Stropping question: does a stropping progression make sense?

B

bdaabat

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Jul 2, 2025
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Weird one for the community: does it make sense to do a progression using different sized abrasives when stropping?

I've mainly been using diamond emulsion sprays on a felt belt for the final strop. I'd started off using a 1 micron product and getting good results (plus no visible evidence of a burr to my old eyes under 12X magnification).

But, a 0.25 micron product happened to fall into my basket at Curry Custom Cutlery not too long ago. :cool:

Last night, I decided to load up another felt belt with the lower micron abrasive. It appears to me to give a slightly more keen edge on the two knives I touched up.

Q: Is this a real thing? Or, is this really just evidence that I didn't completely remove the burr? Or, just placebo effect?

Thanks in advance!
Bruce
 
I strop my straight edge razor on 0.25 micron diamond spray, which is a noticeable improvement from 1 micron, which can be felt on the face.

0.25 micron to 0.1 micron provides no discernible difference.
 
I can't tell any difference between 1 micron or anything finer either with my microscope or BESS tester, using a strop I can clean to ensure there is no contamination. I very often see evidence of foil burrs with the BESS tester with diamond strops, Alox doesn't seem to have this problem. Perhaps the finer diamond reduces the foil burr?
 
Depends what you're after. I used to use a 1.0 2.5 0.1 micron sequence of pasted balsa, to finish my straight razors, before I refined my technique enough on stones for them to produce better results. I could clearly see under the microscope that the bevel had finer scratches, and, as a consequence, the edge was less ragged and therefore more comfortable on the skin, though not nearly as comfortable as on a finishing stone. So that's a case where I think the sequence makes a clear difference, since it is important to clear away the coarser scratches to get to a polished bevel and therefore a smoother edge.

I am having trouble thinking of another real-world application for which this kind of thing would matter, though.
 
I'd also say it depends on your goals for your finished edge. Those who seek perfect 'mirror' finishes on their bevels will likely use a tight, multi-step progression to make sure ALL scratches are microscopically fine and essentially invisible to the naked eye.

And using a progression can further narrow a keen apex. But past a certain threshold, the apex will eventually become too thin to be durable for anything other than shaving hairs. If it happens to be on a shaving razor, that's fine. But for any other use, such a fine apex won't hold up.

Having said all the above, experimenting with progressions can teach a lot about how your edge changes as you go through each grit, and whether the end result suits your real-world uses. Based on some experience with that, you might eventually decide you prefer the finish afforded by a certain individual grit size, or maybe a couple in sequence and no more.
 
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My apologies! I didn't mention WHAT I was sharpening!

I'm mostly sharpening neighbors (and my own) kitchen knives right now. No straight razors for me.

After I retired, I decided to not shave for a while to see what would happen. I've never sported any facial hair before. It appears that despite being 60+, I still haven't quite reached the stage of life where I can grow a respectable beard (or even anything close to resembling a beard!) even after ~ 6 weeks.

Did a small set of Sabatier knives for a neighbor today. Used both strops. Not sure if it made a difference.

Bruce
 
My guess would be that you polished away a small burr. I find it much much easier to feel a burr with my finger, than to spot it at 12X magnification.
 
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