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a stupid question on sharpening
- Thread starter huh
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Not stupid at all. I look forward to others input as I am learning as well.
I beleive the only factor is whether or not you are using an abrasive compound on the belt.
Editted to add:
You may not need the compound. I have read of some using the back of a legal pad. I haven't tried it, but some here have.
Ed
I beleive the only factor is whether or not you are using an abrasive compound on the belt.
Editted to add:
You may not need the compound. I have read of some using the back of a legal pad. I haven't tried it, but some here have.
Ed
...your question pertains to the physical differences between the two; regardless of the presence of a compound. Please bear in mind, I've never used a strop of any sort and don't own one. From what I remember of visits to the barber while growing up, the razor strop was very smooth and had a mild sheen to it. Even highend luxury belts would be of a more coarse makeup and probably wouldn't give as smooth an edge when used with compound. Whether or not this would make a significant difference when just "knocking off the edge" I wouldn't think so but i certainly have no way of saying for certain.
As to the stupid part......the stupid questions are the ones you DON'T ask!
Larry S.
As to the stupid part......the stupid questions are the ones you DON'T ask!
Larry S.
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- May 2, 2002
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a stupid question...
I've wondered it myself. I was taught by my dad to use the inside (rough side)of a plain old 2" leather work belt to knock the wire edge off. I'd never heard of using a compound until I found these forums. I'm still just using a old belt without the compound now.
Can anyone here add to whether it is OK to just use the belt without compound? I mean it won't hurt the edge to just use the belt right?
Thanks...
Mongrel
I've wondered it myself. I was taught by my dad to use the inside (rough side)of a plain old 2" leather work belt to knock the wire edge off. I'd never heard of using a compound until I found these forums. I'm still just using a old belt without the compound now.
Can anyone here add to whether it is OK to just use the belt without compound? I mean it won't hurt the edge to just use the belt right?
Thanks...
Mongrel
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
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A razor strop is intended to refine the edge of a straight razor (well duh....). This may seem virtually identical to stropping a knife blade, but it isn't as similar as you might think. The blade of a straight razor is paper thin behind the edge while a knife blade is almost always several times thicker. It is very easy to warp, nick, and ding the edge of a straight razor with a rough or dirty strop. It is relatively hard to do damage to a knife edge via stropping. A microscopically damaged razor edge will cut someones face while a similarly damaged knife edge may not even be noticed.
The bottom line is that you want a very refined (smooth and flat) strop for a razor and it is not nearly as important what you use for a knife.
Another issue is how often you strop. If you were an oldtime barber and stropped your razor several times a day...it was extremely critical to protect and preserve your razor. You would not want to use even a mild abrassive on your primary strop. That paper thin razor blade would quickly be warn away if you abraded it while stropping. Most of us don't even strop our much heavier knife blades daily. Whether or not you use a little chromium oxide on your strop is of minimal consequence.
The bottom line is that you want a very refined (smooth and flat) strop for a razor and it is not nearly as important what you use for a knife.
Another issue is how often you strop. If you were an oldtime barber and stropped your razor several times a day...it was extremely critical to protect and preserve your razor. You would not want to use even a mild abrassive on your primary strop. That paper thin razor blade would quickly be warn away if you abraded it while stropping. Most of us don't even strop our much heavier knife blades daily. Whether or not you use a little chromium oxide on your strop is of minimal consequence.
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I've been using a leather board, a 4" wide 12" long piece of finished leather cemented to a piece of 1/2" thick oak board and another piece that's not. To my understanding as you draw the blade across the leather the leather being pliable enough actually comes above the edge line, kinda wraps around, but noy completely and removes the wire edge, also there is something in the finished leather that abrades the wire edge off. The use of a polishing compound smoothes/polishes the final bevel leading to the edge.
In some cases this is prefered, but in some cases, you want a toothier edge that comes without the polished bevel.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with a strop is that as they get to the end of the stroke they tend to lift the spine of the knife which tends to round off the edge, thereby negating the desired effects of stropping. the best way to avoid this is to draw the knife past the edge of the leather before lifting away,(if any one spray paints it's like not chanhing direction or letting off the trigger until your past the work piece).
One last thing, alot of people mention the sound of steel slapping the leather when stropping, but if you watch any of the old time barbers when they strop, right before the hit the end of their stroke, they relax the tension on the strop. in essence this accomplishes the same thing as described above, in not lifting until past the leather. The slapping sound comes, as they pull the strop taunt again before bringing the razor in contact with the strop.
Alright now one last thing,
I have had reasonable succes with valve grinding/lapping compound.
In some cases this is prefered, but in some cases, you want a toothier edge that comes without the polished bevel.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with a strop is that as they get to the end of the stroke they tend to lift the spine of the knife which tends to round off the edge, thereby negating the desired effects of stropping. the best way to avoid this is to draw the knife past the edge of the leather before lifting away,(if any one spray paints it's like not chanhing direction or letting off the trigger until your past the work piece).
One last thing, alot of people mention the sound of steel slapping the leather when stropping, but if you watch any of the old time barbers when they strop, right before the hit the end of their stroke, they relax the tension on the strop. in essence this accomplishes the same thing as described above, in not lifting until past the leather. The slapping sound comes, as they pull the strop taunt again before bringing the razor in contact with the strop.
Alright now one last thing,
I have had reasonable succes with valve grinding/lapping compound.Cliff Stamp
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Jeff Clark :
CrO is a fairly aggressive buffing compound which will drastically change the action of a leather strop making it capable of polishing even the harder and high alloy steels. While you use it in the same manner you would a plain leather strop, it effects the knife edge in a very different manner. It is also commonly used on buffing wheels for sharpening along with a variety of other compounds.
-Cliff
CrO is a fairly aggressive buffing compound which will drastically change the action of a leather strop making it capable of polishing even the harder and high alloy steels. While you use it in the same manner you would a plain leather strop, it effects the knife edge in a very different manner. It is also commonly used on buffing wheels for sharpening along with a variety of other compounds.
-Cliff