Fine stone vs. strop

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Papilio

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Sep 6, 2019
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To strop, or not to strop, that is the question. Well, good ol' Hamlet won't answer this question. I did not like a strop. For me it was not an improvement but seemed to dull the edge. Maybe I did it wrong. But as far as I know: Some like it. Some don't.
Some even use a quite coarse stone and then a strop. And it seems to work.
I know that stones of the same grit can produce a quite different edge. But - as a rule of the thumb - is it possible to say: If a stone has a grit of xy it is possible to remove the burr with just the stone and a strop is needless?

Hopefully this it not a silly question. Not more than else.
 
I just recently got my first "real" strop. I've used it maybe 8-10 times. I really didn't expect it to do much, but it made a big difference, at least in cutting paper. So I guess the only accurate answer I can give is that: (1) using a leather strop on a wood backer; (2) with Flexcut Gold; (3) made a big difference in the knives I have, which have blades made of fairly forgiving steel. (S30V, 8cr13mov, etc.)
 
It may depend on the steel. My D2 blades do not respond well to a strop or to my higher grit stone (6000 grit). I sharpen them on my 1000 grit whetstone and leave it at that. If I try to further refine the edge on either the 6000 or strop, the edge dulls. My other knives like the strop, but not the 6000 grit stone. So, the 6000 stone is worthless to me, and the strop works well on non-D2 blades.
 
Basswood and 6 micron diamond emulsion have been my go to

Very happy with the results for my needs

I finish on a 400 grit venev , then strop and also keep a loaded strop at work for quick touch ups
 
Strops work very well - I've proved that to myself. The mistake most people probably make is applying too much pressure while stropping. Just use very light pressure depending on the size of the blade. For larger blades just the weight of the blade should be sufficient.
 
For all intents and purposes, I don't strop with compound anymore. Any stropping I do is just as minimal as possible, to remove already weakened remnants of burrs from the edge. And to accomplish that without any compound, that means I take the edge as far as I can on the stone, before stropping. If my minimal, compoundless stropping isn't quite enough to remove those remnants, it means I need to do a little more with the stone to thin the burr.

I have little or no interest anymore in polishing the edge beyond what my choice of finishing stone leaves for a finish. That's the only reason I might otherwise use compound on a strop - if I want to polish to some degree. I've done that before. But I favor more toothy edges these days and have gravitated away from polished edges for the most part. I do still have one kitchen knife, a small santoku, that I'd finished to a thin & shallow, polished convex a few years ago. That knife is a great cutter in the kitchen, with veggies & fruits on a cutting board. The thin convex behind the edge was polished with either white rouge or a grey aluminum oxide buffing compound on a hard-backed denim strop. If or when I have occasion to touch up that knife a bit, I'll still likely finish it that way. But that's essentially the only one left of mine, for which I might reserve that treatment.

Whether stropping is necessary or not, it depends pretty much on what you might use the knife for and what expectations you have for the edge. For most of the tasks expected of an EDC knife, I view stropping as optional only, and not absolutely necessary. If one takes the edge far enough and the apex narrow enough on the stones, any burrs or their remnants left will be thin enough and weakened enough that the first use of the blade will essentially strip them away, after which the edge needs little or no more work. Any 'stropping' I might do after that is usually just a couple passes on my jeans, or on the sueded side of a leather belt. That's all I do, about 99% of the time.
 
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I strop my wood carving and leather cutting blades, occasionally my pocket knives. I find that blades that are used in a manner where they are pushed as much as sliced through a medium stropping works best. In the case of general purpose knives I find a slightly toothy edge works best, especially when using a sawing motion like when cutting cord or rope.
 
I use a stropping motion on the finishing stone as a final step to take care of most of the burr and then lightly and briefly use a strop with 1 micron diamond to refine the edge. It works for me.
 
Papilio said:
To strop, or not to strop, that is the question. Well, good ol' Hamlet won't answer this question. I did not like a strop. For me it was not an improvement but seemed to dull the edge. Maybe I did it wrong. But as far as I know: Some like it. Some don't.
Some even use a quite coarse stone and then a strop. And it seems to work.
I know that stones of the same grit can produce a quite different edge. But - as a rule of the thumb - is it possible to say: If a stone has a grit of xy it is possible to remove the burr with just the stone and a strop is needless?

Hopefully this it not a silly question. Not more than else.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, you can strop on a variety of surfaces, including a relatively fine grit stone. The Burrfection guy on youtube does it and gets excellent results.

I strop on a ceramic rod or the palm of my hand or both.
 
You can remove a burr with a fine stone.
The issue is that when you go beyond that, you are now polishing and removing tooth. So your skills make a big difference.
Or with a coarse grained steel I suppose you risk ripping out carbides.
 
Can even remove a burr with a relatively coarse stone as well, or at least reduce it sufficiently that it can be stripped away with minimal stropping, as I mentioned earlier. It's all about reducing pressure as you work and using the lightest, skimming touch. Practicing sharpening on only ONE coarse stone, from beginning to end, is probably the best way to develop a light touch for finishing.

Another 'trick' for deburring, without using a strop at all, is to set the edge as usual on your preferred finishing stone. Then apply an 'almost nothing' microbevel in just one or two passes per side with a much finer stone, at the lightest possible touch. That last light touch with the finer stone will narrow the apex width AND will also do a good job remove any significant remnants of burrs. I've grown fond of doing it this way using my Sharpmaker's medium OR fine rods (on the corners) to apply the microbevel, after setting the edge with anything between an India Fine (360-400) and a DMT XC (220 mesh). The finer microbevel, atop the apex left by the coarser stone, makes for a vicious slicing edge that's also more stable & durable.
 
I think stropping gives you a sharper edge, and since that's the general idea of sharpening ... I would recommend stropping. :)

I'm sure others are better at stropping on a stone than I am, but the best I can do straight off stones is a BESS score of around 140. And that's the best-case scenario. Average is closer to 165. After stropping I'm generally in the 100-110 range, so about a 30% improvement over no strop.
 
I remove burrs by cutting a couple of pieces of my 2" HD Poly or Nylon webbing strap. I am pretty experienced with my Wicked Edge 130 so that when I'm finished sharpening the blade, I know that it is sharp. So, cutting the webbing in a little holder that I made removes any burr that may remain and also tests the blade's sharpness. I strop it after cutting the webbing strap. Then I usually carve up some printer paper for the fun of it. But it seems to me that the best way to remove the burr is to cut something.

Strap Holder-8a.jpg
 
The strop guys seem to be the majority. Until now I tried to get away with a fine stone about 4000 JIS. But it seems that it may be worth to try. To see how different kinds of steel react.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Can even remove a burr with a relatively coarse stone as well, or at least reduce it sufficiently that it can be stripped away with minimal stropping, as I mentioned earlier. It's all about reducing pressure as you work and using the lightest, skimming touch. Practicing sharpening on only ONE coarse stone, from beginning to end, is probably the best way to develop a light touch for finishing.

Another 'trick' for deburring, without using a strop at all, is to set the edge as usual on your preferred finishing stone. Then apply an 'almost nothing' microbevel in just one or two passes per side with a much finer stone, at the lightest possible touch. That last light touch with the finer stone will narrow the apex width AND will also do a good job remove any significant remnants of burrs. I've grown fond of doing it this way using my Sharpmaker's medium OR fine rods (on the corners) to apply the microbevel, after setting the edge with anything between an India Fine (360-400) and a DMT XC (220 mesh). The finer microbevel, atop the apex left by the coarser stone, makes for a vicious slicing edge that's also more stable & durable.
Click to expand...

Ceramic rods are perfect for that application. And then you can do multiple touch-ups using the same end of the process.
 
For me anyway... my edges are almost always improved by stropping on leather as long as the compound is not too abrasive. I have one knife that I use daily on cardboard and stropping has kept me from going back to stones for over a month.
 
I use an old belt treated with Maguire's scratch remover car polish. Definitely helps a sharp knife be sharper. At least it does at my house.
 
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