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Stropping Question
- Thread starter gull wing
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,535
With green compound on leather, in particular, I've found it'll last quite a long time. I've been in the habit of wiping down or cleaning my strops when they start looking more black than green. Having said that, I might not need to do it quite so often. I've also noticed, with my newly home-made strops, the performance really seems to improve after the compound has been applied, cleaned, and re-applied a couple or three times. It seems to make some sense to me, that it takes a re-application or two for the compound to get thoroughly distributed and firmly embedded into the leather. After about the 3rd cleaning/re-application, my strops are a LOT more effective than when new. Not just with green, but with other compounds I've used (diamond paste and Simichrome polish are others I like).
I'd highly recommend not 'caking' the compound on. It works much better when the leather is just 'dusted' with the compound, so it still looks like leather, but with a greenish tint to it.
If you like how your strop is performing at the moment, I'm betting it's fine. If you do notice performance dropping off, and the leather is starting to look pretty dirty, then don't be shy about cleaning it and re-applying compound. Great thing is, the compound is cheap, and the leather will stand up to many, many cleanings over time. So there's really no harm in cleaning & refreshing it, even if it might not be absolutely necessary. You'll get a much better feel for what it needs, after using it for a while and seeing how it changes with a few 'sprucing up' sessions. In the short term, you might just wipe down the strop with a dry paper towel, when it starts showing more of the black stuff on it. That'll keep it working quite a while, in itself.
I'd highly recommend not 'caking' the compound on. It works much better when the leather is just 'dusted' with the compound, so it still looks like leather, but with a greenish tint to it.
If you like how your strop is performing at the moment, I'm betting it's fine. If you do notice performance dropping off, and the leather is starting to look pretty dirty, then don't be shy about cleaning it and re-applying compound. Great thing is, the compound is cheap, and the leather will stand up to many, many cleanings over time. So there's really no harm in cleaning & refreshing it, even if it might not be absolutely necessary. You'll get a much better feel for what it needs, after using it for a while and seeing how it changes with a few 'sprucing up' sessions. In the short term, you might just wipe down the strop with a dry paper towel, when it starts showing more of the black stuff on it. That'll keep it working quite a while, in itself.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 2,090
From what I understand, it depends on how the polishing compound is applied. I have two strops. The first one is a homemade strop I made out of the back of an old leather belt and some PJ Tool company green compound. That compound comes in a "brick" that is hard as a rock and very difficult to apply. I have to rub it on multiple times during stropping of a knife.
I also have a Strop Blok by Knives Plus, which is made by melting the green compound in olive oil until it is like Vasoline, then worked into leather with a hard rolled shop rag until the surface of the strop is saturated and coated. Then finally left to set for two days under low heat. I e-mailed them to ask them how often the compound needs to be reapplied, and they said, "Never!" Here is the exchange:
Me: "I had a question about the stropblock. If I use the stropblock regularly, I assume that I might eventually need to reload the polishing compound. What polishing compound is used on the stropblock and do you sell that compound, too?"
Knives Plus: "Nope not necessary - We have used the same stropblock in the store for 10 years or more and we haven’t needed to re-apply polishing compound."
I also have a Strop Blok by Knives Plus, which is made by melting the green compound in olive oil until it is like Vasoline, then worked into leather with a hard rolled shop rag until the surface of the strop is saturated and coated. Then finally left to set for two days under low heat. I e-mailed them to ask them how often the compound needs to be reapplied, and they said, "Never!" Here is the exchange:
Me: "I had a question about the stropblock. If I use the stropblock regularly, I assume that I might eventually need to reload the polishing compound. What polishing compound is used on the stropblock and do you sell that compound, too?"
Knives Plus: "Nope not necessary - We have used the same stropblock in the store for 10 years or more and we haven’t needed to re-apply polishing compound."
David Martin
Moderator
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- Apr 7, 2008
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- 19,520
Mag, You need not rub it in multiple times. I think the guys at Knives Plus are close. It lasts a long time. If you see just some green on the strop its good to go. Its working. The whole strop doesn't need to be turned green. I agree, after it turns black it needs cleaning and reapply. DM