KnivesPlus strop block vs. Flex cut gold?

Horse and Roo are both top contenders, I like the Roo a bit more but find it hard to drop the coin because I tend to tear up strops (pointy tips catch a lot). I will spend the money on an Illinois strop though, yep a hanging barber strop. It's the one strip of leather that has always given me the best results and experience. Mine is an Illinois 992.

The Kitayama 8k is a very good stone but its far too fine for all but razors and speciality kitchen knives. It would work following the 2k but is not ideal. Changing to a different stone as you progress up is never easy and in the case of Shapton stones its always best to stick with Shapton's, they were designed to work together.

I would still recommend the 4k Glass stone.
 
Jason B. said:
Horse and Roo are both top contenders, I like the Roo a bit more but find it hard to drop the coin because I tend to tear up strops (pointy tips catch a lot). I will spend the money on an Illinois strop though, yep a hanging barber strop. It's the one strip of leather that has always given me the best results and experience. Mine is an Illinois 992.

The Kitayama 8k is a very good stone but its far too fine for all but razors and speciality kitchen knives. It would work following the 2k but is not ideal. Changing to a different stone as you progress up is never easy and in the case of Shapton stones its always best to stick with Shapton's, they were designed to work together.

I would still recommend the 4k Glass stone.
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Great Jason, just what I wanted to know. But, off the 4K, will I still be good going right to a bare strop, or should I bridge the gap with a strop with compound before the bare leather? I ask because before a few posts back, there was mention of the 6K, and wondering if I should go with:
4k and a 6K glass
4K and compound strop then bare strop,
or just 4K to bare strop.

And of course, if I were inclined to go with something higher than just the 4K and wanted to push my skills a bit more, what would you then recommend before the bare horse or too strop? I imagine the 8K then is just too much overkill for a knife blade if I understand you correctly?

Again, thanks for helping me out with this.
dave
 
I think you will find the 4k to be all the refinement needed. You can go directly to a bare strop from the 4k because the 4k will leave the edge very clean. There is no gap to bridge really, the strop is basically playing clean-up of micro debris. It has some abrasive qualities and will slightly shine an edge but its nothing like an abrasive compound.

If you want more refinement you could add a 1 micron diamond or cbn compound to MDF or finished Poplar. I like a harder substrate when using compounds because it makes them work faster and stay true to their grit, plus there is almost no rounding of the edge. Softer substrates like leather tend to allow the compound to polish beyond its specific grit and run a much higher risk of rounding the edge.
 
Okay great Jason thank you. Will the 4K to a plain strop be shaving sharp? Or would the 1 micron CBN be more suited? I ask because I do want to get some straight razors soon. Thanks so much for the help. I also don't like soft backing like leather that much for those reasons, but what about a strop that is compressed leather, very hard...?

And I know its going to sound silly, but when I got my stones I also ordered a piece of flat felt the size of a large bench stone. Still never really used it, can that come into use or did I waste money on that too? :eek::D

Then of course, after the 4K or the 1 micron cbn, I will go to the bare strop. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the information.
 
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