Stropping and not sharpening,,, that is a very interesting question.
One definition of stropping is realigning the deformed apex with whatever you like to use,, some use carbide rod or ceramic rounds, some use leather with or without compounds.
A second definition is closer to sharpening,,, actual material removal with abrasive compounds or diamonds on a flat surface,,, this is also considered stropping with done to 1 or lesser micron levels.
Most discussions consider stropping a refining of cutting edge to a finer surface finish,,, this requires metal removal or sharpening.
Flat vs. surface finish, these are not identical concepts, on can have 100 grit surface and still be very flat over the length of the reference plate. Buffing with a soft wheel can give a very smooth micro inch surface and also be very out of flat. Do you want a convex highly polished edge or a crisp well formed bevel and apex? They both work to cut materials.
I also lived in Japan for two years with the US Navy on the staff of two star and three star admirals. Never served on a ship, total time was at Yokosuka in Tokyo Bay. Never had time to visit cutlery manuf.
The company I retired with designs steel rolling mills specifically for hard alloys mainly stainless with many special steel alloys included. We have a division in Tokyo which is partially owned by Hitachi Metals. As you know they produce many of the special alloys used in both custom and production manuf. knife and wood working tools.
Those of us interested in Japanese kitchen knives of good quality do not expect the better knives to be shipped with a finished edge,, the individual user will apply their preferred apex angle and bevel finish for personal preference.
The custom or production output that uses buffing wheels are mainly higher output with time vs. expense as main concerns. These are good quality but more like mass produced knives. The same is seen in the high quality wood working tools. Adequate for the average user and well discussed with "out of the box sharpness" most of these users struggle to sharpen their personal knives. This is where the tradesmen with traveling dished stones or crude wheels make a living. These end users are only looking for adequate, kitchen performance.
Visiting gem shows to reference cutting/polishing tools gives me the impression the harder gems are cut with diamond impregnated flat disks and ceramic disks loaded with abrasives,,, not soft cloth wheels.
Regards,
FK
One definition of stropping is realigning the deformed apex with whatever you like to use,, some use carbide rod or ceramic rounds, some use leather with or without compounds.
A second definition is closer to sharpening,,, actual material removal with abrasive compounds or diamonds on a flat surface,,, this is also considered stropping with done to 1 or lesser micron levels.
Most discussions consider stropping a refining of cutting edge to a finer surface finish,,, this requires metal removal or sharpening.
Flat vs. surface finish, these are not identical concepts, on can have 100 grit surface and still be very flat over the length of the reference plate. Buffing with a soft wheel can give a very smooth micro inch surface and also be very out of flat. Do you want a convex highly polished edge or a crisp well formed bevel and apex? They both work to cut materials.
I also lived in Japan for two years with the US Navy on the staff of two star and three star admirals. Never served on a ship, total time was at Yokosuka in Tokyo Bay. Never had time to visit cutlery manuf.
The company I retired with designs steel rolling mills specifically for hard alloys mainly stainless with many special steel alloys included. We have a division in Tokyo which is partially owned by Hitachi Metals. As you know they produce many of the special alloys used in both custom and production manuf. knife and wood working tools.
Those of us interested in Japanese kitchen knives of good quality do not expect the better knives to be shipped with a finished edge,, the individual user will apply their preferred apex angle and bevel finish for personal preference.
The custom or production output that uses buffing wheels are mainly higher output with time vs. expense as main concerns. These are good quality but more like mass produced knives. The same is seen in the high quality wood working tools. Adequate for the average user and well discussed with "out of the box sharpness" most of these users struggle to sharpen their personal knives. This is where the tradesmen with traveling dished stones or crude wheels make a living. These end users are only looking for adequate, kitchen performance.
Visiting gem shows to reference cutting/polishing tools gives me the impression the harder gems are cut with diamond impregnated flat disks and ceramic disks loaded with abrasives,,, not soft cloth wheels.
Regards,
FK