leather belt for sharpening...2x72

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
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Who sells a 2x72 leather belt for stropping?

I currently use a 1x42 I got from LeeValley Tools...but they don't have the 2" wide versions.

Any help?

Thanks!
 
Dan...I have a 2x72 one I never use....they are butt sliced and have a bump in one spot and mine does not track well I never use it....but I do use a leather wheel everytime I sharpen a knives..I think the leather wheel strops better than any felt or paper wheel I Have used...
 
I learned to sharpen straight razors for my dad, a barber, some 40 years ago. I'd say the edge quality had to be better than any knife. We used a belt strop, and no rouge or anything. The purpose of the strop is to polish the sides of an already sharpened and properly honed edge, and it only takes about 2 licks a side if the edge is right. It's purpose is to make the edge last a bit longer and to make it cut smoother to the skin.

My humble opinion is that anyone that needs a power strop hasn't done the preliminaries. Did you remove the wire edge? Stroke the knive at 45* on a brass rod, then drag your fingernail on the opposite side. IF it's there, your nail will catch. Is your honing bevel to large? I shoot for not more than 30* on any knife, less on most.

Did you hone twice? Once with a rough grit to clean and establish the edge, much finer to finish? (I use a coarse diamond hone for rough and finish with a hard natural using turpentine).

You can sharpen on the sander, as I have learned, but you cannot put a quality edge on a knife with a power strop.
 
Houseknives said:
Dan...I have a 2x72 one I never use....they are butt sliced and have a bump in one spot and mine does not track well I never use it....but I do use a leather wheel everytime I sharpen a knives..I think the leather wheel strops better than any felt or paper wheel I Have used...
Click to expand...

Where do they sell leather wheels? Ive thought about trying to make one but would rather buy it.
 
The belts and wheels are available from the knife suppliers. Look in your catalogs.
Stacy
 
bodfish said:
My humble opinion is that anyone that needs a power strop hasn't done the preliminaries....

You can sharpen on the sander, as I have learned, but you cannot put a quality edge on a knife with a power strop.
Click to expand...

Dang...

http://www.pendentive.biz/blades/40sheets.wmv
http://www.pendentive.biz/blades/magvid2.wmv
http://www.pendentive.biz/blades/AKBowie.wmv

Guess I'll just toss these power-stropped knives....


:D



I don't disagree with the idea of preparing the edge properly before stropping....and I'm sure your father's straight razor was indeed quite sharp...and required regular stropping to keep it sharp.

But I see nothing wrong with a few passes on the power-strop, whether wheel or belt. And it certainly has worked for me on many, many occasions.

My question is not how to sharpen...while I remain open to new ideas/methods...I feel quite comfortable being able to put a "shaving the tree tops over the arm" type edge.

My only issue is that right now I am using a 1x42 belt sander for sharpening and while it's great for what it does...it's here at the home, and not at the shop.

I would like to get a 2x72 for my KMG at the shop.

There are quite a few knife supply companies out there...has anybody ordered one? and had success with it?

Thanks!
 
Yes - that's the one. I knew it was an offbeat company.....like LeeValley Tools....but couldn't remember the name.

Thanks, Joe!
 
Dan, I've had excellent results using a fine scotchbrite belt loaded with 600 aluminum oxide grit.
Scott
 
If you can't find a leather belt, a felt belt with white polsihing compound works pretty well too. I think Jantz sells them.
 
Making a Leather power wheel is really pretty easy. Take some 8-10 OZ leather cut out as many 6-8" (Whatever size wheel you want) circles as you need to get your thickness.
BE CERTAIN to mark the center as close as you can on the outside layer.
Glue together with Contact cement, I put a couple heavy books on it after covering with wax paper.
Drill a hole in the center for either your bolt or spiral end, THEN reinforce it with Superglue. Put a piece of tape on the bottom and fill with the Superglue, let it soak in. Repeat as needed.
Put whatever you will be using to go thru the center and chuck it up in a hand drill. Reverse the drill and true up the roundness by holding the edge against your running grinder.
Total time was about an hour for a wheel that will last a very long time!
 
Wouldn't a leather wheel be several times more dangerous to use than a belt??? (Just a newbie question.) I'm terrified of the buffer. I had it shoot a chunk of aluminum back at me at work, and avoid it like the plague.
 
usually problems on the buffer come from people pushing things up into the wheel. Stropping is the opposite...you're letting the wheel push away. You just need to watch out when you get near the tip. But that's the same with a belt too.
 
Amen to the tip snagging. That is how I took off the heel of my hand .
The most important thing about using a leather strop is the word SLOW. If you don't have a variable speed 2X72 or a slow speed motor setup, DON'T USE A LEATHER STROP. If it snags at high speed, it will snap around into your hand at light speed. It is also as sharp as it can get at that point. The strop should be moving real slow to do the job right anyway. I run mine at a crawl (except when I'm tired and not thinking about resetting the speed when I go to the strop......another reason to not sharpen or work when tired!).
Stacy
 
Daniel Koster said:
Dang...
Guess I'll just toss these power-stropped knives....
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone. EXCEPT that I've used hundreds, maybe thousands, of knives that couldn't cut a lick.

Yes, the straight razors I worked on were indeed wickedly sharp, they had to be. But stropping didn't make them so, or keep them so. A strop serves to polish the edge, getting any stray metal fibers back in line. A knife with a wire edge will shave, no doubt. It's just not a quality edge that will last, and most users have no idea what it going on, either. A strop WILL, on the otherhand, finish an already properly prepared edge, much like your polishing wheel does after your sanding steps.

My humble opinion (again) is that anyone that needs a power strop doesn't take care of the edge first. It's a short cut, and a bad one at that. It *appears* that your edge will cut, but it won't stay that way for long.

I don't want to argue with the old hands here, but I bet that a bunch of you haven't a clue of what I'm talking about.

I'll tell you what.........I'll put up or shut up. If somebody here will hang a rope, I want 2 blades from any interested knife maker. Doesn't have to be finished or have a handle. I'll mark them both with masking tape, a blind test, #1 and #2. The maker sharpens them both, I re-sharpen one. I send them both to the tester, and send which is which to the maker. Do a rope test, a leather cut, anything you want. If my blade doesn't outcut the other by 3 to 1, then I'll run naked downtown:eek:

My only condition is that I may re-grind an edge that doesn't pass muster, and the tester be nuetral. Any takers?
 
Bump, simply because I have my 2 (and only two) stones ready. Plus an old belt I use for a strop, 2 licks on each side, max.

How about it, you custom makers? Do your forged, hand polished, and power stropped blades really do what they are supposed to do? Cut something? And do it again for a long while?
 
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