leather strop

[gincoza]

I was given a leather strop today, not sure about the quality of the strop, it seems cheap the leather is very thin, but it is two sided , glued to a 1/2 inch piece of pine with a small handle,, my question is this, I am planing on using the green bar compound on one side and maybe something finer on the other,,do I neen anything finer for the other side or is the green compiund ok to put on both side?,,thanks for all the help I have gotten on my other questions,,I am looking forward to all the ideas from the forum,,

 

[HoosierQ]

I think you are going to want to put green on just one side. The other should be either left plain leather or perhaps coated with a finer compound.

 

[Ben Dover]

Just my preference, but I'd use powder or paste instead of a wax bar to apply compound.

Green on one side, plain, untreated leather on the other.

 

[stitchawl]

Keep the nicest, firmest, smoothest side bare. That will be your 'Finish side.'

Apply some green CrO2 compound to the other side. Only use a small amount. You don't have to fill in all the blanks, just give the leather a greenish cast. If you have the green compound in bar form, scrap a bit off with your knife edge... perhaps 1/4 teaspoon, mix with a little bit of neatsfoot oil, shoe cream, lighter fluid, Coleman fuel, etc. just enough to make a softer paste, and smear it over the leather and rub it in well. The fuels will evaporate and the cream and oil absorb, so you'll be left with a nice coating of chromium oxide. I'd take a was of paper towel and gently rub off all the excess. While you're at it, a finger-tip dab of neatsfoot oil or shoe cream without the CrO2 rubbed into the plain side will make you strop last a lot more years of service.

For faster cutting, instead of the green CrO2 try Diamond spray-on compound, or even Boron. But the green stuff can be found in your local hardware store, it's cheap as dirt, and works perfectly well. For even more fun, head to Sear or a large DIY shop and you'll find a 4-pack of polishing compounds, each about the size of 1/2 a candy bar, the package of four for under 10 bucks that will last you half a lifetime. Ask for a free paint stirring stick (or two) rub one of each of the bars on the end of the stick, and you'll have a couple more grits to work with. If your knife isn't so sharp to begin with, strop it on the roughest tripoly (probably white color) for 30-50 strokes, then strop it on the Brown (not RED!!) colored stuff for 30-50 strokes. Then you're ready for the green stuff. After that, you 'can' use the red rouge, but the plain leather will be just as good. Have fun!

Stitchawl

 

[David Martin]

Stitch, Good post . DM

 

[gincoza]

well I ordered some of the green stuff tonight along with a set of oilstones, that came with another strop,,seemed like a good deal,,anyway it wil be here soon, I will look into the diamond spray as well,,was not aware I could use it on a strop,,lots of good advise,,keep it up guys,,I need and appreciate all the help I can get,,I am very happy with the edges I have now,,I can only imagine what they will be like after I learn more,,I know they can be a lots sharper with the right tecnique, I have learned much already from reading and trying what i have read,,it can only get better,,thanks again

 

[stitchawl]

well I ordered some of the green stuff tonight along with a set of oilstones,

Are you going to use them with oil, water, or dry. If you go with oil, you'll always have to use oil. If you choose water (my preference,) it's a lot less messy. And one of the world's champion sharpeners insists that stones should be used dry. That works well too. What will you do?

that came with another strop,,seemed like a good deal,,anyway it wil be here soon, I will look into the diamond spray as well,,was not aware I could use it on a strop,,lots of good advise,,keep it up guys,,I need and appreciate all the help I can get,,

There are as many different opinions about sharpening as there are people to offer them. Most of them are correct too! It's real easy to get locked into one way of thinking so keep an open mind. Although the diamond spray from one company may be great, the stuff from another may not be. Also... do you need the speed of the diamond vs the cost of a sheet of 2000 wet/dry sandpaper which gives 'just about' the same result? Is there any benefit to having a stone of every single grit available in ceramic, waterstone and diamond?

Grampa had one dished-out stone and a squirt can of old motor oil but always had a knife sharp enough for his needs. I have two large cabinets filled with dozens of stones, oodles of compounds, dozens (and then some) strops, and just about every hand powdered sharpening device made but never seem to have my knife sharp enough...

Take a look at your wallet now. It may be the last time you see anything inside other than little pieces of paper with long forgotten messages on them. Enjoy your new addiction.

Stitchawl

 

[gincoza]

laughs hard,,yeah I can see it now, my shop filled with stones, strops, compounds, sharpening systems, etc,,not counting the knives,,I enjoy sliding a knife across a stone,,something about that just makes everything alright,,,now as for using oil,,I only have a very crude set of stones,,one is combo stone,,from god knows where,,one side coarse the other smooth,,and I have small soft arkansas stone,,but have managed to get all my knives sharp to keep my arms naked, lol,,I have always used a drop or two of oil,,it is messy though,,the stones I bought came from sharpening supplies.com,,was special deal they had,,came with 2 stones,,one combo, coarse and fine india stone,,the other is a soft and hard arkansas stone,,can I use water inplace of oil with them?,,and if I use them dry will they work just as good?,,if I do use them dry can I just wipe them down with water after I use them each time?,,thanks again

 

[stitchawl]

laughs hard,,yeah I can see it now, my shop filled with stones, strops, compounds, sharpening systems, etc,,not counting the knives,

Yeah... laugh now, bro.... You'll be crying into your beer with the rest of us soon enough!

.....came with 2 stones,,one combo, coarse and fine india stone,,the other is a soft and hard arkansas stone,,can I use water inplace of oil with them?,,and if I use them dry will they work just as good?,,if I do use them dry can I just wipe them down with water after I use them each time?,,thanks again

Which is the 'One True Religion?' Who was the best quarterback for the NFL? 'KrispyCream' donuts or 'Little Debbie's?' Do stones work best with oil, water, or dry?

I began using oil. That's how I learned as a 8-yr old kid. Worked fine.
Then in the early 70's I came across Juranich at a trade show in Houston, and bought his RazorEdge device and stones, which he said 'use dry.' Never even brushed them off. Worked fine.
I used only dry stones for many years until I moved to Asia 20 odd years ago and discovered waterstones. Worked just fine.

All three methods worked perfectly well.

I'd be hard pressed to say one 'worked better' than the other two. I just happen to 'prefer' water stones or using dry stones (or sandpaper.) To me, oil is messy and doesn't seem to do anything special to enhance the sharpening. That being the case, I haven't used oil in the past 35+ years. Saved a lot of money on honing oil though...

Just keep this one thought in mind; all the methods work very well if your technique is correct. Some work faster, some work easier, some work cheaper, and some work cleaner. But almost all of them work well. Now... just how 'perfect' do you want your finished edge to be? You can split hairs with 25 cents worth of sandpaper or $300 worth of stones. And Grasshopper, what is 'perfect?'

Stitchawl

 

[Jason B.]

Well said stitch, that's probably the best post I've seen from you :thumbup: