How do you exactly charge a strop using a honing compound?

calyth

calyth

#!/bin/sh of a man
Joined
Feb 23, 2002
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This stuff is like a bar htat kind of rubs off onto the leather. It's not liquid, but it's not quite sticking on the leather evenly. Any tricks to getting ito n there even?
 
Keep the strop flat & just rub the compound in. It takes a while to break in a new strop but after some stropping it will start to get a lot smoother. Just keep rubbing in compound till the whole strop is the same color. Once you begin stropping, if you start to see the brown of the leather, it's time to rub in more compound.
Holding the blade flat on the strop & putting pressure towards the edge works best for me. VampireWolf put this site up & here's the link. Very helpful. But as I mentioned, I get best results keeping a very flat angle with the knife on the strop. Let us know what works for you.

http://www.handamerican.com/lhone.html
 
It takes some time to break a strop in so it will load evenly. Some people even scrub the strop with a scrub brush and soap and water to remove the sheen from the leather.
 
Well when I bought it from Lee Valley, the salesman told me to use some mineral oil at first. I didn't quite get how exactly I should use it, but now I figured. Apparently, when I rub this compound before the oil got soaked in and disappear, the compound is no longer that dry, and will apply on the strop much easier. The strop is much more evenly loaded than before now.
My starmate was initially not shaving sharp, and now it's sharp enough that when I fumbled, I nicked myself with a very light amount of force.
 
When I got a strop last year(mid december 02) I had the same fun... thats why I found the handamerican site and saved it.

Use Veritas Green on my strop, 0.5micron grit in a Chromium Oxide paste... works great.

To load it up initially I put mineral oil on the strop to get moisture in, and scrubbed the block on it. Left it to sit overnight to have the oil dry up, and gave it another lighter scrub in the morning. Works great.

As to angle and method, it took me 1/2 dozen times to figure it out(even with online info), and now I go by feel and sound. I have my strop hanging with the top end at chin level and pull it straight to have the bottom at shoulder level.
 
That's interesting VampyreWolf, my strop is mounted to a board & I hold it while stropping. There's very little give ,(other than the leather giving under pressure). I've tried the method on the site you posted but got better results with a very flat angle.
As Cliff Stamp pointed out, there's less tendency to create a convex edge or roll the edge with an acute angle. As long as you're actually reaching the edge , it does the job.
Guess we all have to find what works best for ourselves & the particular knife we're working on. That's what makes these forums so handy.
Calyth, glad you've got it working. Keep in mind to strop after using the knife. If you just touch it up that way , it'll never need major work unless you damage the edge.
One other thing I've found helpful. If you're ever using a knife & it starts to dull, just unbuckle your belt & pull it out of the 1st loop. If you then pull it tight, the buckle will catch the loop on the other side & allow you to twist the belt so that you can strop on the inside surface. I've done this more than once to get through some skinning chores. Mostly I just carry better steel these days but the belt's always there if ya need it.
 
Calyth, thanks for sharing the mineral oil tip. I had the same problem that you did; the strop used to have a nasty chipped and flaking green surface. Now it's just one thin and even layer of green.

Oh I didn't have mineral oil around, so I just used some Smith's honing oil. I think they're pretty much the same thing.
 
thanks for the mineral oil tip. I used militec instead. now the veritas green is much more even on the leather.
 
Here is a good tip I found out that really works good,
take your compound and put it on the strop and once the
compound is on there,take a blow dryer and run it over the strop
the compound will get locked into the pours and as you work the strop
it will raise to the top.works like a charm;)
 
Question here,When i finishing making a knife and I brake a new edge over and I have it just about were I want to with my grinder I stop at 400 grit and then strop.I only move my knife in on direction
and then is I pull back on the blade only I never run the blade forward,it wants to cut the strop.I hollow grind all my knives
and I put a convexed edge on my bades,I would like to hear some input
on the way I do it.My strop also has canvas on it I never use it
I am unsure why it is even there.??
 
I use one called a Old Red IMP Leather strop
I bought it off ebay for 26 dollars.Go into ebay
and type in leather strop.Mine was not new so
there was not breaking in.They also have new
ones there for around 69 dollars and they are double
sided.just look at the picture of them and you can see
it is doubled with a canvas side and leather side
hope that helps:)
 
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