Stropping is a game changer

[Vegas Blade]

Just got my new strop in last night and I must say it is a game changer. I thought my blades were sharp before, and they were, but now they are crazy sharp. They will literally make little curly q's on newsprint. I take then to a 6000 grit on a slack belt, then I strop using green compound, and the edge gets to shining. If any of y'all are thinking about stropping, invest the small amount and get one. They really make a difference. So far I have stropped about 8 knives ranging from M4 to A2 to S90V, the results have been the same. It works fantastic on convexed as well as V grinds. Give it a shot if you haven't.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Glad to see another convert. :thumbup:

Stropping, or 'trailing-edge honing' by another name, is what accounts for probably 95% of the upkeep of my blades. So long as the proper work gets done on the stones first, there are so many ways to take it multiple steps beyond, using only stropping technique. I've never looked back.


David

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Agreed. Once you get the technique down (it's not rocket surgery) it really does make a big difference.

I went a long time not bothering to strop my m4 because at 64-ish HRC I thought it wouldn't really do much. I was waaaay off track.

Funny how I've spent so much on sharpening equipment, but, like David, use a simple piece of leather, wood and compound (all of which I already had) to do the vast majority of refinement and maintenance on my knives.

 

[Vegas Blade]

I agree. I was running my M4 knives on my Ultra Fine Sharpmaker stones thinking I was "there". I didn't think a piece of leather and some green "chalk" was going to change such hard tool steel. The difference is amazing. You can LITERALLY see your edges start to shine. Good stuff. Maybe this is where the "hair whittling edges" come from.

 

[DREW78]

Love to strop. That is my main type of maintenance on my knives. once I use them, and they don't get too beat up, I can go from a knife that wont "bite" and push cut phone book paper to one that will literally fall through the same paper with just a strop. Black then green. Sometimes I will even use one that is loaded with Flitz as a final but I am not really sure that step really does anything over the green.

Stropping rules!!!

Drew