Strop Suggestion

W

Willieboy

Joined
Jul 4, 2002
Messages
1,237
I had an old leather weight lifting belt laying around and tried it out as a stop from my golok and BDC. I think it worked very well. The belt is about 3/16" thick and 6" wide. I have not treated the belt with any compound.
 
I use an old work belt found in a dumpster behind the Ft. Lewis DRMO several years ago for stropping everything except my razors; I've nailed one end to my work bench so that I can lay it down or pull it taut, depending on what sort of an effect I'm looking for. I suppose that I could buy something that does the same but why mess with a good thing?

One further suggestion would be to rub a little chromium oxide compound on there -- Lee Valley's works well. The resulting finish will be about the same as bare leather but you'll get there a whole lot faster.
 
I guess I should have use the word hone instead of strop since I lay my leather on a table. I like Lee Valley's products too. I have three of their leather "hones" for smaller knives and I have charged two of those with compound from Bark River Knife and Tool. Works like a charm.
 
I found a weight belt at a garage sale for $0.50, charged it with Lee Valley CO (green stuff). I rarely strop anything, but it works great when I do.
 
I wish I'd paid only $.50 for mine. Like you say though, it works great. The length and width are ideal.
 
Do you use the rough or course side? I was playing around with stropping on an old weight belt with my SAK and paraframe (two of my softer EDC-type knives) and didn't notice much difference.
 
I use both sides. For me the attraction of using a weight belt is its size. At 6" wide and several feet long, it seems ideal for working with large blades.
 
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