Got a strop. Wow!

ziggy925

ziggy925

Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Messages
105
I finally got a leather strop. Got it online already stuck to a wooden paddle and it also came with a tube of Flitz. Yeah, I know I could have just used an old belt, but it was a nice package deal with the compound.

WOW! So this is the secret to getting really sharp knives. I'm amazed, and if you haven't discovered this yet definitely give it a try. And, yes, I do realize that not every knife should be polished to do it's job, but if you want to push cut paper or shave the hair off your arms, like, I do this every day, this is the secret.

I still have a long way to go on learning how to sharpen, but thanks for all the help up to this point. I may be a novice sharpener, but at least I'm no longer a stropper virgin. :)

How's this: "A strop a day keeps the stone away."
 
ziggy925 said:
And, yes, I do realize that not every knife should be polished to do it's job, but if you want to push cut paper or shave the hair off your arms, like, I do this every day, this is the secret.
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I put a nice polished edge on all of my blades regardless of the task they will perform. I have never been let down once.

I know people swear by serrated or toothy edges for rope and webbing but if you take a scary sharp edge and use it a bit you basically end up with a toothy edge.

Good luck with the strop. It is not just a tool for sharpening. It is also a great tool for maintaining your edges. If you do not let them get dull just maintain them with the strop. It will extend the time between sharpenings and increase the life of a blade due to a reduced need for material removal on the stones.
 
Ziggy,

Welcome to the edge, we have been waiting for you. :) You passed the knife nut test. :thumbup: This forum is filled with infinite hours of trial and error experienced individual opinions and conclusions on what works. To have such a great contribution from all, so that we learn fast, as you did, says alot about this forum.
 
My friend 5.56 was amazed what a strop could do when I gave him my old one. :)
 
I'm using Sears green chromium oxide on a nice bought strop and I don't notice much difference. In fact I think I have made a few of my knives duller using it.

However, I use paper wheels so my blades already have a high polish from them that will tree top hairs.

I guess I am going to invest in some diamond spray for the strop and hope it does something miraculous. If not then I guess I am going to have 2 strops and some diamond spray for sale in a little while.

Glad to hear it works for someone.
 
David Martin said:
FMB, Stropping may not help your blades much after being sharpened on paper wheels.DM
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Yes,
The buffing blade polishes so well, it does take the place of a strop, but I still do anyways. For the record, I cannot strop as sharp as paper wheels will.
 
Who among you ''stroppers'' is a convex stropper and who is a ''V'' grind stropper and why?
 
peppercorn said:
Who among you ''stroppers'' is a convex stropper and who is a ''V'' grind stropper and why?
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I do not know why, or which is better, on what grind of blade. :( I enjoy learning, but I am not at the luxury of time when it comes to edge maintenance. I enjoy collecting and carrying my collection, but I do not have an abundance of free time to rebevel each new aquired knife. The paper wheels did answer the question well about time. It puts a more than satisfactory polished edge on my edcs. Metals such as D2 and 154 CM I find take a little longer than stainless to sharpen. The edge holds very well for me on D2 and 154 CM. I am a Case fan of the CV they use. That steel is alot of fun to work, and is softer in my opinion. Schrade Old Timers as well, the carbon is easy to get very sharp.

When I sharpened on a Lansky, I got sharper with a strop. When I sharpen with paper wheels, I strop and do not get sharper. I am possibly doing it wrong. I assume I am putting too much pressure on the blade to pad. My sharpest edge has been attained through paper wheels, not the Lansky with stropping. I do envy a nicely polished even bevel. I am not as steady as I need to be on my wheels, but I am getting better. :thumbup:

I guess I am impulsive, because I just bought a Spyderco ultra fine stone. I want to learn hand sharpening as well. I just like playing with tools. :o
 
My faith in stropping grows stronger each time I do it. My philosophy about sharpening in general is still evolving, but I'm finding that the following works very well for me:

1.) Almost all of my light touch-ups get done with the strop. Nothing else. With regard to the amount of pressure used when stropping, lighter is always better. I use a 4-sided strop block held in the palm of my left hand, and the thought occurred to me the other night that no more pressure is needed than if I were stropping only on the bare palm of my hand. If I'm pressing hard enough that I might risk cutting my palm, I'm pressing too hard. That may or may not sound strange to some, but it's the mindset that works for me when stropping. If I can't get quite the edge I want this way, I proceed to this:

2.) Ceramic stone. I use a Spyderco 'Double Stuff' fine/ultra-fine pocket stone, freehand. When stropping can't quite get my edge to shaving/push-cutting sharpness, I use this ceramic stone (mostly on the darker 'fine' side; the white ultra-fine gets used only occasionally). I use maybe a little more pressure than with stropping, but no more than is necessary. Again, lighter pressure is best. If, for some reason, my ceramic stone can't quite get it there, then I'll proceed to:

3.) Re-profile with my Lansky set. I use a medium diamond hone to produce the burr, followed by the fine and ultra-fine 'regular' Lansky hones to clean up the burr, all lubricated with water. Once I've done that, it's back to the strop for the final touches on the edge. That has worked for me every single time including, recently, a couple of Queen Country Cousin Sodbusters in D2. Based on what I've experienced (and read from other posters here on BF), if you can sharpen Queen's D2, you've got most of it pretty much nailed down.
 
peppercorn said:
Who among you ''stroppers'' is a convex stropper and who is a ''V'' grind stropper and why?
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I'm a V-grind stropper. I get the best results grinding on my EP and stropping by hand. When I can't get the edge back on the strop, I go to a (freehand) ceramic rod. If that fails, I go to the EP. I can produce a perfectly serviceable edge freehand on a stone, but the EP just works better. It's like the difference between ripping by eye on a table saw, and using a fence. The fence is just a better way to do it.

Anyway, I find that I can maintain EDC blades for a pretty darn long time on just a 10K strop... as long as I keep up with them. I also clean off the edges with acetone before I strop, to get stuff like tape adhesive out of the equation.
 
Strop question: I'm getting a good edge polish with my new strop, but it looks like the Flitz I'm using has to be replenished with each strop -- whatever is left I can rub off with my fingers (kind off a dark powder is left).

Should I recharge the strop with each use, or will the leather strop begin to hold the abrasive after a time? I just rub the Flitz into the leather before each strop.
 
ziggy925 said:
I finally got a leather strop. Got it online already stuck to a wooden paddle and it also came with a tube of Flitz. Yeah, I know I could have just used an old belt, but it was a nice package deal with the compound.
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Is this the Knife Art strop? I've had mine for a while and I love it.
 
Who did you buy it from? I have a few convex edge knives and an axe that I would like to keep sharp.
 
ziggy925 said:
Strop question: I'm getting a good edge polish with my new strop, but it looks like the Flitz I'm using has to be replenished with each strop -- whatever is left I can rub off with my fingers (kind off a dark powder is left).

Should I recharge the strop with each use, or will the leather strop begin to hold the abrasive after a time? I just rub the Flitz into the leather before each strop.
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Only add the polish when the strop stops polishing the edge. Don't use the strop wet or right after applying the polish. The polish needs to dry. The blacker and nastier the strop looks the better it usually works:)
 
Yes, I got the strop from http://www.knifeart.com/leatherstrop.html

Rather than go to the thrift shop, look for a belt, find a piece of wood, cut the leather and wood, find some glue and glue the leather to the wood, then find some compound, or buy some Flitz, the strop at Knife Art seemed like a pretty good deal. What you see is what you get.
 
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