Buying a Strop.

R

rmeron

Joined
Sep 28, 2011
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I've seen all prices from cheap to ultra expensive. What should I look for in a strop, can an old leather belt be used?
 
It depends on what you're looking for. You can go from the gamut of cheap and effective (do it yourself, old leather belt, plain basswood, balsa wood, newspaper on top of stone) to not so cheap and effective.

I think it also depends on the knife steel you'll be using your strop on.
 
You might want to do a forum search on strops. I believe the subject has come up before...


Stitchawl
 
If you get into stropping at all, and have a variety of steels, you may soon find out leather isn't the hot ticket. Some of my best strops are denim on hardwood, cotton duck canvas on a hard backing, 2 sheets of computer paper around Heavy Handed's Washboard. As I learn more, with the more advanced/modern steels (3V, S30V, M4, etc), its more about the compound you use, the mechanical motion you apply, and the firmness of your strop (to avoid rounding your edges- something I easily did with leather strops). Again, as Stitchawl said, a quick search would bring up a vast number of topics, and a specific search would still bring you a lot of relevant info. Good luck.
 
I tried the belt thing.... spent $22 on a strop with green diamond paste on it... now my blades are razors. Best money spent lately! :)
 
blows my mind!you don't need to buy one,really easy to build/make your own,a little leather some wood and glue,done.
 
KP strop block is a really good start. And it's preloaded and fairly inexpensive

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530A using Tapatalk
 
+1 for the Knives Plus Strop Block. Pasting here from a previous thread in anticipation of responses -- "It's just a gimmick, it's too expensive, you can make one just as good for nearly free, etc.":

Magnaminous_G said:
The Strop Block has been my go-to strop for many years now, and I have never reloaded it and never cleaned it. The surface, as I write this post, is as pristine and green as the day I bought it. It is not magic or secret. It's just the quality of construction and the way they apply the compound. When it starts to load (turn black on the surface), you dip your finger in olive oil and rub fresh compound to the surface, and it is refreshed and ready to use again. All of the strops I have loaded myself have needed, at one point or another, to be scraped or otherwise cleaned, and reloaded. Good green compound, like Bark River for example, comes in a hard, waxy block. It's hard to work, it chalks up and clumps like drying clay. It separates from the strop if you try to apply it too thick. If you apply it thin, it eventually needs to be replaced.

With the Strop Block, the compound stays on the strop and doesn't come off. It isn't magic or some big secret -- it's just the way they load it, which you could replicate yourself because KnivesPlus explains the entire process on their website (see below). But I'm happy to pay someone $23 to do it for me because it's a little more involving than rubbing a block of green compound on leather. Plus it's a high-quality, well-made strop, even without the pre-loaded compound, and will probably last a lifetime for the average knife sharpener. I've had mine for years and used it on hundreds of knives. And I spent more than $23 eating at Buffalo Wild Wings Thursday night. I'll let Knives Plus explain their process better than I could (below). It's just a different loading process, but one I personally don't feel is worth doing myself, and it's what makes the Strop Block different from any other strop you can buy. That's why I highly recommend it.


from KnivesPlus website said:
"Chaps are the soft leather that Cowboys wear over their Levi's to keep the Mesquite bush thorns and prickly pear cactus from eating their legs up. It's soft but tough.
We use contact cement to glue this leather down to a 2 1/2" X 8" (approximately) particle board base. When the glue is dry, we raise the leather's nap by scraping with a razor blade to allow the polish to penetrate the leather and give it a "bite" when used.
Next, we melt down a high chrome rouge in olive oil until it is the consistency of thick vasoline. We smear and work this preparation into the leather surface with a hard rolled shop rag until the surface of the strop is thoroughly saturated and coated. Then we let the polish sink in and set for two days under low heat.
Finally, we rescrape the surface of the strop to remove excess polish and reset the nap. We run the edges of the base on a Burr King grinder to smooth and round the sides for comfortable use, and remove the green polish that gets on everything.
Remember these strops are hand made and are not the prettiest things in the world. They are also subject to the availability of the right piece of chap leather, and making them depends on what materials are available.
We use particle board base material. Width may vary from to 2"-2 1/2" and length may vary from 7"-8". Leather color may vary from cream color to dark brown which will affect the color of the finished product. Each strop is hand checked for "nap and grab" before being packaged."
Click to expand...
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Knives Plus is where I got my smaller strop... love it so much I'm getting the bigger one too! :) :) :)
 
Are you talking about Knives Plus in Amarillo, TX? One of my favorite stores of all time. They know their stuff. :thumbup:
 
Magnaminous_G said:
+1 for the Knives Plus Strop Block. Pasting here from a previous thread in anticipation of responses -- "It's just a gimmick, it's too expensive, you can make one just as good for nearly free, etc.":
Click to expand...

Quote Originally Posted by from KnivesPlus website
"Chaps are the soft leather that Cowboys wear over their Levi's to keep the Mesquite bush thorns and prickly pear cactus from eating their legs up. It's soft but tough.
Click to expand...


Soft? Ever see a soft barber strop? On the other hand, I'll bet it makes great convex edges. :)


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
Soft? Ever see a soft barber strop? On the other hand, I'll bet it makes great convex edges. :)

Stitchawl
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10-12oz veg tan, dampened, rolled with marble rolling pin until it is the thickness of 5-6 oz leather(thinner if you have the muscle), cut to desired size, glue to wood paddle, clean & treat with good leather conditioner once a year and use for the rest of your life. your kids and maybe grandkids lives too.
;)
 
knife diet said:
10-12oz veg tan, dampened, rolled with marble rolling pin until it is the thickness of 5-6 oz leather(thinner if you have the muscle), cut to desired size, glue to wood paddle, clean & treat with good leather conditioner once a year and use for the rest of your life. your kids and maybe grandkids lives too.
;)
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What a great idea! ROTFL!
 
At this point, I am considering buying Stitchawl a Strop Block so he can try it first... but I'm half worried he'll just burn the package without opening it.

Seriously though, Stitch, the Strop Block is genuinely a good, high-quality strop.
 
Try Stropman dot com. I've had one for a while now and it works great and has held up well. It's reasonably priced and included compound.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
At this point, I am considering buying Stitchawl a Strop Block so he can try it first... but I'm half worried he'll just burn the package without opening it.

Seriously though, Stitch, the Strop Block is genuinely a good, high-quality strop.
Click to expand...

Hey, I don't doubt that for a minute. There have been more than enough positive reviews of it to assure me that it is a well-made, reliable and effective product. But with its touted 'soft leather,' I have to conclude that it is better for convex edges than flat grind. A lot of people prefer that sort of edge, and it's MUCH easier to maintain than a flat one. Convex edge stropping is certainly more 'forgiving.' Me? I like a flat grind. Takes a bit more care to do it right, but, again, for me, the results are worth it.

If someone wants to shell out money for a strop, this one certainly isn't thrown-away money. But $2 worth of leather and 5¢ worth of compound for $29.95 (or what ever the price is,) to me, seems excessive. On the other hand, I've spent a lot of money in my time on things that other folks consider a waste too. Had the company spent more time compressing the leather rather than cramming in so much compound (there is a lifetime's worth of compound in those strops! LOL!,) I'd probably like it better. I just believe that people can get a MUCH BETTER strop for much less money. Nothing more.


Stitchawl
 
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