Pants leg stropping

[joe90]

Anyone else strop their knives on their jeans/pants? ... I find myself doing this when I'm a little bored. Luckily I have not managed to make any (leg) 'mistakes' yet.

Just wondering if this is just me or whether others do likewise?

Joe

 

[Man with no name]

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I do this too You have to be careful not to wear out your pant leg though

 

[desmobob]

I recently read somewhere on the forums here that one person --and I think he was a knife maker-- found that denim blue jeans removed a fine wire edge better than a leather strop.

I've seen an old video of A.G. Russell telling/demonstrating how he used to strop his straight razor on the palm of his hand. That makes me even more uneasy than pants leg stropping (which I sometimes do).

 

[AntDog]

I do. It works to pop the edge back up between sharpenings.

 

[Pomsbz]

Yup

 

[Crag the Brewer]

If you are wearing shorts.....Try not to Sneeze. :O

 

[elde66]

Pete @ the Cedric & Ada YouTube channel uses his jeans for stropping in several of his videos.

 

[000Robert]

I do it also - sometimes without even thinking about it.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I always strop on my pants leg before digging bullets out of my hide with a Bowie. I keep the all antiseptic for internal administration, though.

 

[c7m2p3]

I usually do more for cleaning stropping paste off of the edge. For most of my pocket knives in harder, more abrasive resistant steel I have found any remaining wire edge or burr is unlikely to be knocked off by denim. Diamond past and a dedicated strop or ceramic is probably the only thing that is going to take care of that.

Works like a charm on carbon steel, SAK SS, or things of that nature.

 

[budman5]

Oh yeah been doing it for years.

 

[Smaug]

I do it sometimes, but now that I've learned a bit more about stropping, I don't do it as much any more.

These days, I'm more apt to look for a flat piece of cardboard.

I did the ol' leg strop one time and wasn't paying enough attention, and poked a hole in a brand new pair of jeans. That really galled. Luckily, I didn't poke my leg.

 

[Terry M.]

Do it all the time.

 

[abcdef]

Nah.

 

[Horsewright]

Seen it done on a chap leg in a branding pen.

 

[MarkN86]

I've done it so I know it does work, but I'm afraid it will wear on my jeans. I'd prefer to use the loose end of my belt or a piece of cardboard.

 

[Icky Thump]

Oh, yea...all the time. Works great. No adverse effects so far

 

[afishhunter]

Only for 60 ... maybe 61 years. No polishing compound, of course ... other than maybe the dirty grease, oil, transmission fluid, etc. wiped on pants legs while working.

"Mechanic's Gloves" hadn't been invented yet, when I was young and working in a shop of some sort, or as an on-site fabrication welder, and heavy equipment mechanic. (I only wore my welding gloves when welding, cutting, and braising.)

I never thought to get butt inspector gloves to try and keep hands clean when working. (nor did any of my co-workers)

 

[knarfeng]

Anyone else strop their knives on their jeans/pants? ... I find myself doing this when I'm a little bored. Luckily I have not managed to make any (leg) 'mistakes' yet.

Just wondering if this is just me or whether others do likewise?

Joe

I do it every time I sharpen a stainless blade to remove any minute remaining wire edge.
But, I do not do it out of boredom.