Strop Victorinox or not?

gadgetgeek said:
The only thing I would consider, if you are having him strop with compound, teach him to wash the knife and his hands after. Just don't want to find out later that he was absorbing something he shouldn't have as a growing boy. I did lots of reloading with my dad as a youngster, and we were always very careful to clean up well after to reduce the potential of lead absorption.
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Definitely. Thanks. Yes I've been using that green Chinese polishing compound you get on Amazon that comes in a big block, for years. It works well but I'm afraid it's made of "like every bad thing China would normally throw away." And these days, that might be quite a low bar. :)
 
nyhuntfish said:
Definitely. Thanks. Yes I've been using that green Chinese polishing compound you get on Amazon that comes in a big block, for years. It works well but I'm afraid it's made of "like every bad thing China would normally throw away." And these days, that might be quite a low bar. :)
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Chromium isn't something you want to be absorbing anyway, I don't know that its as big a risk from the blocks, but I do know that the powder stuff that straight razor guys use should be handled with care. But in any case, its not really about the stropping or the chemicals, any time we are training a kid, we want to be teaching them the best habits we can.
 
TheEdge01 said:
The steel Victorinox uses is very soft, so it would be an excellent choice for beginners interested in learning how to sharpen/strop. As far as stropping a soft steel to use as an edc, I think it would be a waste of time since it’s would lose it keen edge almost immediately if used.
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Vic steel is listed at 54-56 Rockwell, same as Case SS, not really that much softer than Buck. Victorinox holds a edge wellenough for a general purpose knife and sharpens up easily. If Victorinox used a super steel it would more than double the cost. Most knives made in the last century were made to about the same hardness but still got the job done.
 
Strop away. But be careful since it's a slipjoint with no lock and the youngster will be pulling it backwards... I'd hate to see it snap shut on his little fingers after he gets it razor sharp.
 
AntDog said:
Strop away. But be careful since it's a slipjoint with no lock and the youngster will be pulling it backwards... I'd hate to see it snap shut on his little fingers after he gets it razor sharp.
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Good point, but he should be able to get a good grip either on just the scales, or use a bit of folded leather as a finger guard. Or he could just do it right and learn like the rest of us!
 
gadgetgeek said:
Good point, but he should be able to get a good grip either on just the scales, or use a bit of folded leather as a finger guard. Or he could just do it right and learn like the rest of us!
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Sure he can. But I remember what I was like when I was 10...
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
... I lost a cadet recently. :()
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I feel your pain. On paper, the Soldier/Pioneer series is the best SAK for me. In real life, the Cadet is the leader.
I forgot that I gave mine to my daughter so she would have something for office use. I turned my house upside down looking for that darn knife only to find out she had it. :(
 
You know me : I used to strop. I never strop now. I use a sharpening jig.
That said I realize no one will be buying him a sharpening jig any time soon.

I'm just picturing the first time he goes to cut something that happens to have some grit in it or he misjudges what he is doing and really dulls / roles the edge. He could get pretty frustrated attempting to fix that kind of edge on a strop. I think I would also introduce him to the magic that is a fairly coarse stone. As a kid I wasted a whole lot of time trying to sharpen on fairly fine stones and the results sucked. If I had had a coarse stone I think I would have learned to hand sharpen with much less frustration.

Teach him to fix a damaged edge by using a coarse stone.
Teach him to judge the condition of the edge and when to choose just the strop.
I like the thumb nail method to judge edge condition
 
Stropping should be done very lightly, at a low angle, slow, and only a few strokes per side. Done properly, he should have very little concern of the blade closing on him and I personally wouldn't get overly concerned about CrO. Besides, you don't need a lot on the strop.

My approach is, if you can't strop your knife to sharp in three or four strokes per side, it needs honing, or full sharpening if too far gone.

Absolutely teach him to strop and absolutely SAK's can be easily stropped. But, also teach him the concepts of the edge. And, with all due respect, if you're unsure yourself, then learn. No shame in not knowing if that is the case! But if you do, teach him about the edge. What makes an edge? What is happening right at the apex? What happens when you grind on a stone? What does stropping do?

Teach him the concepts behind the edge and he'll learn to be able to make good choices in keeping his knife sharp.

:)
 
Unless there is major damage I pretty much only strop my SAKs.
The flexcut gold has turned out to be about my favorite compound, although others are 'better', technically.
Please teach some proper skills.
I learned the hard way when I was a kid. I'm around 50 years old now and still have some prominent scars on my hands from teaching myself how to sharpen knives over 40 years ago.
I had a few nasty bites... I'm still surprised I was able to save the skin on top of my fingers when I accidentally potato peeled them back in the '70's or early '80's.
 
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