I recently contacted Jose of Ambroseshave.com and asked him if it would be possible or even practical to use a piece of his new leather for a paddle strop. Jose immediately replied back that since it had never been tried for use on a paddle strop he would send me a piece to test and see how it worked.
Within just a few days I received 2 pieces of his new leather cut to the size I had given him. When I checked the pieces for size against my paddle it was perfect so I give this a 10 for excellent fit.
My first impression of this leather was....WOW...it really is that incredible to the touch and you just want to put it up to your face and feel the velvet like surface of the strop. It has the feel of one of those really high priced suede jackets. But this leather is thick enough that it has good body but not so thick that it is stiff and ungiving. I give this a 10 for the thickness because for a paddle strop I felt it was think enough that it would not wilt or distort from the glue but it was not so thick that it did not flex and give an appropriate amount to function as a strop.
Additionally I would have given it a 10 for use as a regular strop because it would not be so soft that it would require a lot of pull to keep the leather from giving too much while stropping. Yet it would not be so rigid that it did not give enough to provide good feedback.
After I glued the leather to my paddle I tried it out to get a feel for kind of draw this strop had. I was very very impressed, The draw was just enough that you could feel it but not so much that it felt like it was dragging and after just a few laps you could feel the ever so slight change in the draw. I think because I strop slowly I may feel it more than others might. I did only give this an 8 because as I said I do strop slowly so I may feel more of the subtle change in the draw than other veteran stroppers that strop quickly might feel. I do think and feel there was very good feedback from this strop.
I think because of the velvet like finish on this leather that it will be a very efficient strop and provide a very smooth finish to the edge so I give this a 9.
This is an excellent choice for a paddle strop and I would highly recommend this strop to anyone that is planning a restore to an old paddle strop or someone that just wants a new strop. Jose is awesome to work with and he would be happy to cut it any size you need for your paddle. Although I did not pay for the leather I did find that Jose is very fast to respond to all communications and shipping is very fast. Jose is polite and very personable and pleasurable to deal with. I would give Ambroseshave.com a 12 but the ratings only go to 10.
Within just a few days I received 2 pieces of his new leather cut to the size I had given him. When I checked the pieces for size against my paddle it was perfect so I give this a 10 for excellent fit.
My first impression of this leather was....WOW...it really is that incredible to the touch and you just want to put it up to your face and feel the velvet like surface of the strop. It has the feel of one of those really high priced suede jackets. But this leather is thick enough that it has good body but not so thick that it is stiff and ungiving. I give this a 10 for the thickness because for a paddle strop I felt it was think enough that it would not wilt or distort from the glue but it was not so thick that it did not flex and give an appropriate amount to function as a strop.
Additionally I would have given it a 10 for use as a regular strop because it would not be so soft that it would require a lot of pull to keep the leather from giving too much while stropping. Yet it would not be so rigid that it did not give enough to provide good feedback.
After I glued the leather to my paddle I tried it out to get a feel for kind of draw this strop had. I was very very impressed, The draw was just enough that you could feel it but not so much that it felt like it was dragging and after just a few laps you could feel the ever so slight change in the draw. I think because I strop slowly I may feel it more than others might. I did only give this an 8 because as I said I do strop slowly so I may feel more of the subtle change in the draw than other veteran stroppers that strop quickly might feel. I do think and feel there was very good feedback from this strop.
I think because of the velvet like finish on this leather that it will be a very efficient strop and provide a very smooth finish to the edge so I give this a 9.
This is an excellent choice for a paddle strop and I would highly recommend this strop to anyone that is planning a restore to an old paddle strop or someone that just wants a new strop. Jose is awesome to work with and he would be happy to cut it any size you need for your paddle. Although I did not pay for the leather I did find that Jose is very fast to respond to all communications and shipping is very fast. Jose is polite and very personable and pleasurable to deal with. I would give Ambroseshave.com a 12 but the ratings only go to 10.
