How to make a double sided paddle strop

Knife and tool sharpness are a vital part of safe and efficient use of edged tools.

Today we will make a wood backed strop for home or field use.

Smaller versions can, of course, be made for carrying in your pack.

You will need some suitable wood preferable knot free approx 12mm thick, 2 pieces of leather (one smooth and one flesh side like), scissors, adhesive, saw, pencil.

Many different woods and adhesives can be used. It is important that the wood used is flat and not cupped. In my opinion a contact adhesive works well for this application. The size of your piece of wood is optional, you may wish to consider size and weight for storage, carrying and indeed size of the edge you wish to sharpen. If your selected wood is not quite as flat as you want it this can be achieved by laying a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface and moving the timber workpiece over the abrasive.

Tip: Leave enough wood for the handle based on your own comfort needs during use.

The chosen adhesive must be such that it does not form any lumps under the leather once dried.

I have chosen a piece of flat pine taken from a pallet and a spray contact adhesive.

The leather came from an old sofa but you could upcycle something from a charity shop like a belt or handbag.

Draw your chosen handle design on your wood, cut out using the saw and finish to the desired shape with sandpaper and elbow grease.

Lay the wood on the smooth leather, draw round it using the pencil or marker and cut out the pattern using the scissors. The leather should be cut short as the handle does not need to be included in the leather covering. Repeat this using the flesh side of the leather.

Your chosen adhesive may require you to use protective clothing or work in a ventilated environment so you may need to move outside before gluing your leather on to the wood.

Lay your leather on a flat surface face down and apply your adhesive as per the adhesive instructions. (You may need to do this on some newspaper or cardboard to catch the overspray like I did.)

Then line up the wooden paddle with the correctly sized leather and push frimly down until the adhesive sticks.

Repeat this process with the smooth piece of leather you have cut to size on the other side of the wooden paddle. If necessary, clamp or weigh down your leather using any flat surfaces or books etc.

To finish I chose to add a leather hanging loop.

To maintain the leather on the strop the flesh side or honing side should occasionally be treated with camellia oil to prevent drying out. This is the side that you will use honing paste. The smooth side is to be kept clean and dry. If you use an alternative oil or leather conditioner you may wish to consider whether it is food safe if your knife is to be used for food prep or you will need to clean your knife thoroughly after stropping. The strop should be kept in a plastic bag also to prevent drying.