Pocketknife Cardboard Stopping Technique

[strop-thinkaboutit]

Hey Everyone!!

I've recently discovered the joys of shaving with a straight and fell in love with all things sharp and dangerous!

I want to pick up a small pocketknife and sharpen it up as best as I can.. but I dont want to use my straight razor strop.. so I looked into cardboard and was surprised at how sharp it can get a blade..
That being said, I've noticed two different techniques for stropping on cardboard--

Here's the first method.. which I'm thinking is not correct:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yEsYfF9Fi_A#t=120

Here's the second method I've found, which is Much more similar to how I strop the straight razor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=c1YWj7DxlEw#t=443

Which technique should I be using?
I'm assuming the second method is much better for the blade.

Also, I'm very used to how a straight razor will automatically sit at the perfect angle when stropping.. since the pocketknife I want to get doesn't have a spine, should I be angling the blade? If so, how may degrees? Any tips?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[w8crs]

I use the cardboard on the back of a notebook. It works really well. The angle will depend on the knife, all of my knives like different angles to get really sharp.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Welcome to Bladeforums! I'm going to move this to our Maintenance forum, where we talk about sharpening (among other things).

Here's the easiest trick to get your angle. Take a marker and black over the edge bevel. Now go ahead and sharpen a few strokes, then look to see what part of the bevel you've hit. Adjust, do a few more strokes, you'll soon have the angle you need for that knife.

 

[R15K]

I don't like video number 1's technique, looks to sloppy and inconsistent; it may work but there are much better ways. Note his complete lack of any angle control in both this video and his other coffee cup sharpening video.

Video number 2's method is the one I use with a similar type of cardboard (got mine from the back of a pad of paper).

As far as deciding on the angle I push (edge forward) on the cardboard a small bit increasing the angle till it starts to bite, when it "grabs" is the angle I then strop at (edge trailing). Remember, you don't need much pressure. Also helps if you mark the edge with a marker when you first start, after a few passes you can see how your edge is making contact.

If you freehand sharpen the "tips of the fingers on both the stone and blade" method works for stropping as well (edge trailing though, obviously) to keep the proper angle.

Also I prefer a firm backing, either a block of wood or one of my bench stones.



ETA: man, I type slow.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Either method can work; I've done it both ways. In particular, the first demo'd method of using the edge of a piece of heavy corrugated cardboard is a very fast way to remove fairly heavy burrs from simpler steels, like 1095 or low-alloy stainless (420HC, etc.). Can work especially well with extra-toothy edges, as coming off a coarse hone. I've also used the same type of cardboard, but on the face of it, stropping in a direction perpendicular or diagonal to the corrugations in the cardboard. In other words, the corrugated 'bumps' run cross-ways across the 'strop'. Used with compound (green), it works very well on the same simpler steels.

As for the 2nd demo'd method, I've used similar-looking cardboard with compound. The cardboard was sourced from an empty box of crackers or a Kleenex box (used inside face of each), and I had good success with black, white and green compounds on it (used with the cardboard over glass). The cardboard by itself, used bare, isn't very aggressive; it won't do much unless the edge is already pretty refined and clean. Used with compound, it seems to suit higher-polished edges better.

As for holding the angle, you can place your fingertip (index finger) along the spine of the blade, and let the lower side of that finger just graze the surface of the strop as you make the stroke at your chosen angle. Depending on your own individual stropping technique and direction, you might use a different finger or otherwise adjust to hold the same angle. Not 100% precise, but it works pretty well. Getting more involved, you could also experiment with taping a toothpick or something similar on each side of the blade, to emulate the wider spine on a straight razor, and use the toothpicks as your sliding guide on the strop.

A simple and popular way to 'find' the correct angle for a given blade edge:
Lay the blade flat to the strop. Slowly lift the spine of the blade as you slowly stroke edge-leading into the strop. When the spine is at the right elevation, the apex of the edge will just begin to 'bite' into the strop. That's the angle you want to hold.

Also, have a look at this 'sticky' thread, at the upper portion of the Maint forum page:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750008-Stropping-angle-plus-pressure


David