Club Platinum,,,,,,2010 ,, vol .. 2

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Mornin' peeps,,,

Can anyone give me a link to a good freehand stropping vid please ?,,, just bought this oak backed strop and some stropping compound, but can't figure it out using the text explanation provided by the maker,,, I'm a real dunce :D

Teach it to me like I'm a five year old,,, I don't wanna ruin any of my knives,,, :o
 
Chibbi said:
Mornin' peeps,,,

Can anyone give me a link to a good freehand stropping vid please ?,,, just bought this oak backed strop and some stropping compound, but can't figure it out using the text explanation provided by the maker,,, I'm a real dunce :D

Teach it to me like I'm a five year old,,, I don't wanna ruin any of my knives,,, :o
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Brian is the man to talk about leather sharpenin....
 
Chibbi, does the knife have a convex edge?


a couple tips

1) use a light touch (very little pressure)

2) Find the right angel to sharpen the knife by slowly moving the knife forward while lifting the spine. When it bites, that is the angle you want to sharp at. I use the last 1" of my strop to test the angle so I don't ruin the strop.

3) I alternate 10 strops per side (at the angle established above). Spine first, I start at the choil and move to the tip rotating the blade when I get to the tip, but keeping the same blade angle.


I can't find my tripod, or I would make a video. If you can wait, I'll pick up a new one and make a video.


Chibbi, I hope that helped. Ask me any questions you have.
 
Cheers, Brian :thumbup:

I think I'll wait for the vid,,, I need to see it,,, I'm rather visual that way :o

No hurry either mang ;)

ps: can't all edges be stropped ?!? Or only Convex ones ?!?
 
Chibbi said:
Cheers, Brian :thumbup:

I think I'll wait for the vid,,, I need to see it,,, I'm rather visual that way :o

No hurry either mang ;)

ps: can't all edges be stropped ?!? Or only Convex ones ?!?
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Stropping really only works well on convex edges. You have to think about what different edges look like and the properties of a strop (slightly soft and forgiving). While a "normal" edge is shaped like a V, a convex edge is shaped like a rifle bullet. The strop will cup the edge and round it out making a durable, relatively thick, crazy sharp, easy to maintain edge. When I use my Horton Chopper for a weekend of camping, it only takes 10-20 strops per side to get it back to hair popping sharp.
 
I'll try stropping one of my cheap knives first using your explanation and wait for your vid 'till I get to my Hortons or other precious knives ;):D
 
Chibbi said:
I'll try stropping one of my cheap knives first using your explanation and wait for your vid 'till I get to my Hortons or other precious knives ;):D
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If it doesn't have a convex edge, go out and buy some approx 400-600 grit automotive sand paper first and tape/tack it to your strop. Black compound is approx 1800-2000 grit and it would take a very long of continuous stropping to see any progress.
 
Morning guys. My son and I cooked 120 lbs of chicken wings for 50 guys at the recovery center that saved his life. They enjoyed the wings and the game. Sometimes a small diversion helps take your mind off bigger problems. Geaux Saints
 
chickenplucker said:
Morning guys. My son and I cooked 120 lbs of chicken wings for 50 guys at the recovery center that saved his life. They enjoyed the wings and the game. Sometimes a small diversion helps take your mind off bigger problems. Geaux Saints
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my hat is off to you and your son sir....
 
BushcraftBrainTrust said:
Chibbi, does the knife have a convex edge?


a couple tips

1) use a light touch (very little pressure)

2) Find the right angel to sharpen the knife by slowly moving the knife forward while lifting the spine. When it bites, that is the angle you want to sharp at. I use the last 1" of my strop to test the angle so I don't ruin the strop.

3) I alternate 10 strops per side (at the angle established above). Spine first, I start at the choil and move to the tip rotating the blade when I get to the tip, but keeping the same blade angle.


I can't find my tripod, or I would make a video. If you can wait, I'll pick up a new one and make a video.


Chibbi, I hope that helped. Ask me any questions you have.
Click to expand...

.
I can strop my hair popping blade to dull in 10-20 strokes! A video would be cool.


chickenplucker said:
Morning guys. My son and I cooked 120 lbs of chicken wings for 50 guys at the recovery center that saved his life. They enjoyed the wings and the game. Sometimes a small diversion helps take your mind off bigger problems. Geaux Saints
Click to expand...

.
That's really awesome Plucker!
 
I bought some stuff from HandAmerican a while back.
They had some excellent instructions on their site.
unfortunately the pages are gone now.
I emailed them to see if they can make them available once again.

I did find a good thread in here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348552

and a quote from it


tim8557 said:
I recently purchased the Hand American 3" x 15" Dual sided leather stropping system. Unfortunately, I really did not know the proper stropping techniques to use and generally did everything wrong.

I found the following info at www.drsharpening.com and it improved my techniques and results considerably. I still haven't gotten that advanced "Kung Fu Sharpening" Masters Degree yet, but hope to get their eventually.

Steps to success:

1. Laying the knife down (properly) - Begin by laying the knife down onto the hone by allowing only it's spine to come in contact with the leather's surface then slowly roll the blade down onto it's side. Doing this step correctly, each and everytime, will ensure that the edge doesn't cut into the leather and also from dulling your efforts.

2. Use an "edge trailing" motion - This should go without saying but someone always seems to do it so I'm mentioning it here. Don't push the knife into the leather! Draw the knife towards yourself using an edge trailing motion. You do not want to push the knife into the leather because you will cut into it.

3. Finding the correct angle - To find the correct angle lift the spine of the knife up until the edge just begins to bite, not cut, into the leather. This is the angle you want to "strop" at. You have found the extreme edge and this is the part of the edge that should be honed.

3. Use little to no pressure - So many people press down while "stropping" trying to improve the quailty of their results and/or speed up the process. Neither will occur if you do this yourself. In fact, you will most likely experience poor results due to edge rounding. Even the slightest bit of force can cause an edge to round over as the leather will curl up and around the edge thus changing the angle of the edge itself. This is an undesireable effect and should be avoided. You should only use the weight of the knife - that's it. Let the leather, the chromium oxide, and repetition do the work for you.

4. At the end of the stroke - STOP - Keep still and lift the knife off of the hone while keeping the same angle as used while honing. The purpose for doing this to ensure that you go slow and do not roll the edge at the end of the stroke. If you lift the blade off the leather at the end of the stroke, without stopping first, I will guarantee that you will round the edge over and destroy all your efforts.

5. Slow Down & Take Your Time - This is very important as the edge that you make with the leather hone is the edge that you will be using to cut with. Any extra time you may spend honing your edge will later be rewarded through pleasurable knife using experiences.





*Tip - A leather hone is also a great tool for removing residual wire burrs remaining from any previous sharpening. To remove a wire burr, using a leather hone, use the same techniques as described above except raise the angle just above the point where the edge bites into the leather. Using no pressure, draw the knife across the leather at this angle several times in both directions (both sides) until the wire burr begins to split away from the edge. This may take a few passes on both sides of the knife but will remove most burrs quicker than any other method. Besides, the resulting edge will be both polished and sharp when you're done.



Please see these links for further information on HandAmerican leather hones:

"The Secret of Leather Honing" by HandAmerican

"Applying Liquid Chromium Oxide/Cleaning Honing Leather" by HandAmerican





*Note - I have no business affiliations with HandAmerican, it's products, or employees. I'm offering this information to those people who would be interested in trying a quality leather hone to aid in maintaining sharp edges on their knives and tools. HandAmerican is my personal choice for leather hones, chromium oxide, and glass smooth steels and I wish to share my knowledge of their products with others. The opinions expressed here are mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of HandAmerican. - Dave Martell
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