Should I Strop My Knives?

Ares1307

Ares1307

Joined
Jun 14, 2012
Messages
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I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker plus Ultra Fine rods to sharpen all my knives, but I also have some bark river black and green compound and white jewelers rouge. I want to learn to strop but Im not sure which to start with after the Ultra Fine rod which is supposed to be at about 2000 grit and 3 micron. Any and all advice is welcomed. I just dont want to dull my edges right after sharpening them because I used the wrong compound. Especially because Ive read in a few places that the bark river green seems to be more corse than most green compounds.

Also, Im going to be ordering a few balsa strops with diamond compounds, 1 micron, .5 micron, and maybe .25 micron.. after I receive these should I still use the black, green, white pastes that I have or just the UF and diamond compounds?

Last question.. I found some Wicked Edge compound in 1 micron and .5 micron in syringes and 1,.5,and.25micron sprays.. Im going to try the syringes first because of the huge price difference.. but are the sprays better than the pastes and whatever you want to call the stuff in the syringes?? Also, where can I find low priced good quality diamond sprays 1 micron and lower?
 
I also use a SM with UF rods. After the UF, I strop a bit (not excessively) on a leather strop with green (.5 micron) paste, then finish with a few strokes on a bare leather strop. If I'm not using the SM (for a convex edge), I'll use a balsa strop with 1 micron diamond spray on it, then the .5 micron, then bare leather. My sharpening is mostly "touching up" after some use, as you can probably tell.

I've found that it's good therapy, keeps my hands busy, and gives me something to focus on when I'm sitting down and need to relax. The knives seem to like it, too.
 
Thank you for the info. With leather, what texture of leather should I be looking for? Like if I buy a genuine leather belt with no coloring or anything.. should I use the inside of the belt thats kind of rough or the outside thats smooth?
 
Ares1307 said:
Thank you for the info. With leather, what texture of leather should I be looking for? Like if I buy a genuine leather belt with no coloring or anything.. should I use the inside of the belt thats kind of rough or the outside thats smooth?
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I have always used the "suede" side to strop
 
Split leather takes compounds better, I normally use a strop that has both split and flat leather sides.
 
I highly recommend stropping. It gives the edge that much more refinement. I have been using a balsa strop with .5 Micron diamond spray from Hand America, and I love the results. I have a kangaroo strop, and a Knives Plus cow leather strop. But as of now, I am liking the Balsa much better. At any rate, the diamonds leave a fantastically bitey edge after stropping. Which I like.

If you are wondering why I really like the Balsa. It is because I feel it gives more feedback when stropping. And it is a firmer surface than leather, thus it reduces the chance of micro convexing your edge. However that all comes down to the person using the strop ;). The Balsa is just my preference, and each person has their own.
 
I think stropping will surprise you. If you don't allow your knives to get dull, merely not sharp, a stropping may be all you need.

I strongly recommend it.
 
I would suggest raking your knife across concrete and then throwing it in a bead blaster.
 
Stropping rocks - do it with light, even pressure - you aren't sharpening the blade at that point, you are aligning the wire edge and/or removing it altogether.
 
Thank you all for your advice. Balsa has actually been at the top of my list with diamond spray or wicked edge compound. I just feel like that may be the perfect starting point for me, so I dont convex my edge with leather, or rip my edge off with stropping stones. I may switch to stropping stone later on or even leather, especially with my fixed blades... but for now Im going to order some balsa and start off with the bark river green compound I already have, and the white jewelers rouge, and order some diamond compound or spray, I see hand american spray is very well priced so that will probably be the first spray I buy. Thanks again everybody for the great advice!
 
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