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Strop?
- Thread starter jasperjb
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2012
- Messages
- 1,223
http://www.stropman.com/main.sc
He has some great products and priced reasonably. Good service and quick delivery.
Omar
He has some great products and priced reasonably. Good service and quick delivery.
Omar
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2011
- Messages
- 687
I got a piece of leather off of ebay for around $8, and use the sear's craftsman green compound. Works well enough, and less than $10!
http://www.stropman.com/main.sc
He has some great products and priced reasonably. Good service and quick delivery.
Omar
After using the sharpmaker, what color compounds would you recommend?
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2012
- Messages
- 1,223
I use the green compound to finish up and polish the edges on some knives after using my paper wheels. They are very sharp after the wheels, but I will follow up with the strop for a more polished edge when I am "showing off".
Omar
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2007
- Messages
- 984
If I want a VERY sharp edge I do the following. 2 x 10 heavy weight leather glued to a pc of wood of the same size. Wet the leather and dust it with cerium oxide then when dry strop away. It will give you a very high mirror finish but you have to work up to it. Cerium oxide is the compound that lapidary's use to put the final finish on stones that they cut. Working up to it means using water stones to about 6000 grit then stropping. Hope this helps.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,649
I'd just add, for compound, I'd avoid those specifically listed as 'jeweler's rouge'. That usually implies a compound made for softer metals (like gold, silver) which often isn't aggressive enough to work well on hardened steel knife blades. The de facto 'jeweler's rouge' is often red (iron oxide), which is pretty soft. Black compound (silicon carbide), diamond, and green (chromium oxide) are all safe bets. Some 'white' compounds are also very soft (tin oxide, talc and other 'rouge' types), but if you do look for some, make sure it's aluminum oxide.
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Yes. Avoid red rouge for sharpening. Green or white will do a great job
And you can make a great strop for yourself for practically nothing. There is no need to buy a strop. In fact, if you can't make your own strop, you have very little future as a knife sharpener, or whittler, and probably not enough dexterity to even handle sharp instruments safely.
Just get a flat piece of wood an inch or two wide by about a foot long. (Other dimensions work fine too.) Plywood is good but any smooth flat stick will do - even a big paint stir stick will work. Then take a worn out pair of blue jeans, and cut out a piece to fit the stick. Glue the fabric to the stick with whatever glue you have (avoid hot glue and other really fast drying glues because they will make the whole deal lumpy).
Leather is good, but denim (blue jean material) is probably easier for most people to get, and I actually prefer it over leather which I have used for many years.
When the glue is dry, "crayon" some of the compound - just enough to color the fabric some - and strop away. The strop will get black as the steel is worn away from the blades.
DO NOT flip the blade at the end of the stroke and come back the other way. If you do, there will be a tendency to anticipate that flip, and rub the blade almost perpendicular to the strop which will make it dull. Sometimes people give the blade a little flip at the end of the stroke even when they are not going to turn the blade over, and that has the same effect. NO FLIP! Just give the blade about 75 firm strokes on one side at a consistent angle from one end of the stroke to the other (don't run off the end of the strop either) and then give it 75 the other way.
You can do this! I have taught 100s of 9yr olds to do this. You can do it too.
And you can make a great strop for yourself for practically nothing. There is no need to buy a strop. In fact, if you can't make your own strop, you have very little future as a knife sharpener, or whittler, and probably not enough dexterity to even handle sharp instruments safely.
Just get a flat piece of wood an inch or two wide by about a foot long. (Other dimensions work fine too.) Plywood is good but any smooth flat stick will do - even a big paint stir stick will work. Then take a worn out pair of blue jeans, and cut out a piece to fit the stick. Glue the fabric to the stick with whatever glue you have (avoid hot glue and other really fast drying glues because they will make the whole deal lumpy).
Leather is good, but denim (blue jean material) is probably easier for most people to get, and I actually prefer it over leather which I have used for many years.
When the glue is dry, "crayon" some of the compound - just enough to color the fabric some - and strop away. The strop will get black as the steel is worn away from the blades.
DO NOT flip the blade at the end of the stroke and come back the other way. If you do, there will be a tendency to anticipate that flip, and rub the blade almost perpendicular to the strop which will make it dull. Sometimes people give the blade a little flip at the end of the stroke even when they are not going to turn the blade over, and that has the same effect. NO FLIP! Just give the blade about 75 firm strokes on one side at a consistent angle from one end of the stroke to the other (don't run off the end of the strop either) and then give it 75 the other way.
You can do this! I have taught 100s of 9yr olds to do this. You can do it too.
http://www.stropman.com/main.sc
He has some great products and priced reasonably. Good service and quick delivery.
Omar
Thanks for that link. Going to pick up a few items there today!
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2011
- Messages
- 59
Got a Stropman HD Compact plus white and green compound. Small Sebenza on UF Sharpmaker rods, then strop with white compound followed by green compound...WOW....WOW....WOW!!!! Did I say WOW?!
I too love my stropman HD compact. However. For more aggressive cutting edges with a toothy feel go to chefknivestogo.com ad get a kangaroo leather edge pro strop with a bottle of .5 micron diamond spray. Your edges grab like crazy and they can still whittle hair if done right ;$