Recommendation? Strop without the shine?

[Dave22387]

Hey Everyone, new guy here. I'm new to sharpening with a stone, but I am finally getting the hang of it. As of today, I am able to get edges deburred and sharp enough to cut hair, Yay!. Problem is, I really get that last bit of razor sharpness from stropping which results in a fairly polished finish. I have some knives I want to sharpen but do not want the mirror polish. How does one get a ridiculous edge and not polish the metal? I see it done, but can't make it happen yet lol. I haven't tried using plain leather yet without compound which I am thinking may be the cause? Thanks in advance.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

The compound is doing the polishing. Stropping on bare leather or denim, etc, without compound, will essentially end the 'shine'. If the edge is ready for it, off the stones, then the bare leather or denim or whatever can still do a good job cleaning up the edge without all that polishing. Just be aware, without the additional refinement afforded by a strop with compound, it places a premium on taking the edge as far as it can go with the stones alone. The bare strop is limited in what it can do. So the edge needs to be ready for it, coming off the stones.

 

[Dave22387]

The compound is doing the polishing. Stropping on bare leather or denim, etc, without compound, will essentially end the 'shine'. If the edge is ready for it, off the stones, then the bare leather or denim or whatever can still do a good job cleaning up the edge without all that polishing. Just be aware, without the additional refinement afforded by a strop with compound, it places a premium on taking the edge as far as it can go with the stones alone. The bare strop is limited in what it can do. So the edge needs to be ready for it, coming off the stones.

That's good stuff and confirmed my guesses, thanks!

 

[WhitleyStu]

Feel free to use compound, but use it sparingly and apply very little pressure and time in contact with the strop. I power strop with a 2x72 leather belt charged with green or pink compound. It only takes just a few seconds of very light contact to do the job properly.