Strop equipment?

Sharky1528

Sharky1528

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Sep 12, 2017
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Guys picked up a few knives and wanted to have some stuff to Strop with, is there any recommendations on equipment / Strops & Diamond liquid and or paste ? I have blades with K390 , MagnaCut , Rex 45 , S30v

Any help with recommendations where I can get a good Strop and emulsions / pastes from ?? Your favorite vendor ??

Thanks
 
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After reading about denim strops I made up one for my Edge Pro ; aluminum blank with old worn / washed denim stuck on with double back tape (not the foam tape ) just thin tape .
I only use it for the "softer" blade alloys . Might work with your REX 45 . Not saying anything against REX 45 ; I love the stuff . I just put Gold Carver's strop abrasive on mine .
After using that I go to hard , finish side , leather with diamond emulsion . Mine is "50,000" what ever that works out to in Microns.
I have recently bought a couple of premade leather strops for the Edge Pro and some "better" diamond to put on those but have not busssed 'em out yet so can't comment on them . If I ever dull my REX 121 or one of my 15V blades I'll let you know how those turn out .:rolleyes:

PS : dang it I ment to EMPHASIZE that I am convinced that when it comes to sropping LESS IS MORE and that I only do a couple of passes per side to refine an already stellar edge ; pretty much totally deburing on the stones before stropping .
I am convinced that for the best cutting edge / geometry it is a mistake to strop and strop and strop .
 
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I've always done better with diamond paste instead of spray. Don't over think the material too much - there are all kinds of leather for example. Just a consistently supported flat surface.
 
I use a 3" wide cowhide paddle strop with the smooth surface on one side and rough on the other. I have the rough side loaded with 4 micron diamond emulsions (Gunny Juice). It's amazing how a few passes on a strop can bring back a sharp edge.
 
I haven't found stropping to be very effective on today's steels. If anything they remove that sticky sharp edge.
 
I use a 325/1200 Diamond plate for initial sharpening, then go to stropping. One of my strops is a 14 diamond micron paste on rough leather, 3 micron on smooth leather, the other is 40 micron diamond and 1 micron diamond paste, both on rough (I glued the wrong side down when I made the strop 🤷‍♂️). I use the coarser sides for deburring, especially on super steels, and then the finer side for that last touch up. I was surprised at how the 40 micron diamond felt; it doesn't feel rough/gritty, but removes material quickly! The edge is pretty smooth off of the 40 micron. I use the 40/1 strop and the 14/3 strop on Magnacut and S90V, no issues with those 2 steels!

Most people use very fine compounds with strops, but I went the other way and wanted a coarse side for deburring/quick touch ups and micro chip removal and then a finer side. My favorite water stone combo was a 1000 and 5000 stone, so I went with those grits for my strop. I have a lot of Japanese kitchen knives and the 14/3 removes micro chips and leaves a sticky sharp edge, so it's great for a quick mess less touch up! The diamond works very fast, so not much is needed!

I took a 60 HRC AEBL blade with a visible flat on the entire edge and got it shaving sharp in under 4 min with the 14/3 strop.
 
You're welcome! I use the Venev Strop Paste. I smear it on the leather with a popsicle stick, melt it in with a heat gun. I tried CBN and diamond sprays before, but I like the diamond paste better. I was using the CBN until I started making Shechita in S90V (18" x 2.5" wide blades) and wanted something to polish the edge better. Diamonds work so much faster!
 
Poltava oil based paste with wooden (linden) plates
cheap olein acid containing in some diamond pastes may harm blades (leave stains, for example) , so russian products with industrial olein should be avoided
water based paste - with leather
 
Alberta Ed said:
I haven't found stropping to be very effective on today's steels. If anything they remove that sticky sharp edge.
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I measure almost everything I do and every step along the way. I have done extensive stropping/ steeling/ hanging leather/and paddle strops measuring the effectiveness. I can tell you that stropping and steeling are both effective at restoring an edge even on supersteels.
I strop edges to restore their refined condition, I use steels to correct an overused or slightly damaged/rolled edge.

Stropping will take my EDC (Magnacut) from 240 to 80 as measured on a BESS tester. I use diamond emulsion from DMT (polycrystalline) for supersteels and have tested it for effectiveness. I use Tormek’s PA-70 honing paste as well. It does a great job of removing the steel in the matrix, then I follow with diamonds sometimes. If I cut cling wrap and it catches it’s time for the diamonds.
 
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