Stropping a blade?

T

TN Jack

Joined
Nov 10, 2018
Messages
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I am totally new to using a strop. Can you use an old belt or guitar strap as a strop? If so, anything else I need--like compound for the leather? What kind of compound?

Any advice or tips would be much appreciated.
 
I use an old leather belt (heavy, real leather) for finishing and touch up, once I have sharpened.
I'm sure some more knowledgeable members can give you more in depth info than I can.
 
TN Jack said:
I am totally new to using a strop. Can you use an old belt or guitar strap as a strop? If so, anything else I need--like compound for the leather? What kind of compound?

Any advice or tips would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Yep, you can use any type of leather but the results will vary depending on the type of grit you use on it. Additionally, you can use cardboard, fiberboard, denim...lots of things. I have even heard of old-timers using their own leathery skin (although that may be an urban/rural legend)!
 
I use a heavy leather belt and some compound as a strop. The pinned thread in the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment forum here helped me out a lot when I was starting out with stropping, and Whitty's videos on his USA Made Blade youtube channel have some great tips on stropping too.
 
For stropping with compound, I've been happy with stropping on cardboard strips as well as stropping on a leather paddle strop. I actually find the cardboard strips seem to work a little faster.

For stropping without compound, I've been happy with wrapping a whetstone with newspaper and doing it Murray Carter style, and also stropping on the palm of my hand. I also left a section of my paddle strop, and one strip of cardboard, unloaded, for finishing touches.
 
TN Jack said:
I am totally new to using a strop. Can you use an old belt or guitar strap as a strop? If so, anything else I need--like compound for the leather? What kind of compound?

Any advice or tips would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Hi,
What kind of sharpening stone(s) do you have?
Why are you stropping?
What blade are you trying to strop?
 
I have a Lansky's Sharpening system. I also have a Smith's Arkansas Stone. And pocket sharpeners from Lansky's and Smith's. I am sharpening pocketknives....Case, Buck and Bear and Son knives. As for stroping...well, I don't know! I'm just trying to get them as sharp as I can. Plus, I have never stropped a knife and figured it was time to learn.
 
I use a 3 x 3 x 12 inch balse block. 3 coumpounds on 3 sides (white, green and diamond spray) and the last side I glued a piece of leather on. It's very handy.
 
TN Jack said:
I have a Lansky's Sharpening system. I also have a Smith's Arkansas Stone. And pocket sharpeners from Lansky's and Smith's. I am sharpening pocketknives....Case, Buck and Bear and Son knives. As for stroping...well, I don't know! I'm just trying to get them as sharp as I can. Plus, I have never stropped a knife and figured it was time to learn.
Click to expand...
I would strongly recommend just using the guided sharpeners and get really good with them.
I used to strop. At work and at home.
I now get silly sharp, hair whittling edges off my Edge Pro that are way more sharp than I thought possible even ten years ago. Any stropping that I might attempt, especially by hand on a flexible strop such as a belt would simply be detrimental and a step backward.
Also keep in mind shaving curls off a hair is one thing; having an edge with superior edge geometry for cutting more challenging materials is another.

I walked away from stropping many years ago and every time I revisit it I regret it.
 
I hand sharpen on an old Arkansas wet rock the way Dad showed me when is around 10 or 11. What he didn't have and if he was still alive I'm give him, was a strop loaded with green chromium oxide.
After the wet rock and green strop, it's off to finish up with bare horsehide.
It ain't broke and I ain't fixing it. :)
 
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