48mm Wide Beech English Bridle & Cerium Oxide Pasted Horse Hide Paddle Strop

48mm Wide English Beech, Red English Bridle Leather & Cerium Oxide Pasted Horse Hide Paddle Strop

A good quality strop made from a base of solid hardwood - english beech - with a red english bridle leather stropping panel and a cerium oxide pasted horse hide sharpening panel.  The overall length is just over 18.5" (varies slightly - each item is hand-made and is a one-off) including the handle, by just under 2" wide.  Both panels are just over 13" in length. 

The solid hardwood frame is just under 1/4 of an inch thick, giving a good solid support.  It is lightly sanded and treated with Renaissance Wax to make it moisture-proof and to enhance the grain.  The handle is cut to the style of a favourite Victorian paddle strop I own.

The english bridle leather is the result of a collaboration between the tannery and myself.  It has been specially prepared to be oiled only once (most are oiled up to three times) and to have the wax component left out completely (other english bridle leathers are both oiled and waxed).  This gives it a fairly fast, medium to light draw, but after a fair bit of use the draw increases slightly.  Giving the surface of the strop a good rub with your hand every day, prior to stropping, is all the maintenance required.  After repeated tests over the period of three months I have noticed that this leather gives a really good polishing action to the bevel, something that has also been noticed by other users, particularly with coticule-finished razors. 

The horse hide panel has been lightly sanded to provide a fine tooth for the cerium oxide sharpening paste.  This panel has been liberally coated with cerium oxide in a carrier of neatsfoot oil, and no doubt some of the paste will rub off onto the blade for some time.  This residue should be removed before progressing to the english bridle.  Cerium Oxide is somewhat finer and harder (ie more cutting) than chrome oxide.  About 10 - 20 laps will refresh the edge of a razor which is beginning to dull.

Because leather is a natural item and also due to the hand-made construction there are some small marks, cutting variations and natural faint lines/grain, but these will not affect this paddles ability in the slightest to produce a keen edge on a razor - I use prototypes of all the strops I make, and can tell what is an acceptable cosmetic marking and what will impede the quality of the leather and affect its performance - I only sell the best quality selected leather - the rest is discarded.

Paddle Strop Pros:

• Easier for the novice to use - no need to worry about keeping it taut!
• Lighter and more compact than a loom or a hanging strop, so good for travelling with.
• Ideal for pastes because it does not sag - sagging contributes to edge rounding.