Question on leather strop

M

myung-gwan

Joined
Sep 27, 2002
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60
I just got a leather strop and tried it with aluminum oxide as written on the instruction. I don't know if it takes time for a beginner to get used to stroping but I seem to get the edges duller than before... :(
What does it take to get a laser edge out of stroping? So far, it's been quite frustrating... Help!!
 
I just recently got into stropping. I didn't buy one, I just dug an old leather belt out of the closet, rubbed some polishing compound on it, and went to town. Here's what works for me;

First, I used my Sharpmaker to bring the edge to thirty degrees. If the knife isn't reasonably sharp already stropping probably won't do a whole lot of good. I rubbed the belt with a fine polishing compound. Generic stuff, nothing special. (aluminum oxide sounds pretty good. I think that's what Spyderco uses in their stones. Basicly synthetic saphire; pretty hard stuff.) Then I stropped with the edge trailing. Harder at first, but getting progressively lighter. (that trailing edge bit is important. Pretty much the opposite of what you'd do with a stone.) When I tried it out, the hair just about exploded off my arm. Your blade should be almost flat against the strop. Don't worry about proper angle; the flexibility of the leather does that for you.

Just out of curiosity, what are you trying to strop?
 
I was keeping the angle way too high and that was the cause of my dulling the edge, I guess. The knife I was stroping was the Paramilitary. Now I am practicing with my opinels:rolleyes: Thanks a lot for the info.
 
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