Overloading a strop, Any negative Effects?

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snorkem

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Aug 12, 2009
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I recently applied some more green honing compound from hand american to my strop. I think i put to much on. Scratch thast I know i put way to much on, Is there any downside to having an overloaded strop, or can i just use it as is and clean it off in 6 months or so.


Thanks
 
The only downside is that it'll come off and get on everything. When I first started stropping, i caked it on like candle wax on a wine bottle. Honed knives just fine but what a mess...green stuff everywhere.

You don't really need to wait 6 months. Some people use WD-40 or mineral oil on a rag and work the compound in. That worked well for me. Just a quick touch up with the stick of compound is all you need.

I am no expert but I have heard it said that ideally you should be able to see leather through the compound. True, who knows but that's how I've got mine and I am getting good results.

There is also some strop conditioner that you can buy that is probably similar but I haven't bothered with that.
 
Just use a rag or cotton ball moistened (wet, but not quite dripping) with some WD-40. Wipe down the strop to remove the heavily 'caked on' excess compound. The good thing about the WD-40 is it'll thin the compound a bit, which will allow it to be distributed more evenly, in a very THIN layer. Let the strop dry a while (you can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying). What you should have left is a strop in the natural color of your leather (perhaps darkened a bit by the WD-40), with a slight greenish cast to it. After the leather is completely dry, chances are it'll perform better as a strop than it did with all that excess compound. You should be able to strop without collecting & scraping green stuff off of the strop.

Edited to add:
I've made 3 or 4 strops using the green compound. In every case, I've always gone back and treated them as described above. It's very easy to initially put too much compound on. The very nice thing is, after treating my strops this way, once dried they perform even better than they ever did. I think the WD-40, after drying, leaves the leather just a little bit dryer than it was originally and, therefore, a bit stiffer. Combined with the thinner, more even layer of compound, that makes it work a lot better.
 
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Thanks for the help, i think im gonna get started on the WD-40 tip. Also another one of my stropping woes, I have stropped a lot of knives and there are a few nicks in the strop from when the blade has touched the leather at the wrong angle. Is there a way to get rid of these cuts, such as sandpaper?
 
snorkem said:
Thanks for the help, i think im gonna get started on the WD-40 tip. Also another one of my stropping woes, I have stropped a lot of knives and there are a few nicks in the strop from when the blade has touched the leather at the wrong angle. Is there a way to get rid of these cuts, such as sandpaper?
Click to expand...

You might be able to sand the nicks out, depending on how deep they are. If you still have a small divot or two in the leather, just make sure to keep your pressure light, so they don't have a negative impact on your stropping. If the leather is fairly thick, that'll give you some more leeway as to how much you can sand off. Or, you might be able to avoid the divots altogether, if they're closer to one side or the other.

I've used relatively coarse sandpaper (like 220 grit) on the smooth side of the leather on my strops. I like how it gives the leather a little bit of 'nap' (like velvet). Sort of makes the leather a little more 'grabby' on the edge of your blade, and I like the results I've gotten with it. It also seems to help the leather hold the compound better, when I initially put it on.

I see the nicks in the leather as a reminder to lighten my pressure and take it nice & slow when stropping. It's good practice in general, to keep it slow and light.
 
Good info posted here IMO.

The only thing I will add/suggest is to set the strop in the sun rather than use a hair drier. The sun will cook off the volatiles, warm the strop, and not blow away any powdered compound. I find that the solvent dissolves the wax and leaves behind a little compound that is powdery. This powder is the abrasive (everything else is just a carrier/binder).

Warming the strop also seems to make it slightly softer, I find the results from stropping on a soft strop seem better. I have been told that heat (not too much, though) has an effect of opening the pours of the leather and allows it to charge with compound more easily. I can not back that up, but my results seem to.

Almost everyone will benefit from decreasing pressure on the blade, and increasing number of repetitions.
 
After I've used the WD-40, it's been my experience that it helps the compound 'sink in' to the leather. I haven't had any noticeable issues with it blowing off when drying. The WD-40 has a little bit of oil in it (aside from the solvent), and that seems to keep the remaining compound a little bit 'sticky', just enough that it won't dust up and/or blow off (at least not enough to be seen). I also test the surface with a white paper towel, even then not much comes off.

I use the hair dryer until the surface feels relatively dry to the touch. I can still tell that the leather is somewhat moist underneath (it keeps a somewhat darker hue), and it usually takes a day or two beyond that for the leather to 'look' like it's totally dry. At that point, the leather looks sort of cream-colored (as it was when new) with a greenish cast to it.
 
HoosierQ said:
The only downside is that it'll come off and get on everything. When I first started stropping, i caked it on like candle wax on a wine bottle. Honed knives just fine but what a mess...green stuff everywhere.

You don't really need to wait 6 months. Some people use WD-40 or mineral oil on a rag and work the compound in. That worked well for me. Just a quick touch up with the stick of compound is all you need.

I am no expert but I have heard it said that ideally you should be able to see leather through the compound. True, who knows but that's how I've got mine and I am getting good results.

There is also some strop conditioner that you can buy that is probably similar but I haven't bothered with that.
Click to expand...
Yes you should be able to see the leather from under it. It should be tinted green, not covered in green. It also should show a little brown. Trust me there's a different between quality leather or a crappy belt if the compound is good, but please don't put compound on horse butt.
 
Thanks for the advice, i jsut did the WD-40 Wipe down and i am happy with the stropping i got out of it, my 8 inch chefs knife can now officialy whittle hairs!!!!!!
 
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