Confused about stropping materials

S

snorkem

Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
410
I have finally given in and decided to get a strop. but I have checked out many sites and I'm more confused now then when i didn't know anything at all.

1. what kind of strop should i get, what size, should it be a razor strop or bench strop?
2. where should i order my strop from, i have checked out 5 different sites but I'm not sure what is good and whats not.
3. what type of compound should i use, green? i would like diamond but i need to know where to get it and how much it will be. If green compound then from where, i know the quality varies greatly.

Any input appreciated, thanks for the help

Snorkem
 
it's a stropping highway at the moment here on bladeforums :D
size: big enough to handle your knives
order: not sure, you could make your own
compound: green is good to use for general use

experts here on the forum: knifenut1013 and stitchawl, ask them

and check out my video on stropping, see my sig ;)
 
Lee Valley Tools is a good source for strops, hones, stropping compound and books on sharpening.
 
thanks zyhano, i actually favorited your post where you put up videos for stropping, i havnt watched them yet but im sure i will need to
 
I would get a bench top strop which is basically a wood paddle with heavy, hard leather glued on.

There is a member on here that has them occasionally and they are usually two for about $30 including shipping. He uses different woods and they are nicely built. His name is Mr2blue here on the forum.

I did not have much luck with the green chromium oxide. I got 1 and 0.5 micron diamond spray from handamerican.com and it is working out great. It takes a sharp knife to the next level. There are other places that sell diamond compounds but that is where I found the best price for the amount of diamond you get. I think you can get a 12 carat bottle for around $15 plus shipping and he will throw in a freebie usually like a piece of leather or felt (but maybe that is only on a larger order?).
 
thanks for the info, from what i see now the 8 ounce diamond spray is 22 dollars, but it could have changed. Do you know if the chromium oxide he sells is superior to others?
 
+1 on Mr2blue Strops...i just got a set from him and they are awesome!

+1 on handamerican...I have some 1 micron diamond spray on the way...should be here in a day or two:thumbup:
 
snorkem said:
thanks for the info, from what i see now the 8 ounce diamond spray is 22 dollars, but it could have changed. Do you know if the chromium oxide he sells is superior to others?
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You can get any of his different carat weights in either a 4 oz or 8 oz bottle. Basically the carat weight is just how many diamonds are in the bottle and the different size bottle is how concentrated it is. So a 4 oz bottle of 12 carat is going to actually going to be more concentrated than the 22 carats in an 8 ounce bottle. I got the 8 oz bottle because I figured I can always add a couple more sprays if it doesn't seem like there is enough diamond on the strop. From what I remember all the diamond spray was based on something around $1.35 per carat and then the 8 oz bottle was slightly more because the actual bottle cost a little more than the 4 oz.

The strop from Mr2Blue could actually have another piece of leather glued to the back. I got some pieces of leather in my order from Hand American and I think I am going to glue some to the back so that I can have more compounds and maybe a bare leather to strop with. It will hide some of the good looking wood but I am more concerned with functionality.

If you are interested in the diamond spray give Keith a call at Hand American. He will take your order over the phone and is really good about answering the phone during business hours.
 
thanks again mountain biker(i assume thats what mtnbkr stands for) something you just touched on, multiple strops. I really don see the purpose of having more then one but if i was going for say 2(looking at doublesided paddle from leevalley tools) i was thinking getting 1 micron or .5 micron diamond and leaving the other side bare. Do you think this is a good idea or should i have one be .5 micron and the other be 1 micron. I am open to combinations but im trying to make my initial strop investment just be 2 sides. also can you feel a major edge difference between 1 micron and . 5 microns? and is there a significant difference in cutting speed?
 
So far I have gone from a sharp edge to the 1 micron and then to the 0.5 micron. Using the 1 micron makes a pretty big jump in sharpness. Going to the 0.5 micron after the 1 micron gets it sharper but it's not nearly as big a jump. I haven't tried going straight to the 0.5 micron to see how it works without first using the 1 micron. I would say if you are wanting to save money then you could get one strop with the 1 micron diamond spray and be good to go for awhile and have some really sharp blades. Maybe if your sharpening sickness grows you can then get another strop and some smaller micron spray to take it further.

I'm not sure how much the strop costs that you are looking at but Mr2Blue here on the forum sells 2 strops for about $30 sometimes. I would send him a message and see what he has because they are really nice. One strop is a little shorter than the other and they come 1 sided but you could easily get some different leather and make them double sided. If you order from hand american you can probably get a piece of leather pretty cheap or maybe even free if you ask?

I don't think this is what you were saying but I will cover it just in case. You don't want to put both 1 and 0.5 micron on the same strop. I'm pretty sure that's not what you were saying but just wanted to make sure.

I also haven't tried stropping with bare leather. I figure the silicates in the leather are going to be pretty soft compared to vanadium carbides and aren't going to do much except maybe on a simple high carbon steel. The diamonds get it so sharp I haven't felt the need to use bare leather personally.

Maybe others will chime in with their experiences.
 
Just an FYI, I asked mr2blue awhile back... at the time he said for a small add. cost, he could put leather on both sides of the strop.

cbw
 
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