How often do you recharge your strop?

D

davek14

Joined
May 30, 2009
Messages
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I have been using a diamond paste on basswood strop quite a bit. It turns grey with metal fairly quickly as I play knife. I've been cleaning it with WD40 as recommended here.

Do you add more paste after cleaning?
 
As dark & grimy as it looks, the diamond will stay with the basswood and keeps working a remarkably long time. I use just such a combination (basswood block w/1µ Dia-Paste). I'd personally see no need for using WD-40 for cleaning; instead, just wipe away the excess black swarf with a dry paper towel or a clean rag occasionally. If you start to notice a lack of effectiveness in using it, then reapply the paste. At that time, you could sand or plane the surface of the wood clean again, but it's not really necessary if you're reapplying the same compound; it's more important if going smaller/finer in grit, when a completely clean surface eliminates chances of coarser-grit contamination. I'd not lay it on too thick or heavy, as the excess won't take hold anyway and will be scraped off the wood by the blade. Diamond paste is too expensive to waste it that way; it only needs a little bit. :)


David
 
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the only time I clean a strop is if I purchase a used one. I like vintage strops however some of them can be very dirty. I often use my own home made strops though and never clean them. I just re-apply a layer of compound as the metal builds up on the strop. Since they are home made from disused belts, I can throw them away when they get really bad.
 
davek14 said:
I have been using a diamond paste on basswood strop quite a bit. It turns grey with metal fairly quickly as I play knife. I've been cleaning it with WD40 as recommended here.

Do you add more paste after cleaning?
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No real set time... just:

  • Determine what change (hopefully improvement) you get from stropping
  • Recharge the strop when you no longer see this change
  • Clean and recharge, when recharging alone doesn't improve the result.

Sounds overly simple, but results is the best way to determine this. Just turning gray doesn't matter... that happens fairly quickly. If you clean a strop, then you need to recharge it. (And basswood could probably just be wiped off... no real need for WD40).
 
I would not use WD-40 on wood... leather, sure but not on wood, just sand the wood with 220 or 320 grit sandpaper.

If the strop starts to shine with metalic spots then it's probably time to clean it. Metalic spots are a sign of excessive metal clumping on the surface of the strop. Besides that, I only apply more if it seems to be cutting too slow... which in reality is difficult to discern.
 
I have been using denim with mother's mag with great success and through it out when glazed/black
 
awestib said:
I have been using denim with mother's mag with great success and through it out when glazed/black
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I almost forgot about my denim strop, they work great! now where did I put it...
 
awestib said:
I have been using denim with mother's mag with great success and through it out when glazed/black
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I have two denim strops, both of which are very glazed (black). I occasionally wipe the excess black stuff off with a microfiber towel (yellow ones available at Costco), and then just reapply compound. One is using the Ryobi white rouge that I've raved about in the past, and the other has Sears Craftsman #2 stick compound (grey AlOx) on it. They've continued to work great, even as messy & black as they are.


David
 
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i have one question hear please,about using denim and mother's mag-polish! i have these things laying around my house but never thought of using them for stropping,do you just use a strip of denim with no backing or wood!using the mother's mag seems strait forward though,i have always used regular leather on pine wood with compound or basswood/diamond paste for my stropping needs,i stumbled on this post and had to ask the dumb question!forgive me,thanks.:(
 
blanex1 said:
i have one question hear please,about using denim and mother's mag-polish! i have these things laying around my house but never thought of using them for stropping,do you just use a strip of denim with no backing or wood!using the mother's mag seems strait forward though,i have always used regular leather on pine wood with compound or basswood/diamond paste for my stropping needs,i stumbled on this post and had to ask the dumb question!forgive me,thanks.:(
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My two denim strops are made with denim stretched over, and glued with contact cement, to wood. I used an extra-long paint stir stick from Home Depot (sized for 5-gallon paint buckets, and they're FREE) for one of them, and a piece of 1/4" x 1-1/2" x 24" poplar wood for the other, also found at at Home Depot. Any flat & smooth piece of wood will do. The paint stirring stick strop (say that 3 times fast :D) is one of my favorites and it cost me next to nothing, assembled from old discarded jeans, a free stick, and about $5 for what's likely a lifetime supply of compound. The poplar strop wasn't much more expensive, spending maybe $2-$3 additional for the piece of poplar.


David
 
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I use paper, so I toss it when it loads up or if it gets nicked or breaks down from getting too wet. A quality sheet of paper might last a long time, but its cheaper and easier to just chuck/recycle it.

On average a sheet might last a week or two if tis only being used for stropping with compound, but in practice I use the board for more stuff than just stropping - a lot of time I use plain paper. Just as often I use reclaimed Silicon Carbide grit from an oil stone or mud from a waterstone.
 
I clean mine when she turns black from steel. I use the 99 cent mechanics hand cleaner w/lanolin. Rinse w/hot water and let her dry for a day. Then re-charge her.

Hey Obsessed w/Edges, good idea using the free paint sticks. :)
 
blanex1 said:
i have one question hear please,about using denim and mother's mag-polish! i have these things laying around my house but never thought of using them for stropping,do you just use a strip of denim with no backing or wood!using the mother's mag seems strait forward though,i have always used regular leather on pine wood with compound or basswood/diamond paste for my stropping needs,i stumbled on this post and had to ask the dumb question!forgive me,thanks.:(
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One thing worth mentioning is that the denim works very well to remove the burr. A handful of strokes per side and your good to go.
 
Jason B. said:
One thing worth mentioning is that the denim works very well to remove the burr. A handful of strokes per side and your good to go.
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I have 2 denim 1" X12" sticks hanging at my station for just this purpose. One with 2.5mic and one with .5mic diamond compound.
As Jason said, I usually count 5 on each side and it is gone.
I got a pair of the wife's almost new black Levi's that she got paint on that will provide material for the rest of my life.
Have one I made with thin jeans in the truck for the coarse dmt/1mic cbn upkeep that works one several high V steels. Makes my M390 sing.
Russ
 
cbwx34 said:
No real set time... just:

  • Determine what change (hopefully improvement) you get from stropping
  • Recharge the strop when you no longer see this change
  • Clean and recharge, when recharging alone doesn't improve the result.

Sounds overly simple, but results is the best way to determine this. Just turning gray doesn't matter... that happens fairly quickly. If you clean a strop, then you need to recharge it. (And basswood could probably just be wiped off... no real need for WD40).
Click to expand...
WD40 takes about 4 seconds to clean my leather blocks to like new condition. Nothing is better period
 
I have a variety of strops charged with diamonds,they are leather, wood, and denim.
They don’t get cleaned very often but I will usually use an old Sanvick cabinet scraper to renew the surface when needed.

I’ve used this method with good results for a good while now.
 
BTW, if you sand the wood, won't the sand paper get embedded and cause larger scratches than the diamond paste? I had a leather strop I did this too and that happened to me.

Would a eraser head work better?
 
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