Sharpening with a "mouse pad?"

Sproles

Sproles

Joined
Jan 11, 1999
Messages
700
I have seen a number of posts that refer to doing a final sharpening or "honing" with a nouse pad. Can anyone provide me with any additional info on this subject. Is this the regular foamy type mouse pad or the real thin 3M product that is somewhat scratchy (like a old LP) or something totally different? Please advise...

David
 
Roadrunner provided a nice description with good illustrations of how the mouse pad stropping works. I'll give you a little warning about it. The final picture of the stropping process shows the pad taking on the ideal curvature to form a convex edge. In reality the pad doesn't know what you are trying to do. If you apply very-very low pressure the pad will remain flat. If you apply very hard pressure the pad will wrap around the trailing edge and make it very obtuse. The method works best with a fairly hard and smooth pad and light honing pressure. You might also mount your pad on a slightly concave surface. Think of an old barber's leather strop. The leather is fairly thick and stiff. The razor does not sink into the leather appreciably, but the hone will sag into a slight curve even under fairly strong tension. This gives a natural slight convexity to the stropped edge that does not depend on the shape of the depression the razor makes in the surface of the strop.
 
Sproles,

I made up a mousepad strop a few months ago. Materials are a soft foamy pad and a piece of leather of corresponding size.
I cut the mousepad to be 4 inches wide and, using much spray adhesive, glued the leather onto the pad, leather fuzzy side "up." I then duct-taped this whole thing to my workbench, with one edge of the pad at an edge of the workbench so the knife handle will hang out in space and my fingers won't touch anything while stropping.

I apply lots and lots of green honing compound to the leather then grasp the knife handle in both hands and wail away on the mousepad strop. This gives good control and allows one to easily vary the pressure of blade-on-strop.

Occasionally I'll use a wire brush and clean off the strop, then re-apply more honing compound.

Works great, just this past weekend I used this method to put razor edges back onto all the knives.

Cheers,

Carl
 
The easiest way to strop is to get one of these:

70m0350s2.jpg



If you are trying to put on a convex edge, then use a mouse pad (or any thinly padded surface) with sandpaper clipped to it (starting at 220, then 400, 600).

You can also teach yourself to do it by hand...using the padding of your fingers to put on and sharpen a convex edge. I know this because I do it all the time. Just grab a sheet of fine grit paper and rub it down the edge. (of course, this is only with knives that already have a convex edge).

The "degree of convexity" is half the fun. Use a stronger angle for a knife that will see heavy duty impact work. Use a slimmer angle for knives that will only ever cut paper, etc. You decide. ;)
 
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