loading a strop

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
5,944
I just bought a low budget leather strop afixed to a piece of wood, it came with a large quantity of stropping compund, I was wondering what the best way to charge the strop would be and if anyone could give some advice on th best stropping angle for a fallkniven f1...Thanks
 
If it's a hard stick like the green oxide or red rouge, rub it on fast like a crayon, you want the friction to melt the wax that binds it a little. If it's a paste, just rub it on.
To find the angle, put the blade down flat against the strop and push edge forward but with no down pressure. Bring the spine of the blade up until you feel the edge start to catch on the leather, don't push hard or you will cut the leather. Mentally remember this angle while stropping. To strop, pull or push the blade spine forward this time with very little down pressure while keeping the blade at that angle from the first step.
This may not be the only way to do it, but i find it works well with my f1 and other knives.
 
Hey Riley
Just got finished loading a home made strop with green compond from BRK&T Read on line to warm the strop and the compound a little bit with a hair dryer or heat gun if you have one. hair dryer worked for me. Ihope posting a link to another forum woun't get me in trouble but they have a good tutorial at the Fallkniven site for sharpining convex edge with wet dry sand paper or strop hope this helps
Mike


http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/751826/
 
It took me me a long time to realize that stropping is a light touch process. The strop tension is held somewhat losely and as the blade is drawn back and forth the strop will conform to the blade. If you press too hard the stop will ride up against the cutting edge and you dull the blade with every stroke.
I got so used to pressing down that I COULD NOT use a stop for a long time. Then a friend watched me try to use one and corrected my technique straight away.
Even now I use a charged piece of paste board on a firm surface to do most of my sharpening. When it is not in use I put it in a big zip lock bag.
I do keep a section of the back of my leather belt charged with chromium dioxide wax crayon. Once you get it charged put a piece of duct tape over it. If you need it in the field you can hook the buckle over a limb or on a nail and sharpen away
 
So, after you've used your strop for a while, and it begins to get serious black streaks, do you remove the chromium oxide, retreat the leather, and recharge it. Or do you just smear some more paste over the top, and just keep going like that for a while?
 
I just scrape the strop off when it gets loaded with black stuff and rub some more chromium oxide on, give it a blast with the hot air gun (hair dryer) and it's good to go. I stop my knives backwards (spine first). Seems to work fine. I also take a small strop when backpacking, just a strip of stiff leather about 5" long, loaded with chromium oxide. Stick it in a snack baggie to keep the green stuff from rubbing all over.
 
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