Stropping with paper

dipbait

dipbait

Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Messages
5,421
My knives are real close to being super sharp. I dont have a strop and have been experimenting .

There is a pad of paper that sits on the computer desk. I think its recycled. Its more difficult to cut than newsprint. I started stropping a knife on it. It made a big difference. I am now able to slice newsprint almost as good as some of the videos out there in computerland.:D
 
Last edited:
I read that thread from start to finish. Good thread. Then examined the paper I was using. There is a slight uneven glossiness to it. So then I stropped with a notebook binder cover and finished with the paper. This knife is much sharper than it was this morning. It was decent sharp then.
 
Dog of War said:
Clay coated paper also makes a terrific strop ... this is the heavy semi-glossy stuff used for printing things like phone book covers and many of the advertisements you get in the mail. See this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=537085
Click to expand...

That is a great thread, and now I know what Thom Brogan was talking about when I mentioned stropping my Spyderco Superhawk and he told me to use magazine. I like you results with 5.6" plus on the newsprint pushcutting (that is insane sharpness!), I don't know how you consistently keep the newsprint from folding over once you get past 5". I stopped using newsprint because once I started getting edges that would consistently pushcut above 5" from the point of hold the newsprint is just kind of floppy while it is sitting there let alone when you go to cut it. I used to use smaller squares until I got better (when I first started and 1" from the point of hold was amazing to me using the whole page didn't present problems like that, then I used some smaller squares) at sharpening, and now I just whittle hair because I feel like it is hard to get consistency with my results when the sharpness exceeds 5".

Sorry for the digression, but my knives with reverse curves will be getting some stropping on my old magazines, and I may even try some of my diamond spray when it arrives on the magazines so I can keep my Superhawk as sharp as my other knives.

Mike
 
Yeah, Zeasor really started something with that thread ... clay coated paper is pretty much the only "strop" I use anymore, it's really just an ultra-fine silicon carbide polish.

Push cutting newsprint >5" is kind of my definition of insanely sharp as well. With practice, and larger pieces of paper, I can test out beyond 6", which is freaky sharp. :) I still like newsprint better than hair whittling, which really doesn't lend itself to quantified results. With hair, you're just peeling away strands once you get it started, and as I think I saw you mention recently Mike, there's a level of sharpness where it actually becomes harder to whittle hair -- the edge simply wants to cut all the way through once it's started.

BTW I've even found that clay coated paper is effective on ZDP-189 and S110V. Can't say for sure what it's doing with those niobium carbides in the latter, but can't argue with the results.
 
dipbait said:
How much pressure do you guys apply when stropping?
Click to expand...
If you're stropping on leather charged with some kind of abrasive compound, you need to use very light pressure ... since the leather has some "give" it can easily round the edge and make it less sharp. The harder and smoother the leather, the more pressure you can get away with, but at most you really want no more than just the weight of the blade. With rough/soft leather, you use a very light touch.

With paper, however, you don't have to be so careful. Stropping on the back of a phone book, I'd estimate I use maybe 2 ounces pressure, give or take. As mentioned in that thread, one of the really great things about stropping on clay coated paper is it's very hard to "overstrop", which is to say, dull/round the edge like you can so easily do on leather if you're not careful.
 
Dog of War said:
Yeah, Zeasor really started something with that thread ... clay coated paper is pretty much the only "strop" I use anymore, it's really just an ultra-fine silicon carbide polish.

Push cutting newsprint >5" is kind of my definition of insanely sharp as well. With practice, and larger pieces of paper, I can test out beyond 6", which is freaky sharp. :) I still like newsprint better than hair whittling, which really doesn't lend itself to quantified results. With hair, you're just peeling away strands once you get it started, and as I think I saw you mention recently Mike, there's a level of sharpness where it actually becomes harder to whittle hair -- the edge simply wants to cut all the way through once it's started.

BTW I've even found that clay coated paper is effective on ZDP-189 and S110V. Can't say for sure what it's doing with those niobium carbides in the latter, but can't argue with the results.
Click to expand...

That is amazing that a simple magazine cover can strop ZDP and S110V, I will definately give it a try. Yeah, the hair whittling can be a pain when you just sever the hair off instead of whittling it off. You have to go with a super flat angle to the hair, and a lot of times that just leads to tiny pieces of hair that get whittled off and lay on the blade like dust. It takes a lot of effort to get those big huge long whittles I see so many pictures of. I think I just need more practice. My wife's hair is finer than mine, and my daughter's is super fine. Now when I want to check for really sharp edges I use my daughter's hair for whittling to check for sharpness. You know, I wonder if using a draw cut to whittle hair would help with getting those long curls, I alway just do a push cut to whittle hair.

Either way I have 3 more pages to read on that thread which is now bookmarked on my iPhone so I can see the benefits of stropping on my old magazines. I still have my 1, .5, and .25 micron diamond sprays and blank lapping film coming my way to try out for finishing my knives. That set up won't work on my Superhawk though, so the magazine will be my finishing grit after Spyderco UF on the Sharpmaker. I have had success with my sub micron PSA backed lapping films on the sharpmaker rods, but it would be interesting to see how the magazine compares to 3M lapping film.

Mike
 
I can whittle hair if I hold both ends semi tight. Is that the way you guys do it , or do you whittle hair that is just hanging? I saw on Youtube a guy just hold one end and cut it. My knives are not near that sharp.
 
dipbait said:
I can whittle hair if I hold both ends semi tight. Is that the way you guys do it , or do you whittle hair that is just hanging? I saw on Youtube a guy just hold one end and cut it. My knives are not near that sharp.
Click to expand...

I hold it at one end and just push cut with the knife to whittle it. The hair is free hanging, no tension is applied to it.

Mike
 
Hair has a direction that it grows in. Hold it from the "tip" and cut towards the "root".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top