strop worth getting

[C. Auguste dupin]

Been trying to decide on if its worth getting a strop for sharpening or just stick with stones .

 

[campns]

IMHO the lansky sharpener with the blue saphire stone is far and above the best last step. a strop is good but few know how to actually use it.

 

[ohen cepel]

A strop is worth it and I use it on things that I want that extra level of sharpness on. Just don't pay a ton for them, look around and you can get them for a reasonable enough price that if you don't like it you're not out much.

I load my leather ones with a bit of polishing compound to speed things along.

 

[C. Auguste dupin]

thanks for the info. if there's a special technique for a strop I might hold off for while .

 

[RaVis]

thanks for the info. if there's a special technique for a strop I might hold off for while .

How are you going to learn the technique if you don't have the strop?

With no pressure on the blade, glide the knife against the strop forward with the edge facing you from tip to heel. A jeweler's rouge or metal polishing paste is applied to the leather. The strop is the final step in removing burrs and polishing the edge. And, usually, the strop is the only thing you'd need for a convex edge if you don't abuse the edge.

Go to bladeforums.com and look at the exchange section - there are usually hand made strops available at very fair prices. My strops are pieces of shoe sole leather I got from a shoe repairman (cobbler).

Plenty of reviews around of the strop available from knivesshipfree.com and they also have an instruction video.

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/product_info.php?cPath=637_638&products_id=1759

Good luck.

 

[C. Auguste dupin]

I'll have to check that site out thanks

 

[demmo]

I just started usiing a strop on my knives in the past few months and I can say yes they are definitly worth it.

 

[smokey]

depends on how picky you are with edges. For me and my uses for my knives, I have an old leather belt that's been retired from wearing and dedicated to be a strop. I got a can of mothers mag wheel polish a long time ago and it's all I've needed to finish off the edges to a level of sharp that I'm very comfortable with.

 

[gunrunner]

They are a necessity in my sharpening system. I use convex edges on almost all my knives. That being said, I've made all my strops myself. It's not hard at all if you have simple carpentry skills and tools. As far as technique goes. There is a way you feel for proper edge contact on a strop. But you have to "feel" for it, the slight friction dragging feeling and proper sound on the leather. I suggest you watch virtuovice on youtube. He has many, many stropping videos. Great resource.

 

[dist1646]

Check local hospitals. They throw their old strops away but they are usually still in pretty good condition.

 

[alucard0822]

There are a couple systems people use to sharpen knives, some benefit greatly from a particular stropping technique, some don't benefit much, and some steels tend to fold over instead of micro-chipping and wearing down, and they can benefit greatly from stropping. With most jig sharpeners like Lansky or edge pro, you can sharpen down to a really fine stone, and if you are sharpening aggainst the edge, and using a 2 or 3 angle relief edge, stropping doesn't do much. If you are sharpening away from the edge to draw a burr, on a wheel or belt sharpener, then stropping is practically a requirement. Stropping doesn't really "sharpen" a blade, it thins and straightens the microscopic burr that extends from the edge, with some polish it can also polish the edge to help it glide through a cut better. You can also strop a sharp knife where the edge flap rolled over, elmax, and VG-10 do this long before they actually "dull", a few strokes and it is back to a razor without taking off metal.

If you strop incorrectly you can easily mess up a good edge, you want light pressure with long smooth strokes drawing away from the edge at an angle that just barely contacts the edge, rubbing compound can help you here to see if you are holding it at the right angle. As far as what to use as a strop, barbers use Russian boar leather, it's the best. You can use most any tough material like leather, cardboard, wood, or rubber. I sharpen with a beltsander, and strop with a leather belt, smooth side with green compound to strop and polish, then the plain rough side to clean and buff the edge, my blades will literally whittle hair, and can usually be brought back to perfection anywhere from 2 to 5 times by stropping for 30 seconds instead of sharpening.

 

[dentman217]

Old Leather belt and rouge works great

 

[shooting again]

This is an interesting string, and makes me wonder if I'm the only one reading it who remembers the joys of a barber shop shave with a real straight razor that the barber strops just before putting the razor on your face. And yes, I have both and know how to use them, supported by a real shaving brush and mug soap. (I also have a multi-bladed safety razor that I use daily because it's a lot more comfortable.)

 

[NickZac]

Even the EdgePro, arguably the finest sharpener by a landslide, doesn't replace stropping. This edge alignment is a crucial role not as much for getting a scary sharp edge, but for keeping it once it begins to change upon being used. Here you align the edges, remove unwanted burrs/false burrs, and can reduce both rolling and chipping. It can also help prevent over-sharpening. That is, the unnecessary thickening the edge, which reduces cutting ability and ultimately complicates further sharpening which reduces the lifetime of the blade. Users not happy with the end results of sharping rods may find the usage of a strop with a compound to give it the edge that goes from sharp to scary sharp.

All my stops were bought from people on knife forums who make them as a side business to finance their knife collecting. You can get a nice set of two for 30-60 depending on the materials used.

I have two I use. A shorter one to work a compound such as http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?...campaign=PLA&gclid=CKWd0caA4rYCFYYw4AodGEQAFg

and a longer one with no compound for the finish. Technically the first is not stropping because it is using an abrasive. It is technically sharpening using a strop. Think of this as the Ultra Ultra fine rod equivalent that comes after the finest rod/stone on your sharpening set. But also keep in mind you are still performing additional functions you cannot with a stone, and the amount of metal you are removing is far, far less. But the final with no compound is where the true finish takes place. It takes some skill to get but isn't hard. You can strop many knives on your jeans, although an actual strop is quicker, more effective, and safer.

Once you get good at it, if you don't mind doing it periodically, you can reduce the frequency in sharpening your knife by a lot. Ideally, you don't want to let knives go dull because the process of resetting the edge means not just more effort but the removal of more steel than if you were to maintain the razor edge. Also, a dull knife is like a dumb friend. After usage, a few strops stops the beginning of edge deformation and resets the aligned razor edge. On steels that roll, this is critical. High speed steels and some exotic steels with hardness levels above 62-ish will not respond as well to stropping without a compound than stainless and lower hardness carbon steels will and a compound really becomes a necessity where as with steels that aren't quite as hard, it is not as much so. There are other options for the edge finishing for these supersteels.

n terms of practical blade steels, a stainless cutlery steel like CPM-S30V needs only a few strokes after usage to reset the edge, and this is a crucial component of preventing chipping on S30V knives that have been hardened beyond the intended design for a prolonged edge at the expense of being more prone to chipping. CPM-S35VN responds to stropping even better as it has greatly improved upon ease of sharpening and maintaining over the older S30V.

Ultimately, I don't think you can replace a strop because what it does is completely different from sharpening. Sharpening is more 'creating' the edge where as stopping is more of 'refining' it.

 

[C. Auguste dupin]

Thanks for all the information its been very informative . On a bit of a tangent what's the best way to clean up a blade which has spots of rust on it and won't hurt a stag handle .

 

[ohen cepel]

If the rust isn't bad Flitz or a similar polish may do it.

 

[RaVis]

Thanks for all the information its been very informative . On a bit of a tangent what's the best way to clean up a blade which has spots of rust on it and won't hurt a stag handle .

Simichrome
http://www.simichrome-polish.com/

Flitz (as previously mentioned).

Or, Reinassance wax
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/857663/renaissance-wax-rust-preventative-and-gun-stock-polish-7-oz

Use masking tape to protect the stag. You can use mineral oil to naturally recondition the stag handle, although it will get a tad darker.

 

[gunrunner]

Baking soda and water to make a paste. Then use an old tooth brush to scrub it. Should come off if its light.

 

[NickZac]

Thanks for all the information its been very informative . On a bit of a tangent what's the best way to clean up a blade which has spots of rust on it and won't hurt a stag handle .

Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner removes rust but doesn't harm other materials. You literally put it on and give it time to eat off the oxidation. Nev'r Dull wading cloth works well. As noted, for a paste, Flitz is good as is Metal Glo. Cape Cods are a little less abrasive than the pastes but polish in a similar fashion. Whatever you though, once the rust is removed, be sure to use a product designed to protect, which is often different from ones made to lubricate. I use TuffGlide on metals prone to rusting as I am yet to personally find anything better.

Regardless of what you do, using a heavy weight tape to tape off the handles when working the blade is always a good idea as it prevents scratches and chemical baths.

 

[RaVis]

Baking soda and water to make a paste. Then use an old tooth brush to scrub it. Should come off if its light.

If it's not light, 3M has metal polishing pads available. Think scotch-brite pads in different colors defining the grit. You can go from rough to very fine which will produce a semi-satin finish on the blade.