Power Strop DIY

Infi-del

Infi-del

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Apr 6, 2009
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I don't have a bench grinder and always wanted to set one up with a rag wheel and some polishing compound to make a power strop. But this weekend I bought a 5" rag wheel and mandril bit for my 18 Volt Cordless Drill at Home Depot and I gotta say it works really well. Since the drill can turn at a slow crawl when you barely squeeze the trigger you can get pretty much whatever speed you need. It put a highly polished edge on the knives I tested and they came out razor freaking sharp. Already had the drill and strop compound so the total investment was 7 bucks for the wheel and adaptor. Not bad. Instead of spending several minutes stroping an edge I can get it done in about 20 seconds now. And IMHO the results were better. Also another benefit is that it's portable. Just figured I'd share in case anyone else wants to try this.
 
trying to hold the drill and a knife would seem hard to do. i would be afraid of the blade catching even at a slow rpm.
 
zip tie the trigger to the appropriate setting... I can't think of a way to hold the drill still though, maybe a couple C-clamps?

not a bad idea.
 
Skimo said:
zip tie the trigger to the appropriate setting... I can't think of a way to hold the drill still though, maybe a couple C-clamps?

not a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Craftsman (Sears) sells a "drill press" attachment to be used with hand-held drills. Has a very solid base & column, and uses basically a 'hose clamp' to secure the drill to the rig. The clamp is wrapped around the body (motor casing) of the drill. I don't think it'd be too difficult to turn the whole rig on it's side for this purpose.

Even if you didn't have this particular piece of gear, it should be easy to use a couple of hose clamps (4" diameter or so) and maybe a piece of 1" pipe/dowel or a short length of 1" x 2" lumber to secure into a bench vise or something like that. Just an idea...
 
Just hot glue the drill to the coffee table, kitchen counter, or wherever. When done you can use your wife/girlfriend's hairdryer to heat the glue and remove it ... assuming she hasn't moved out already, of course.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Craftsman (Sears) sells a "drill press" attachment to be used with hand-held drills. Has a very solid base & column, and uses basically a 'hose clamp' to secure the drill to the rig. The clamp is wrapped around the body (motor casing) of the drill. I don't think it'd be too difficult to turn the whole rig on it's side for this purpose.
Click to expand...

Just took a look at the box mine came in. I'd forgotten that it's a 'dual position' drill press stand (Craftsman model #925923) which actually can pivot 90 degrees to be used as a sander/buffer (even has a pic on the box with it set up as such, with a rag-type polishing wheel).
 
I've been using a power strop for some years now, all I've used to secure it is a large adjustable clamp (the one I have is from Irwin), the kind with a long bar that the locking jaw slides along with a gripper handle to tighten it...ie..

http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml?prodId=IrwinProd300003

Any surface with an inch or two of overhang will work fine, just pad it underneath the drill body with a paper towel or rag for some extra grip. I've had excellent luck with this with 3 different drills and any number of surfaces I've clamped to. Its ideal to have a drill that will lock in the ON position, though I've managed to learn to use it holding the knife with one hand and the drill trigger with the other (disclaimer...BE FRIGGIN CAREFUL doing it this way, sometimes a blade will grab funny).
 
You guys sure make sharpening difficult!
All you need are a couple of good stones, or sandpaper, or wheels, and maybe a piece of leather.
The Rube Goldberg approach to sharpening a knife makes no sense.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
The Rube Goldberg approach to sharpening a knife makes no sense.
Click to expand...

But it sure is a lot of fun turning knife sharpening into mouse trap. Right now I have my fiancees hair dryer running my belt sander with my bathroom faucet triggering an arm to grab the knife and bring it to it. :D
 
Bill DeShivs said:
You guys sure make sharpening difficult!
All you need are a couple of good stones, or sandpaper, or wheels, and maybe a piece of leather.
The Rube Goldberg approach to sharpening a knife makes no sense.
Click to expand...

I searched all over this forum for the best grinder, best methods, best sharpening kit, and in the end I have (2) dual sided DMT diamond stones and a 14" leather strop with some paste. I can sharpen any knife of any size and grind perfectly.
 
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