in my truck tires so I will use them. Lol. For kitchen knives I just use 220 and a paper wheel.to debur. They cut great. But just playing around