When to use a strop?

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Shawn7656

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Feb 15, 2012
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I sharpen knives using a diamond stone to get a decent edge, then a super-fine Soft Arkansas, and then a leather strop to finish things off. I was, however, wondering which type of knives will get the most benefit from a strop, and if I should strop every knife I sharpen.

I know the purpose of a strop is to remove the burs from the edge of the blade, thus making the blade smoother. However, I was wondering if this is something desirable on EVERY knife. Are there any downsides to using a strop? Should I strop all knives from my EDC to my kitchen knives?

Also, I've never used the linen weave side of my strop, is there a proper time/usage for this?
 
Whether you strop every knife you sharpen is up to you. Some steels don't have as many issues with burrs & wires (S30V comes to mind), so you might not notice as much benefit from stropping them on plain leather or linen. Other steels, however, can really respond well to careful stropping, and can largely be maintained that way, if you don't let the edge get too dull. Carbon steels like 1095 can really pop from stropping, in particular. A 1095 blade with a relatively thin, fine edge would be a very good candidate to try out on the linen side of your strop. 1095 also can respond nicely to very light stropping on denim (like your jeans).

IF you use compounds with a strop, then even steels which don't ordinarily have too many burrs/wires can be improved. More like very, very fine abrasive honing, as opposed to straightening/realigning an edge. Some of the hardcore sharpening nuts around here even use some pretty coarse compounds on strops, for maintaining coarse/toothy-edged blades.

How much any edge responds to stropping is largely dependant on how 'ready' it is for doing so. By that, I mean an edge that's already very refined and fully apexed from the hones, will likely respond even better to stropping. Stropping on leather, by itself, is a very low-abrasion activity. If an edge isn't very refined from the hones, there's a definite limit to how much stropping can improve it. If you can't see or feel any difference or improvement on a strop, chances are some more work is needed on the hones.

The only real downside to stropping is if it's done with poor technique, like inconsistent angle control or using too much pressure. Either of those will dull/round off the edge. If the edge is truly ready for stropping, you shouldn't need more than 10 - 20 passes on a strop (sometimes much less, like 3 - 5 passes), to see an obvious improvement in edge performance. When you do see quick results off a strop, that's the best indication that your work on the hones was done to full completion.
 
Thank you for all the info Sir. I should probably educate myself on stropping technique though haha. I tend to keep it at the same angle I sharpened it at, but I push sorta hard and go really fast. I didn't really think about how that could be a negative thing haha
 
Shawn7656 said:
Thank you for all the info Sir. I should probably educate myself on stropping technique though haha. I tend to keep it at the same angle I sharpened it at, but I push sorta hard and go really fast. I didn't really think about how that could be a negative thing haha
Click to expand...

Here's a link to a 'sticky' at the top of the Maint forum page. It's a good visual reference for understanding proper use of angle and pressure, on a strop. Maybe you've already seen it, but just in case:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750008-Stropping-angle-plus-pressure

Welcome to the forum! :)
 
Stropping should most always be done on knives after sharpening coming off a stone as this (if done correctly) takes it up a noch in sharpness and removes the burr. Plus, can be used to maintain the edge for a long time before needing to return to the stone. Thus, saving metal and ease of maintainence. Slow and careful with light pressure and tape on the spine is best and some slurry on one of the strops. It depends on how you desire to finish the edge. 20 passes on the canvas/linen then 10-20 on the rough leather side with slurry applied. This is usually enough. Should you want to take it finer then 20 more passes on plain leather. DM
 
OWE - I searched "strop" and didn't come up with much, I'm not sure how that sticky slipped by it! I think the search may need a bit of work on this site hahaha. Thanks for the link though, it helped a lot :)

David Martin - Why would one tape the spine? I feel I'm decent at sharpening but I don't know many tricks (learned a bit in boy scouts back in the day, but otherwise self-taught). Also, at the risk of sounding like a total noob, what is slurry?
 
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