Heating a strop for the first application of compound?

Glock Guy

Glock Guy

Joined
Jul 28, 2012
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I just picked up a new strop, and had an idea I wanted to see if anybody here has actually tried before.

I know knivesplus uses heat to help "load" their green compound into their strop. This supposedly lasts years, and is very easy to maintian by just a little dab of olive oil when you need some fresh compound.

My idea was to *lightly* heat the leather of the strop with a hair dryer to get the leather pretty warm. I figure since the compound looks almost wax-like, it would help the compund melt in and really saturate the strop, thereby making the application last longer.

I'm still new to this whole sharpening/stropping thing, so I wanted to see if anyone actually uses this technique before I try it.

Thanks!
GG...
 
Heat will definitely help if you're using a rouge or waxy compound. The hair dryer will help more or less depending on if it gets hot enough to actually soften the compound. I have used a lighter in a pinch before and it worked fine.
 
I typically use isopropanol to bring the compound into solution and it evaporates very quickly. Some people use hot water.


-Xander
 
Heat won't hurt but it tends to loading up too much compound...which in turn won't hurt anything but it's a waste. Best thing, IMHO (YMMV), is to crayon on the compound (assuming the bar/wax kind) in a zig-zag or spiral pattern and then apply some WD-40 to a paper towel and work it around. This work well on leather and balsa. I am on a balsa stropping kick right now and getting fantastic results. Occassionally redo when the strop gets black and maybe crayon on a little more or not. I have stopped using heat and strictly use WD-40. You are using too much compound on your strop if, quite frankly, you find compound on your hands or your knife after stropping. Again...too much compound isn't hurting anything but is wasteful and messy.
 
HoosierQ said:
Heat won't hurt but it tends to loading up too much compound...which in turn won't hurt anything but it's a waste. Best thing, IMHO (YMMV), is to crayon on the compound (assuming the bar/wax kind) in a zig-zag or spiral pattern and then apply some WD-40 to a paper towel and work it around. This work well on leather and balsa. I am on a balsa stropping kick right now and getting fantastic results. Occassionally redo when the strop gets black and maybe crayon on a little more or not. I have stopped using heat and strictly use WD-40. You are using too much compound on your strop if, quite frankly, you find compound on your hands or your knife after stropping. Again...too much compound isn't hurting anything but is wasteful and messy.
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly. :thumbup:

The strops that consistently have worked best for me, are all ones on which the compound was applied very minimally. Every strop on which I used heat, or oil, to aid in loading the compound has always ended up excessively gummy. The blade justs scrapes the excess off, like a putty knife, and there's never been any noticeable gains in performance this way. Felt like stropping on mud. I've always back-tracked and cleaned them up (using WD-40 on a paper towel). When the leather gets back to looking like 'lightly tinted leather', as opposed to 'painted leather', performance always gets better.

Some really coarse & dry stick compounds (like black & white compounds) can more easily be applied by moisturizing the leather itself with some mineral oil, and then 'crayoning' the compound onto the moist (not wet) surface.
 
Im using isopropanol and a paper towel aswell, works just fine to apply or remove waxy compounds.
It doesnt get messy and is easier to apply a thin and even layer.
From time to time i resurface the strop using a grey scotch brite it helps a lot to hold the compound.
 
I was always shown to put the compounds on kind of thick, which I never really felt like was a great idea. I read through all the posts in this thread and tried removing some compound using the wd-40 and paper towels until it was just tinted leather. I am really quite amazed how much better everything is working now. You guys are awesome!!
 
plakat said:
I was always shown to put the compounds on kind of thick, which I never really felt like was a great idea. I read through all the posts in this thread and tried removing some compound using the wd-40 and paper towels until it was just tinted leather. I am really quite amazed how much better everything is working now. You guys are awesome!!
Click to expand...

It's always good to hear that our 'advice' (such that it is) is actually helpful sometimes. :thumbup: ;)

An easy way to see how little compound it actually takes, is to apply just a little bit to a piece of clean, white paper wrapped around or laid atop the strop. Just make a zig-zag pass over the paper, as with a crayon. Then strop your blade on the paper. The black trails left by the blade, on the paper, are the best indicator of how effectively the compound is removing metal. This is also a quick way to see if the compound you're using is appropriate to the steel you're trying to sharpen. If you suspect your compound isn't doing much, the lack of metal left on the paper can confirm it. Some of the 'super steels' with abundant carbides (like S30V) won't respond too well to some compounds, and this makes it easier to find some that work better. :)
 
David

I've only got the one compound, the soap bar looking thing of the green (.5 micron chomium oxide). Is that going to be one of those un-effective on S30V?

Quentin
 
HoosierQ said:
David

I've only got the one compound, the soap bar looking thing of the green. Is that going to be one of those un-effective on S30V?

Quentin
Click to expand...

Green compound is definitely slower on S30V. That's not to say it can't work, but it takes more time. Green was the first compound I tried with S30V, and I eventually made some small progress with it. But it took a long time. I think diamond is better on that steel (maybe CBN, too, but I haven't tried that yet). SiC might also be fairly effective on it. As with all stropping, the more 'ready' the edge is from the hones, the easier stropping will be. :)
 
If I hone with a layer of electrical tape or two, should I also use the same when stropping with compound?
 
THG said:
If I hone with a layer of electrical tape or two, should I also use the same when stropping with compound?
Click to expand...

Assuming you're talking about your straight razors? If using tape, I typically use it for all steps. Although I particularly don't like leaving tape on the spine for the before and after stropping of a razor. Are you taping your spine to help edge geometry, or just to keep from wearing out the spine?


-Xander
 
Glock Guy said:
I just picked up a new strop, and had an idea I wanted to see if anybody here has actually tried before.

I know knivesplus uses heat to help "load" their green compound into their strop. This supposedly lasts years, and is very easy to maintian by just a little dab of olive oil when you need some fresh compound.

My idea was to *lightly* heat the leather of the strop with a hair dryer to get the leather pretty warm. I figure since the compound looks almost wax-like, it would help the compund melt in and really saturate the strop, thereby making the application last longer.

I'm still new to this whole sharpening/stropping thing, so I wanted to see if anyone actually uses this technique before I try it.

Thanks!
GG...
Click to expand...

Another way to soften the compound is to simply apply a drop of mineral oil to the bar and rub it in. There will be a localized softening where the oil is absorbed by the wax. I keep my compounds in a ziploc bag with a few drops of mineral oil - keeps them soft without becoming too oily or messy. This also aids greatly when applying to a wood board or other extra firm surface where clumping becomes more of an issue.
 
fast14riot said:
Assuming you're talking about your straight razors? If using tape, I typically use it for all steps. Although I particularly don't like leaving tape on the spine for the before and after stropping of a razor. Are you taping your spine to help edge geometry, or just to keep from wearing out the spine?


-Xander
Click to expand...

The tape is to prevent wearing the spine down when honing, it's not necessary when stropping. Also you should not be using compound on a razor IMO, these guys are talking about regular folding/fixed blade knives with super hard steels. You should be able to go straight from your hone to the plain leather, if not then you're doing something wrong.
 
SunsetFisherman said:
The tape is to prevent wearing the spine down when honing, it's not necessary when stropping. Also you should not be using compound on a razor IMO, these guys are talking about regular folding/fixed blade knives with super hard steels. You should be able to go straight from your hone to the plain leather, if not then you're doing something wrong.
Click to expand...

If your taping to prevent wear to the spine, your taping for the wrong reason. By preventing spine wear, you are progressively increasing edge angle. When edge geometry it not working, you can tape the spine to correct it. If it was reasoned that tape is needed for honing, why would you change the edge angle for stropping defeating the point of it anyways.

Loaded strops are a personal preference, but are a great alternative to going back to a hone.


-Xander
 
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