Sharpening and strapping

G3

G3

Via con dios
Joined
May 23, 2004
Messages
2,781
All,
After speaking with a fellow knife-nut friend of mine, he suggested I start strapping my blades after sharpening to help keep the edge longer. At first I was skeptical because I really liked that gleaming line from razor sharp edge. I used many sharpeners but sonce the spyderco have used nothing else. Anyway he said he spoke to Mr. Elishewitz a ways back and Allen recommended strapping not on leather but corrugated cardboard.

Let me tell you this really works well. I did notice however that it seemed it could be strapped a bit finer so I tested some different materials. After trying different grades of cardboard and leather i found an old canvas bag with a 3 inch wide canvas strap - i figured it was a pretty rough material so I gave it a shot.

Unbelievable! I have never got my knives this sharp before now. The edgeline gleams just below the grind now, and doesn't get chipped after use. Since I like the more razor quality edge, rough cutting always dulled my blades within a few uses. Since I have switch methods of strapping, the lifespan of the edge is at least doubled. I read a few posts that claimed the Spyderco Native and S30V blades were difficult to sharpen. I have not experienced this yet. I also sharpen not only in the "V" but also pulling down the flat side of the stone when its mounted in the side of the sharpeners chassis. This to me, lets me get a finer feel to the bevel and helps to see the angle your wrist and the blade is at when you want to sharpen just past that "default" level you get after the "V".

Thanks for listening and can people please share what they strap with as well as sharpen. Thanks.
 
If you do a search for "strop" (not strap), you'll see lots of good info.

But, the Reader's Digest version is that stropping is the way to a highly polished edge, and should always be the final step after your benchstones (or SharpMaker) if that is the type of edge that you are chasing.

The better leather strops are typically split cowhide, with a polishing compound (white jeweler's rouge or Chromium Oxide) applied to them. Check out Hand American Made's website. They sell a highly recommended flatbed leather hone, as well is info about how to apply CrO.
 
I always mispell that. Would explain not finding many posts - Thanks.

Has anyone tried any other materials to strop with?

Are there varying results or am I imagining things?
 
Probalby the most common materials are hanging strop, wood backed strop (both leather, split cowhide is the best as Ted already meantioned). Canvas strop hanging, usually used with a chalky kind of polishing compound. A lot of people use their jeans on their leg as "spur of the moment" strop, and cardboard is another common one. Not strictly a strop anymore, but in principle the same would be sandpaper glued to an old mouse pad, also used with a trailing motion, works very well to establish and maintain convex edges.

You can use any material that contains an abrasive that is fine enough to create a mirror polish out of a material that has some give as a strop. Leather strops are the fines strops, but they are often load with a compound (CrO is probably the most common one because the particles are very hard and easy to produce uniformly, usually as 0.5 micron size) to give it a little bit more bite. On a straight razor commonly a compound loaded Canvas strop is used in the first step and a virgin (no compound) leather strop (always hanging) as final step.
 
This is a very good product in a strop block, and used by many in the leather business in northwest Texas (handmade in Amarillo Tx.). Use it like a bench stone, but of course trail the edge and be careful with the tip of your knife.

The bottom is wood so place a piece of rubber, etc... on your bench table, or contact glue some rubber cabinet liner etc. to the bottom of it. You can also hold it in your hand, but I don't recommend this.

It's made of chap leather, comes precharged with high chrome rouge in olive oil, and the best and easiest to use strop I've had, bar none. If you want the most polishing with the least hassle and maintenance, I highly recommend it as well as the knife shop it comes from. If properly cared for and kept clean it should strop as long as you or I am around.

http://www.knivesplus.com/KP-STROP8-STROPBLOCK.html
 
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