Recurve - tricks for a thin strip?

gamma_nyc

gamma_nyc

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
715
Edit: I meant “strop”. Autocorrect was not meant for knife people.

hi, I’ve got a zt920 which has a recurve blade. Any tricks or recommendations on a narrow strop that can work for a recurve like this?

I’m thinking 1/2” or 3/4” wide would do the trick.

I’ve had some great advice on here before, so figured I’d check back again.

Thanks!
 
Any cylindrical object or surface can be used as a backing for stropping a recurve. A wooden dowel, section of PVC pipe, etc. In fact, you can apply your stropping compound directly onto the wood or PVC; they're soft enough to embed the compound, and firm enough to avoid compression issues on softer substrates like leather, etc, which would create edge-rounding issues. I've used both this way, and they work well.
 
Last edited:
Rolled cardboard should work alright as well. Pinch it into a teardrop shape or curl into a full roll.
 
Lansky guided system is what I use for recurves. They do sell a strop separately. I beleive there 1/2 by 5 inches.
 
I own a few of Spyderco's recuve blades and most of them are made with good, superior blade steels. I've found that using the Ultra-Fine stone on the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker seems to do great on Recurves, Reverse S blades, hawkbill blades or any other blade with "curve" in it.

I'm not really aware of a thin strop I could recommend. I've kind of gotten away from stropping for the most part in favor of doing final edge with an Ultra-fine stone or something equivalent.
 
Oh one thing that just came to my mind. I used to chat quite a bit over at another forum that was callled "Straight Razor Place">> I've heard recently that they changed their domain name but you can still find them by using Straight Razor Place. They talk a lot over there about different strops and compounds and specialty stones for sharpening.

Also there are two vendors that come to mind that sell different types of strops. One is called Lee Valley and the other is "Chefs Knives To Go". Also there are some of the "woodworking" websites that sell strops too you might want to check out.
 
I used to really like strops at one time. But I figured out that for me, strops were just a crutch. I was covering up poor technique with stropping. It improved my edges for sure. But once I got better at using the FIRST STONE, things really changed for me. Stropping became unnecessary; it didn't seem to serve a purpose any more.

Different people, with different goals might use strops for a finer finish than I have. They might start with amazingly sharp edges that need more polish. Outside of additional polish, I think strops are mostly useless. Every now and then I get desperate and do some deburring on a strop. But I generally end up just using stones again.

Brian.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top