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Variant Questions
- Thread starter Copis
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2000
- Messages
- 3,021
I'm not sure if all the recurve variants have a convex edge (zero edge). Some may be assymetrical. I would say that to strop a recurve edge, it would be just like stropping a straight edge.
Andrew,
How can you strop a recurve blade? You can strop the blade from the "belly" to the tip. But how are you going to strop from the "belly" to the choil? I believe that the same holds true for the asymetrical configuration.
There are 2 kinds of leather strops. The first is a piece of leather mounted on a wood frame. The second is an unmounted piece leather. Both are supposed to be "loaded" with an abrassive compound.
I guess you can hold the unmounted piece of leather over a table corner or a book. That way the strop meets the edge on one point so it can work its way up and down the "valleys" and "peaks" of the recurve.
I hope I am making myself clear...
Any other ideas or sugestions?
Bill
How can you strop a recurve blade? You can strop the blade from the "belly" to the tip. But how are you going to strop from the "belly" to the choil? I believe that the same holds true for the asymetrical configuration.
There are 2 kinds of leather strops. The first is a piece of leather mounted on a wood frame. The second is an unmounted piece leather. Both are supposed to be "loaded" with an abrassive compound.
I guess you can hold the unmounted piece of leather over a table corner or a book. That way the strop meets the edge on one point so it can work its way up and down the "valleys" and "peaks" of the recurve.
I hope I am making myself clear...
Any other ideas or sugestions?
Bill
Jerry Busse
Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 11,991
Yeah, that holding the blade backwards can really cause some problems.
Actually if you use a "suspended" strop (meaning not backed up with anything) of 1.5" wide or less. . . it will do a great job.
Nuke On!
Actually if you use a "suspended" strop (meaning not backed up with anything) of 1.5" wide or less. . . it will do a great job.
Nuke On!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2002
- Messages
- 19,806
mines not long enough to get close to my mouth.
RokJok
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2000
- Messages
- 4,198
Hi Copis,
You can also take the piece of leather and glue it (or nail it, or clamp it if it's wide enough, for more temporary attachment) around a large wooden dowel, charge the leather with compound and strop away. As long as the radius of the dowel+leather is smaller than the radius of the recurve, it will allow you to reach all points of the recurve.
Home centers and lumber yards have wooden closet rod (1-3/8" diameter IIRC) that should generally work well for Busse-size blades. If you're lucky, you can find someone remodeling a closet & get for free enough wooden rod to make several strops, which could be charged with compound of varying grits. BTW, you can also clip or clamp sandpaper around a dowel to "grind" if you need to remove more metal in a hurry from a recurve, or even a straight edge too I guess.
(Thanks & credit due to Lee Valley & forumite Shmackey for that last tip. LV recommends it for sharpening the inside curve of wood turning gouges. Schmackey clips sandpaper around Sharpmaker rods for coarser grit than the standard ceramic rods provide, while still getting the constancy of angle offered by the Sharpmaker. Lee Valley is a good source for sharpening sandpaper in very fine grits and their excellent chromium oxide Honing Compound for stropping. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=43072&category=1&SID=&ccurrency=2 )
If you don't have a piece of leather, you can also charge the surface of the wooden rod itself (or other piece of wood) with compound and it will still strop an edge. All you really need is a surface that will hold the honing compound. Some barber strops are canvas on one side and leather on the other side. Even denim like in jeans will work since it's just lightweight canvas.
The amount of honing compound Lee Valley sells for under $7 should last a very long time, maybe even a lifetime supply. If you are as cheap as I am (gotta save the $$ for INFI
), buy old wide belts at Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other second-hand stores to get leather for strops.
Hope That Helps,
- Greg -
(edited to add) Here's a thread with info from Joe Talmadge on recurves & sharpening them.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90315
Here is Shmackey's original thread about Sharpmaker modification:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159855
Unfortunately, the pix no longer load for me in that thread. Basically, his system is a strip of sandpaper whose width is about an inch more than the circumfirence of the Sharpmaker rods. The paper is held around the rods with small binder clips pinching the extra sandpaper behind the rods with the clips.
You can also take the piece of leather and glue it (or nail it, or clamp it if it's wide enough, for more temporary attachment) around a large wooden dowel, charge the leather with compound and strop away. As long as the radius of the dowel+leather is smaller than the radius of the recurve, it will allow you to reach all points of the recurve.
Home centers and lumber yards have wooden closet rod (1-3/8" diameter IIRC) that should generally work well for Busse-size blades. If you're lucky, you can find someone remodeling a closet & get for free enough wooden rod to make several strops, which could be charged with compound of varying grits. BTW, you can also clip or clamp sandpaper around a dowel to "grind" if you need to remove more metal in a hurry from a recurve, or even a straight edge too I guess.
(Thanks & credit due to Lee Valley & forumite Shmackey for that last tip. LV recommends it for sharpening the inside curve of wood turning gouges. Schmackey clips sandpaper around Sharpmaker rods for coarser grit than the standard ceramic rods provide, while still getting the constancy of angle offered by the Sharpmaker. Lee Valley is a good source for sharpening sandpaper in very fine grits and their excellent chromium oxide Honing Compound for stropping. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=43072&category=1&SID=&ccurrency=2 )
If you don't have a piece of leather, you can also charge the surface of the wooden rod itself (or other piece of wood) with compound and it will still strop an edge. All you really need is a surface that will hold the honing compound. Some barber strops are canvas on one side and leather on the other side. Even denim like in jeans will work since it's just lightweight canvas.
The amount of honing compound Lee Valley sells for under $7 should last a very long time, maybe even a lifetime supply. If you are as cheap as I am (gotta save the $$ for INFI
), buy old wide belts at Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other second-hand stores to get leather for strops.Hope That Helps,
- Greg -
(edited to add) Here's a thread with info from Joe Talmadge on recurves & sharpening them.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90315
Here is Shmackey's original thread about Sharpmaker modification:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159855
Unfortunately, the pix no longer load for me in that thread. Basically, his system is a strip of sandpaper whose width is about an inch more than the circumfirence of the Sharpmaker rods. The paper is held around the rods with small binder clips pinching the extra sandpaper behind the rods with the clips.