what did I do??

S

semad

Joined
May 1, 2006
Messages
5
I took my D2 RAT to the next level, stropping. But now it wont shave, it will push cut paper. I can hold the grip, two fingers and it will drop through a sheet of notebook paper without drawing the blade. It wouldn't do that before. So whats up? Shave, wont push. Push, wont shave.
Is it my technique or what?
 
For a while I was fanatical about getting my blades ultra-super-duper-ungodly sharp... then I got back to using them. Its better to get an edge on there thats easy to maintain.

Anyhow, to answer your question, maybe you are rounding the edge when your stropping. Try less pressure and/or less angle.
 
I have a hard time with D2. Others have said keep trying, so I have. I don;t strop my D2, I take it straight from the SHarpmaker's fine stones (corners only). I've found that, on my RAT D2, even though I reground the bevel to 17deg, I have to finish up with about a 22deg micro-bevel to get it sharp. Then...no stropping. I'm still having a hard time with it.

I can say, though, before stropping make sure your blade comes away from the stone very sharp. Otherwise, I don;t think the stropping is going to help any at all.
 
17 degrees with a 22 microbevel sounds very conservative, assuming your D2 has a good heat treat. Two more thoughts on stropping:
1) If it gets duller, you're rounding the edge. Shallow the angle.
2) If it stays the same, and you're getting edge contact, it's possible D2 is too hard for the natural silicates in the leather. Even a CrO charge can have a tough time. The tendency is to steepen the angle and you're back to 1).
 
Many thanks for all the advice. My weekend finally got here, so time to break out the stones and try again. Think I got it this time, knife came off the strop wicked sharp. I wish I could buy razors that sharp. Did the push cut on paper no problem. Followed all advice given (less pressure and less angle) now one more question. Where do I go from here?:D
 
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