Stropping...longer knives?

[Steve-O]

Para, perhaps you can be of help.

To me it looks like most commercial strops (and many stones) were designed with razors in mind. With a small fixed blade or a small to medium folder, I use a sort of arc...to stop the entire edge, this seems to work...mostly. Is there a better technique, especially for the longer blade?

Stropping in sections doesn't sound right to me. I admit that it would be rare for me to want a scarey, polished edge on a large knife, but even a 5" blade seems difficult to strop (at least to me!).

Anyone...? Anyone...? Beuller?

Any thoughts appreciated...


Steve-O

 

[Paracelsus]

I strop in overlapping sections on larger knives. Since stropping is primarily just aligning the micro-serrations on the edge, I don't see how carefully stropping in sections would be bad.

However, you are right about commercial strops being designed for razors and shorter knives. I think it is a mistake, or at least a waste of money, to pay several tens of dollars for a Barber's stop. I use several different sizes of smooth leather scraps as strops. I like to use green chromium oxide polish, but that is optional. You can easily make one a foot square if you like. Ask for leather scraps at any shoe and boot repair shop. Just lay it down on any flat smooth surface and strop away. Do not use a lot of force while stropping. The goal is to refine a Very thin cross-section of the blade, not to remove lots of material.

Using benchstones freehand will also force one to break the job down into different sections for longer knives. This is often true for the tip area on smaller knives. Learn to cope

Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 02-08-2001).]

 

[bad4u]

Take a look at the leather hone systems offered at www.handamerican.com.

I have the 15" length hone set, and it's quite suitable for honing the longest knife in my kitchen.

I haven't visited the site for awhile, but I think you'll find they sell leather, abrasive powders and other interesting item besides the finished hone sets.

 

[Steve-O]

Para,

Perhap I misunderstood the idea, but isn't the ideal edge aligned all the way along its length? I admit, once you get to the point of stropping, you should already have a good edge (though most any edge would be improved by stropping).

Ideals are not ever achieved, but I think that someone must have introduced a better way for large blades. Did they only use stones on the original ginsus?

Thanks for the knowledge...

Learning to cope..

Steve-O



[This message has been edited by Steve-O (edited 02-08-2001).]

 

[Paracelsus]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Steve-O:
Perhap I misunderstood the idea, but isn't the ideal edge aligned all the way along its length?...

Ideals are not ever achieved, but I think that someone must have introduced a better way for large blades.

Learning to cope..

</font>

We must all make do with what we have. Nothing is ever 'ideal'. We can only Strive for perfection. Thinking we have achieved it is a Mistake.

Maybe you should consider selling a sharpening system for Really Big Knives. You might get rich. Or not

Paracelsus, pondering...

 

[Jeff Clark]

I think some of the confusion is what is implied by the term "aligned". You are not making the edge form a straight line from tip to ricasso. What you are doing is a much more local function. You are making the last little whispy bit of metal at the final edge centered between the left and right bevels of the knife. You are removing small bent over sections and taking out local sideways waviness to the edge. You are also polishing the bevel a little.

You don't need a wide hone for a long knife since you aren't evening up the edge from tip to heal. I have several hones and find 3-4" pretty good. I like mine mounted on wood since I use more force when I strop a knife than when I strop a razor. I find it handy to have a longer strop for a knife so that I don't bump into things as I strop.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Simply pull the blade to the side as you stroke it along the strop. As you noted, you have to use an arc, same as when you sharpen them on a hone. This is not just for long knives, you want to keep the edge perpendicular to the abrasive which means that you should be arcing even small hones to insure a smooth grind along the entire bevel.

As for CrO, one of the more common polishing compounds, unless you have it on your strop (or something similar), you are not going to be doing anything with knives made from modern very hard steels. Plain leather was common for razors as on them it was just used for alignment on a very small scale. Consider what they were used for and the extent of the blunting they recieved as compared to a utility knife.

For modern knives stropping is often used as a method of sharpening, either on a power sander with a leather belt or by hand with a piece of leather. Modern cutlery steels are much harder and stronger than the steel used for straight razors. In my experience, a plain leather strop does nothing significant for ATS-34 or similar class steels. If you are just looking for alignment then a smooth steel will handle that fine. And for actual sharpening of a blunted edge or as the final plishing step - used a loaded strop.

-Cliff