is it just me or?

fatcorgi · Mar 30, 2013

TheGoldenWalrus said:
i do strop but i probably need to get my technique down. and probably a better strop, as im just useing the back of my belt.

Scott

I don't think the leather has to be anything special, applying some abrasive pastes to the strop will help - I have a strop with red (coarse), black (finer) paste (german system), on the suede side, then I finish up on the plain smooth leather. The blade looks cool after this - black, but with a shiny edge, and cuts just like it did before.

TheGoldenWalrus · Mar 30, 2013

well i cant put compounds on my current "strop" because it's also my belt.

Scott

fatcorgi · Mar 30, 2013

TheGoldenWalrus said:
well i cant put compounds on my current "strop" because it's also my belt.

Scott

abrasive paste on your belt would indeed signify the true knifeknut

the inside of my wallet actually folds out, so there is a large area of suede that I did consider loading with paste for knife sharpening emergencies, never got around to it.

TheGoldenWalrus · Mar 30, 2013

well would it at all hurt the belt? or the pants it goes around? if not i might just go ahead and load it up

also, what sort of paste would you reccomend for just all around use?

Thanks,
Scott

sitflyer · Mar 30, 2013

This phenomena occurs with kitchen knives(stainless) as well, I noticed it early on in my former life as a cook. Tomatoes are especially bad. After slicing a few the edge will hesitate at the skin untill it is put to the steel, and after a few passes will easily cut the skin again. I always suspected that the skin of the fruits was the culprit.

fatcorgi · Mar 30, 2013

TheGoldenWalrus said:
well would it at all hurt the belt? or the pants it goes around? if not i might just go ahead and load it up
also, what sort of paste would you reccomend for just all around use?

Thanks,
Scott

I think you guys in the U.S. have a lot of options for stropping pastes, maybe check the maintenence forums. I just use the standard solingen ones I got with my strop. I think the U.S. pastes have a different colour code too. It will probably rub off on your jeans, best to go to the second hand clothing store and pick up a second hand beld or piece of leather.

Woodrow F Call · Mar 30, 2013

It could also be what you are cutting against. If the blade is allowed to bust through the fruit and contact the cutting surface, that will have some impact.... harder stuff like a porcelain plate would do this better than a soft cutting board made of wood.

TheGoldenWalrus · Mar 30, 2013

Woodrow F Call said:
It could also be what you are cutting against. If the blade is allowed to bust through the fruit and contact the cutting surface, that will have some impact.... harder stuff like a porcelain plate would do this better than a soft cutting board made of wood.

i take that into account with the oranges, as i do use plate to cut those, but normally i start useing light pressure when i get down close to the plate, and just carefully slice. for apples i just peel and eat, no plate involved. either way i go about it i still end up with a noticably duller edge.

Scott

Obsessed with Edges · Mar 30, 2013

TheGoldenWalrus said:
well would it at all hurt the belt? or the pants it goes around? if not i might just go ahead and load it up
also, what sort of paste would you reccomend for just all around use?

Thanks,
Scott

If using it mainly for your CV blade or other carbon steels like 1095, green compound works very well. Also works well with simpler stainless steels, such as what you might find in Case & Buck (420HC), Victorinox SAKs and other similar blades. It's what I've applied to the inside (rough) face of one of my leather belts. I use it like a hanging strop (barber-style), with approximately 12" of green length, and I follow that by stropping on a bare section of the same side of the belt.

Compound might come off a bit, from the belt. So, if using your belt this way, it may be best to wear that belt with some pants/jeans that you won't mind if they get a little dirty around the waistband.

More 'dusty' compounds can better be kept in place by rubbing a little bit of mineral oil into the leather, after you've applied the compound.

(BTW, I just happen to be stropping a new CV blade on my green-compounded belt today, after fine-tuning the edge on it...

)

David

sintro · Mar 30, 2013

Maybe you might be slamming into the cutting board? I go through a bag of oranges and clementines every week and mine still shave after a few oranges fine.

Have you tried chopping some wood to see if the steel itself is weak?( Unless it's a very thin blade, it wouldn't hold up well to that test

)

TheGoldenWalrus · Mar 30, 2013

sintro said:
Maybe you might be slamming into the cutting board? I go through a bag of oranges and clementines every week and mine still shave after a few oranges fine.

Have you tried chopping some wood to see if the steel itself is weak?( Unless it's a very thin blade, it wouldn't hold up well to that test )

well im pretty sure it isnt a dud knife because it happens with all of them, and i (normally) dont slam into the cutting board/plate as i use a sliceing motion with very little pressure, i have made contact with the plate a few times before, but even when i dont there is a noticable difference when cutting.

Scott

TheGoldenWalrus · Mar 30, 2013

i figure i will probably just go ahead and spend a couple bucks on some leather or even a strop. it seems that most strops go for about 15-20 dollars, i think i can deal with that, plus a few extra bucks for compound.

Scott