I have two great hanging strops; An SRD and a Tony Miller Horsehide. Love them both, but I find I am not using the linen or poly web. I also have a small dual sided travel paddle strop from Stropman that is napped leather with CROX on one side and smooth leather on the other. I really like the portability of the paddle (though the Stropman is a basic model with no spring action to the bed). I like to hone in various spaces and don't always have access to a convenient hook.
I've narrowed my options to two. A paddle strop & a loom strop.
Paddle strop options are a modular style or a fixed two sided. SRD and The Invisible Edge both have nice modular strops, but I don't see myself using that many different materials. I need one napped leather for pasting and one smooth for final stropping. A two sided smooth leather with one side sprayed could work fine. The Custom Sprung Latigo Strop has my eye... pricey, but beautiful. Good stuff ain't cheap and cheap stuff ain't good!!
The other option is a loom strop. Same options as the two sided paddle strop with the advantage of being able to use the back side of the leather as well (though not nearly as convenient). Invisible Edge has a nice one.. Less expensive than their paddle, replaceable leather, adjustable tension and appears to be equally well made.
Here's the dilemma... Action. A hanging strop can be self-correcting to a degree. If the blade is presented to the strop with a slightly off spine angle, toe to heel, the strop will twist as needed. Not so with the paddle. Possible with loom, though to a limited degree I would think. Likewise, the hanging strop and the loom have the benefit of being able to control tension. No go with the paddle strop.. the feel of the tension is limited to the flexibility in the bed.
For now I have eliminated the modular paddle from my options.
So which way to go? Two sided paddle strop or two sided loom strop? The paddle might have a slightly longer stropping area, depending on the model. I would love to hear from those of you who have used either or both.
I've narrowed my options to two. A paddle strop & a loom strop.
Paddle strop options are a modular style or a fixed two sided. SRD and The Invisible Edge both have nice modular strops, but I don't see myself using that many different materials. I need one napped leather for pasting and one smooth for final stropping. A two sided smooth leather with one side sprayed could work fine. The Custom Sprung Latigo Strop has my eye... pricey, but beautiful. Good stuff ain't cheap and cheap stuff ain't good!!
The other option is a loom strop. Same options as the two sided paddle strop with the advantage of being able to use the back side of the leather as well (though not nearly as convenient). Invisible Edge has a nice one.. Less expensive than their paddle, replaceable leather, adjustable tension and appears to be equally well made.
Here's the dilemma... Action. A hanging strop can be self-correcting to a degree. If the blade is presented to the strop with a slightly off spine angle, toe to heel, the strop will twist as needed. Not so with the paddle. Possible with loom, though to a limited degree I would think. Likewise, the hanging strop and the loom have the benefit of being able to control tension. No go with the paddle strop.. the feel of the tension is limited to the flexibility in the bed.
For now I have eliminated the modular paddle from my options.
So which way to go? Two sided paddle strop or two sided loom strop? The paddle might have a slightly longer stropping area, depending on the model. I would love to hear from those of you who have used either or both.