DIY Edgepro strop?

Splat

Splat

Joined
Nov 19, 2006
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I read somewhere about making a leather strop plate with the Edgepro but cannot find it. I just made a strop for manual stropping but figure the Edgepro would be more consistent, like it is for sharpening. Sooo, now I'm looking to make my own EP strop.
Anyone done this and how's it working for you?
Do you prefer thick or thin leather?
Did you use a blank plate or made your own?
 
Or....... I have some sanding belts I bought from Lee Valley to convex some edges but have since stopped doing. Would something like 0.3µ sandpaper attached to glass attached to a blank EP plate work better than leather? Ah crap.... I changed the whole thread around now, haven't I? :D
 
YMMV, but I think it's going to work better to do the stropping by hand. You need to be able to vary the angle of attack slightly, as opposed to sharpening with the stone, where you want to keep it consistent.
 
I don't see the advantage over just buying lapping films and cutting them to size to save money over buying the pre cut ones. You can go all the way to .05 micron, and they have worked great for me on my flat glass bed lapping film set up, and it should work great on the edge pro as well. The leather would have give for a little bit of convexing the edge slightly (or rolling the edge), but since the Edge Pro is already set up to work with lapping films they are a good bet for finishing all the way to 400000 grit if desired.

Mike
 
gunmike1 said:
I don't see the advantage over just buying lapping films and cutting them to size to save money over buying the pre cut ones. You can go all the way to .05 micron, and they have worked great for me on my flat glass bed lapping film set up, and it should work great on the edge pro as well. The leather would have give for a little bit of convexing the edge slightly (or rolling the edge), but since the Edge Pro is already set up to work with lapping films they are a good bet for finishing all the way to 400000 grit if desired.
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Thanks Mike. The leather I got was very hard, yet smooth, shoe sole leather. I figure stropping would still convex the edge over time but I could simply regain the edge with the Edgepro. FWIW, it cost me $2 for the piece of leather, 20 minutes of walking to the shoe repair store, and I had everything else to make the strop. So I'm out a whopping $2. Do I need to go farther/sharper and will I?....... I honestly don't know at this time but for now I'm extremely happy. :thumbup:
 
Splat said:
Which goes against what I've read elsewhere. OK, I'll bite..... what angle should be used then?
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My understanding of stropping is that it works because it flexes off the tiny wire edge that's left behind by sharpening. That would imply that you use a slightly higher angle in order to make the wire edge flex a bit on each pass. That also explains why you should alternate sides when you strop.
 
Splat said:
Which goes against what I've read elsewhere. OK, I'll bite..... what angle should be used then?
Click to expand...
I don't think there is any special stropping angle, but I do think you will find it to be higher than the sharpening angle. Think about what you are trying to do with the strop... which is going to partly be a function of the state you left the blade in on the stone. And of course different people are going to take different approaches to sharpening different sorts of knives.

I often use my EP to establish secondary bevels, with the idea of finishing and maintaining either on a strop, steel or ceramic rods. Interesting how different knives respond better to different maintenance media... I can see why in some cases and in other cases I can just see the results.

To take a (hopefully) practical example, CRK S30V in the form of a Sebenza carried for all-around utility. What I like to do is grind the bevels a little on the acute side, and stop at #320. That's going to leave a bit of a burr. Then I like to go directly to a 10K strop to knock off the burr and polish the high portions of the edge. This works well for me as a balance between 'toothiness' and refinement. The edge will shave aggressively, but it won't whittle hair, push-cut cigarette papers, perform other cutlery aerobics, etc. OTOH, it'll saw through cardboard and webbing better than a stupendously polished edge.

Even with relatively hard, abrasion resistant steel, it's pretty easy to overdo it on the strop - both in terms of angle and number of strokes. You can only apply so many strokes on the strop before the blade starts to fall off its peak (including the initial stropping and the maintenance).

So, having gotten the bevels ground up to #320 (or whatever) you lay the knife on the strop slightly below the sharpening angle (which obviously isn't going to do any finishing work) and then slowly elevate it as you perform the stroke. You will feel the burr catch at some point (you'll see it too, in the stropping media). Depending on which side of the blade you last had on the stone, the angle where the burr starts to engage will either be above or below the sharpening angle. Obviously this is going to be more pronounced if you stop grinding at #180 and less pronounced if you stop grinding at #600. Also, knocking the burr off the low side of the blade is going to make a much greater contribution to finishing the edge than polishing the high side... and that is once again going to be a function partly of the grit you stopped at.

Getting a little long-winded here, but trying to illustrate that there are quite a few potential variables, and trying to give a practical example....

Back to the 'Benza, what I try to do is finish on the stone with minimal (relatively equalized) burr, and then find a sweet spot in terms of the 10K strop cleanup and polish. That will probably be something like 15 strokes/side; maybe 10/side if you go a little harder. Of course pressure is also a variable on the strop, and it is much more sensitive than the stone.

It is very easy to overdo it on the strop, especially with the angle, but you also have to completely remove the burr and do a light polish if you want the best edge. Of course the polish wants to be just ever so slightly steeper than the grind angle, even if there is no burr, but it is very easy to start rounding off the edge - even if only subtly.

What I have done on a few knives, and what I would recommend, is to get out the EP and the strop, get everything set up, and get the knife ground just like you like it. Then go to the strop with some paper and some arm hair ready, and start experimenting. Try to creep up on the angle. You should definitely be able to feel the knife getting sharper... say after 5 strokes each side. Keep pressing on until the knife stops getting sharper... then keep going until it starts to dull slightly. Just keep shaving, or whatever else you use as a gauge.

Once you’re sure you have diminished the edge on the strop, it’s quick work to go back to the EP and ready it again. That will give you a very good overall feel for the process.

One of the things I like about the strop is that it gives a very good manual feel for what’s going on with the edge – much better than I could get with even a slow-moving power tool.

Getting the stonework right is just a matter of choosing and maintaining the right angle. Stropping is way more artsy-fartsy… at least in my experience.
 
Got my EP strop working and have tried a few things. In use I honestly cannot tell any difference stropping at a slight increase from the sharpening angle. Therefore, I'm going to keep the strop at the same angle I sharpened at. I gotta say that overall I'm very happy with the results. :thumbup:
 
Leather actually bends around the edge a little. It will be fine to use the same angle, and it will help prevent rounding out. Use light pressure and just polish the edge. Should work pretty well, just be sure not to push into the edge.
 
thanks 65535. I was wondering about that. You said the leather "bends" around the edge a little. Splat commented that his strop was made of a fairly stiff leather. Does the hardness of the leather change this bending action, and does this make a difference in the angle you would recommend?
 
The sharpening angle on a strop frequently needs to be lower then the one used with a stone since the leather wraps around the edge a little increasing the resulting angle at the edge. It just depends on how hard the leather (or mouse pad) is and how much pressure you are using. I like the harder mouse pads or harder leather, which it sounds like you have, and with very light pressure it might take the same angle.

Use the Magic Marker / Sharpie and see if you are just getting to the edge and go with that. What ever angle that is is the correct one.

Since you are breaking new ground as well as having the option few folks have to measure the angle and you have to pick the angle you are kind of on your own but the trial and error method with the Sharpie should be the same.

Just as with free hand stropping, you can't tell someone the angle to use as every one will use different pressure and have a different strop hardness. The weight of the knife will change things the same as pressure used. When using the EP the the arm and your strop probably weigh more then most knifes. Even with stones on the EP, as I get to the finer ones or the films, I lift up on the arm to reduce the weight and pressure.

Again, let us know how it goes. Good luck.
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Gary
 
Splat said:
I read somewhere about making a leather strop plate with the Edgepro but cannot find it.
Click to expand...

Honestly, this doesn't make sense to me. Since the Edgepro maintains such a rigid and accurate angle, you will always do better using the stones or the polishing tapes because they don't "give" like a strop. The strop will add some convexity to the blade. Not much, of course, but it won't improve over what can do with the polishing tapes.
 
I strop flat with soft leather. I use 1/8" thick leather and it works great for folding knives. I push hard with the knife flat against the leather. The leather wraps up around the blade and takes the burr off.

I have been doing this for years and it works great. I use cheap leather and mostly just yellowstone compound. My knives cut the hair off my arm with ease. That is sharp enough for me.
 
I've made several strops to use with my EdgePro and love the results I get with them. The leather is very, very hard and dense, with virtually no give to it at all. I use a few different ones loaded with different compounds and get subjectively better edges than I do when hand stropping. I realize now that I could have used hard particle board instead of the leather, but as the leather is working, and I have it set at the same height as the stones, I'll stick with that. Frankly, the one that gives me the very best results has no compound on it at all. It just uses the natural abrasives in the leather to do the job!

Stitchawl
 
Sorry to drudge up an old thread, but I recently made a couple strops for my Edge Pro and am thrilled with how well they work. In researching the project I found this thread and figured I'd tag on in case someone else wanted to make their own as well.

You could simply buy a blank and glue leather onto it, but that'll cost you about $12 bucks a pop. Making them myself was nearly free.

I documented the whole thing here: http://wp.me/p7eNKF-B

Happy sharpening!
 
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