Is stropping really an effective practice?

Blade Lab said:
Gunk on your edge will certainly affect cutting performance, but stropping is about a lot more than that. There are different reasons to strop:

1. Deburr and refine the edge after sharpening;
2. Bring back performance of a worn (but not completely shot) edge; or
3. Polish edge bevels for aesthetic reasons.

You can absolutely strop back an edge that's been used to, for example, cut up a bunch of cardboard. If you have the right compounds and strops, you can bring back a knife that struggles to slice paper to hair whittling sharp.
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Compounds are abrasive. What is the point of using a compound on a strop unless you are specifically trying to convex the edge? A ceramic hone or a stone will do the same job without convexing.

A compound is a way of turning a strop into a sharpening implement.

When it comes to, as you say "Polish edge bevels for aesthetic reasons.", I'm not sure that there is any such thing. The edge is where all the action is. How smooth or coarse it is affects its characteristics. "Aesthetic reasons" don't come into the picture unless you're not using the knife. It's for display only.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That goes for everyone else who posted here as well. You've all helped me to think about this subject a little more. I appreciate it.
 
Guy McVer said:
Compounds are abrasive. What is the point of using a compound on a strop unless you are specifically trying to convex the edge? A ceramic hone or a stone will do the same job without convexing.

A compound is a way of turning a strop into a sharpening implement.

When it comes to, as you say "Polish edge bevels for aesthetic reasons.", I'm not sure that there is any such thing. The edge is where all the action is. How smooth or coarse it is affects its characteristics. "Aesthetic reasons" don't come into the picture unless you're not using the knife. It's for display only.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That goes for everyone else who posted here as well. You've all helped me to think about this subject a little more. I appreciate it.
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If you “strop” on a stone, you are necessarily creating a microscopic burr at the apex. The softer substrate of a leather or even a wood strop, combined with a very fine abrasive, allows you to achieve a cleaner apex, and thus get a sharper edge.
 
Blade Lab said:
If you “strop” on a stone, you are necessarily creating a microscopic burr at the apex. The softer substrate of a leather or even a wood strop, combined with a very fine abrasive, allows you to achieve a cleaner apex, and thus get a sharper edge.
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De-burring on a fine stone or ceramic hone can be accomplished without tearing up the edge. It's just a different technique than how you would initially sharpen the knife.

Also when it comes to a "microscopic burr", this just depends on how far you want to go into the magnification and where you draw the line to define what a burr is. It gets a little ridiculous. Just going by my personal opinion, a lot of people need to stop obsessing and put their magnifying devices away. Humans achieved shaving sharp edges for thousands of years before the invention of the microscope.
 
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Blade Lab said:
Yep, they sure did. By stropping on leather. :p
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Highly doubtful. A simple stick from the ground with the bark stripped will take a burr off, for example. And a piece of leather will serve as a handy wipe. The little soft bits on the underside surface of a tanned animal hide can grab all the debris from sharpening or regular use and pull them off the edge. But it's not a magical edge sharpening device.

No, I don't think stropping on leather was the key to achieving shaving sharp edges. Not at all.
 
beeinak said:
I guess 200 years of razor strops have been wasted. Oh well…. I will continue doing what works for me. Strop strop strop.
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I don't think they've been a waste at all. I just think that they are currently misunderstood. They largely function as a wipe to clean off the edge after sharpening it or after it's been used. This function is easily replaced by a cloth or a pants leg or any number of other things.

If you add a compound to the strop, then it functions more as a sharpening and polishing device which also convexes the edge.

Stropping isn't what most people think it is. That's my view on it right now, anyway. I may be wrong. I'm happy to learn as much as I can and be shown the ways in which I might be misunderstanding or overlooking things, or missing some information.
 
It's important to look at the edge with magnification. Our edges may be working and looking differently then we are visualizing with our imagination.
 
DeadboxHero said:
It's important to look at the edge with magnification. Our edges may be working and looking differently then we are visualizing with our imagination.
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I think this is a great comment and I was waiting for something like this to be said.

For the majority of people I don't think looking at your edge under a microscope is necessary. It's fine to simply figure out what works and do it. But if you are having difficulty and are looking to improve your sharpening skills or are trying to dissect the sharpening process, I don't think microscopes are a bad idea. I think they can help a lot.

Not everyone has the ability to visualize and understand what an edge truly is and how it works. So I think for those people, microscopes can be an invaluable tool.
 
Essentially you are stropping your knife on your jeans my good sir..........

Little cleaning, more fine edge adjustment..!

That Japanese Knife company with the polished blades that I'm brain farting rite now recommends stropping on denim!!!! 🤔.
 
jfk1110 said:
Essentially you are stropping your knife on your jeans my good sir..........
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hmmm...

What I really want to say is that all I'm doing is wiping the crap that's built up on my edge. But now you're making me doubt myself here. Is denim really so abrasive on steel? I don't think it is. I just think the fibers are great for grabbing stuff and pulling it off the edge.

😠

Guy McVer said:
I have a feeling this might ultimately come down to semantics. What is stropping precisely, and what's the difference between stropping and wiping the edge clean, etc. When and where might they overlap. On the microscopic level, wiping an edge off could be removing tiny amounts of steel. But this should be negligible.
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DeadboxHero said:
It's important to look at the edge with magnification. Our edges may be working and looking differently then we are visualizing with our imagination.
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Guy McVer said:
But now you're making me doubt myself here. Is denim really so abrasive on steel?
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Why don't you try.... do some stropping (not just wiping the edge) and see the results under the microscope? 😉

I tried jeans strop with compound but I didn't like it. It works, somehow different as leather strop but it works just fine.
But, when it gets clogged it's impossible to clean it as you clean leather strop with utility knife and some sanding paper.
 
Guy McVer said:
Compounds are abrasive. What is the point of using a compound on a strop unless you are specifically trying to convex the edge?
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What's the point using a strop without a compound?
It can do some adhesive wear dragging material pass the edge.... similar to wire burr. Depends on the steel you strop.
 
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Inappropriate Behavior / Minor Trolling
Hehe,
I just wached one of the last videos from Cedric&Ada... sharpening knife in 2 minutes on Worksharp field sharpener. The knife looked like Buck 119 or 102.
Anyhow..course and fine diamond plate and then ceramic plate. The knife was 'sharp' after that and was cutting print paper.
But.... who did the cutting? A clean edge or extension of the edge in the form of more resilient wire edge?
He didn't show the edge under the mucroscope.
But... he could do a test - If the knife would stil cut paper after some wood carving or a few sisal rope cuts I would say nice work.
Well...... I'm not sure the ceramic plate removed the burr.
 
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Guy McVer said:
I don't think they've been a waste at all. I just think that they are currently misunderstood. They largely function as a wipe to clean off the edge after sharpening it or after it's been used. This function is easily replaced by a cloth or a pants leg or any number of other things.
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Go to a barber and have a wet shave.
 
As I understand sharpening razors is somehow different because razors have very thin geometry and the blade bends to some extend. That's why mostly hanging strop is used. A strop on firm surface does not have the same effect on razors as it has on knives.

As I understood and also somehow found when doing tests there are two ways to remove a burr. One is to do a micro bevel. This aporoach for example used Cliff Stamp. He said in one of his videos that he don't like strops.
The other way to remove the burr is stropping. But the strop needs to wrap-around the edge to cut off the burr. This will make a small convex on the edge ( a round micro bevel). The same also goes for balsa strops- wood fibers do the wrap around.

Strop loaded with a compound cuts metal - the same effect as sanding paper on mouse pad.

For example,
I sharpen my kitchen knives with #240 or #320 diamond plate and then use leather strop with somehow coarse industrial polishing compound just enough to remove a burr. The edge is toothy (aggresive) but without a burr.
I tried a strop without compound but it didn't remove the burr.
The knife sharpened this way will cut hanging toilet papar, which is softer and less firm as paper towel:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13yrz1t7DJCQLSiXAsZQYWd-QPttKSfxc/view?usp=drivesdk
 
Guy McVer said:
So I take it you don't believe that skin and hair building up on the edge of the razor are an issue?
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Having a visual of what they've been doing since hundreds of years, day in, day out, might change your mind. If you're not interested, carry on.
 
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