rigid or flexible strop?

[Muaddib1116]

I've seen a number of production and homemade strops that are essentially a strip of leather glued to a board. But looking online, there are also a lot of the "barber chair" style strops available. What are the advantages to one or the other?

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

Rather than repeating most of info, checkout this sticky:www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750008-Stropping-angle-plus-pressure

I'm testing HH washboard and comparing the result with balance strop. Both are interesting reading/watching.

At the end, it depends on the compound (or none), steel and the intended use. On one of Knifenut video, he used bare leather on backing (ZT) and on another, he used hanging type (large fix blade).

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I've been using a leather belt with green compound (and bare) for final stropping of my 1095, Case CV, Opinel 'carbone' (XC90 steel) and 420HC blades. I use it like the hanging (barber) strops, and find it really does a great job in cleaning up the very fine burrs and other debris that's left on the apex after most of the other coarser honing is done. Really makes edges on these steels pop, as a finishing step. I'm inclined to believe this is what makes the 'real' barber's strops so appealing for use with shaving razors.

For refining the bevels of blades (behind the apex), I like hard/very firm surfaces like wood, or paper over glass, used with compound. This can also do a good job refining the apex, but I tend to think the bigger effect is on the bevels themselves. Almost without exception, I follow this with stropping on the belt as described above. To a large degree, edges can always be cleaned up a little more this way (I sometimes think of my leather belt-strop as 'the cleaner' for finishing edges).

So, to the original question of 'rigid or flexible?', I'd say BOTH.


David

 

[Muaddib1116]

Thanks for the responses guys. Sorry I didn't see the sticky, I'll check it out.