Stropping a knife by hand, literally.
- Thread starter Houlahound
- Start date
OK, guys... let's understand why stropping on a bare leather strop or a barber's strop works.
It's NOT the leather doing the work. It's the natural 'silicates' IN the leather that act as an abrasive, a very, very fine abrasive putting a finishing touch on an edge. Some leathers have MORE natural silicates than others. Horsehide leather has more natural silicates than any other leather (other than Kangaroo,) which is why it has been used as the best bare leather barber strops for hundreds of years. Cowhide is just a bit lower in silicate count than horsehide, so we use that too, and often add compound (adding yet more abrasives) to improve the cut.
Any animal that eats plants will have natural silicates in its skin... (are you seeing where I'm going with this?) The more plants it eats, the more silicates in its skin. In theory, a Vegan's skin is going to have more natural silicates than someone who lives on Big Macs and fries, with the occasional coleslaw or pickles...
... and THIS is why you can certainly strop on the palm of your hand too. Humans have natural silicates in their skin. Not nearly as high a count as horsehide or cowhide, but enough to get the job done. Naturally a flat firm horsehide strop will do a better job, but out on the job, your palm works pretty nicely so long as the blade is sharp. You can NOT sharpen on your palm, but you can certainly strop.
Stitchawl
It's NOT the leather doing the work. It's the natural 'silicates' IN the leather that act as an abrasive, a very, very fine abrasive putting a finishing touch on an edge. Some leathers have MORE natural silicates than others. Horsehide leather has more natural silicates than any other leather (other than Kangaroo,) which is why it has been used as the best bare leather barber strops for hundreds of years. Cowhide is just a bit lower in silicate count than horsehide, so we use that too, and often add compound (adding yet more abrasives) to improve the cut.
Any animal that eats plants will have natural silicates in its skin... (are you seeing where I'm going with this?) The more plants it eats, the more silicates in its skin. In theory, a Vegan's skin is going to have more natural silicates than someone who lives on Big Macs and fries, with the occasional coleslaw or pickles...
... and THIS is why you can certainly strop on the palm of your hand too. Humans have natural silicates in their skin. Not nearly as high a count as horsehide or cowhide, but enough to get the job done. Naturally a flat firm horsehide strop will do a better job, but out on the job, your palm works pretty nicely so long as the blade is sharp. You can NOT sharpen on your palm, but you can certainly strop.
Stitchawl
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Moral of the story if your lost in the woods keep a vegan handy to strop your blades
000Robert
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LOL! I would use my denim pants leg if I had nothing else. I don't think that I know any vegans. My family are like the Foster beer commercial - put a dab of parsley on top of a hot thick sizzling steak and call it, salad!