Paddle Strop Cleaning ?

[Daves]

I have a 4 sided paddle strop from Tony Miller. The 3. Micron side is getting pretty black. I have the diamond paste for it. Do I just apply new paste on the strop or must I clean it? Also what do I clean it with?

Thanks,

DaveS

[crankymoose]

You may want to e-mail Tony for the exact answer, but if memory serves me correct he said the turning black is normal with the wear from the metal and will occur as with your paddle in the higher grit 3.0 first before showing in the lower 1.0, .5 and .25, he said it wasn't anything to worry about would not effect the performance of it, that with typical use they only need to repasted about every 6 months or so.

I got a 2 sided 1.0 and .5 paddle strop, I repaste it about every 6 months or so and seems to be sufficent.

I recall seeing a thread with him answering that but don't recall if it was here or over at SRP, but again just e-mail him he is great about answering questions it may be a day or two if he is busy but he always responds.

[Daves]

You may want to e-mail Tony for the exact answer, but if memory serves me correct he said the turning black is normal with the wear from the metal and will occur as with your paddle in the higher grit 3.0 first before showing in the lower 1.0, .5 and .25, he said it wasn't anything to worry about would not effect the performance of it, that with typical use they only need to repasted about every 6 months or so.

I got a 2 sided 1.0 and .5 paddle strop, I repaste it about every 6 months or so and seems to be sufficent.

I recall seeing a thread with him answering that but don't recall if it was here or over at SRP, but again just e-mail him he is great about answering questions it may be a day or two if he is busy but he always responds.

Thanks for the info. It makes sense to not clean it now and I will ask Tony M. about what he would do.

DaveS

[Tony Miller]

I typically just paste right over the dark deposits with new paste. It will take very little paste to do the job. Far less than the initial aplication where the moisture gets soaked right into the leather leaving an uneven deposit.

One could dampen the existing paste ad try wiping it off but I would worry about getting the leather to wet. Not suggested on my paddles anyway.

Hope this helps,
Tony

[Daves]

I typically just paste right over the dark deposits with new paste. It will take very little paste to do the job. Far less than the initial aplication where the moisture gets soaked right into the leather leaving an uneven deposit.

One could dampen the existing paste ad try wiping it off but I would worry about getting the leather to wet. Not suggested on my paddles anyway.

Hope this helps,
Tony

Thanks Tony. I appreciate the feedback. :thumbup1:

[mparker762]

I've also just wiped it down with an old dry cloth. This removes the dirty top layer of paste, exposing fresh paste underneath. If there isn't any, then you know it's definitely time to repaste :-)