Stropping; At My Wits End!!

[Barmaley]

Can somebody clarify the pressure thing: I suppose to use very light pressure to a very fine compound or to a bare smooth side leather strop then to cut stuff, sometimes pretty hard on a wood cutting board applying normal pressure? As I understand wood as all fiber has silica in it and should dull a knife immediately. How should I reconcile it?

 

[Eli Chaps]

Can somebody clarify the pressure thing: I suppose to use very light pressure to a very fine compound or to a bare smooth side leather strop then to cut stuff, sometimes pretty hard on a wood cutting board applying normal pressure? As I understand wood as all fiber has silica in it and should dull a knife immediately. How should I reconcile it?

I'm a little confused by the question but if you're asking about pressure when stropping, then go light. Until you get a feel for it, lighter is better. If you're asking about pressure when cutting, well you just use whatever pressure is necessary.

 

[spoonrobot]

Can somebody clarify the pressure thing: I suppose to use very light pressure to a very fine compound or to a bare smooth side leather strop then to cut stuff, sometimes pretty hard on a wood cutting board applying normal pressure? As I understand wood as all fiber has silica in it and should dull a knife immediately. How should I reconcile it?

Wood doesn't have that kind of silica content and cutting on a cutting board shouldn't dull your knife immediately. I cut on wood and poly cutting boards for a decade and it takes hundreds of cuts before the edge stops shaving and many, many more before it's dull enough to need a steel and/or sharpening.

 

[Eli Chaps]

Wood doesn't have that kind of silica content and cutting on a cutting board shouldn't dull your knife immediately. I cut on wood and poly cutting boards for a decade and it takes hundreds of cuts before the edge stops shaving and many, many more before it's dull enough to need a steel and/or sharpening.

Edge retention is a little more complicated than that and sighting numerical values can be misleading. "Cuts" can mean a lot of different things in terms of the knife, the edge, what is being cut, and so on.

 

[spoonrobot]

Edge retention is a little more complicated than that and sighting numerical values can be misleading. "Cuts" can mean a lot of different things in terms of the knife, the edge, what is being cut, and so on.

There is nothing misleading about my post, you did not understand his question. A knife should not dull in the short term while using a wood cutting board, so there is nothing to reconcile in that department for the poster asking the question. Edge retention, when one spends all day cutting, becomes remarkably clear. Those who haven't been employed in a field where the main task is cutting things often do not understand this.

The issue he appears to be having is that a knife can be "sharpened" or if done incorrectly, made duller, on bare leather strop with light pressure - but the same knife can be used to cut many different things on different surfaces and pressures without dulling immediately.

 

[Eli Chaps]

There is nothing misleading about my post, you did not understand his question. A knife should not dull in the short term while using a wood cutting board, so there is nothing to reconcile in that department for the poster asking the question. Edge retention, when one spends all day cutting, becomes remarkably clear. Those who haven't been employed in a field where the main task is cutting things often do not understand this.

The issue he appears to be having is that a knife can be "sharpened" or if done incorrectly, made duller, on bare leather strop with light pressure - but the same knife can be used to cut many different things on different surfaces and pressures without dulling immediately.

Pretty sure I said I wasn't clear on the question and still am not and nothing I said has changed.

 

[RadialBladeworks]

Everybody Else: "I strop my knife after using and it comes back to hair whittling sharp"
Me: "I strop my knife after using and it can't slice through butter" (a little exaggeration but you get the point)

So, I have 2 strops, one loaded with green compound, one double sided with both green and grey compound. Regardless of how I strop, the edge is duller afterwards. I've tried different angles, but always use just the weight of the blade on the strop.
What am I doing wrong?

Are you putting your own edge on these knives first? And what grit are the edges? A 220 belt edge won’t take a leather strop very well. If you put your own edge on with a stone and can achieve a consistent angle, either by way of freehand or a fixed angle jig, then you take the edge up to 1k JIS or higher, you will find your strop far more effective. If you like lower grit edges, I recommend hard strops. You should try painters tape on a piece of wood backing with some green compound on it. Just draw compound all over the tape like a crayon. Unorthodox, but I guarantee you’ll like the results.

In any case, however, take these hair whittling comments with a grain of a salt. The amount of people I’ve seen call a factory edge “scary sharp” is astounding. If they really are able to put their edge through a thousand feet of gritty cardboard then strop the blade three times and whittle hairs again, ask them to prove it

 

[skyhorse]

Can somebody clarify the pressure thing: I suppose to use very light pressure to a very fine compound or to a bare smooth side leather strop then to cut stuff, sometimes pretty hard on a wood cutting board applying normal pressure? As I understand wood as all fiber has silica in it and should dull a knife immediately. How should I reconcile it?

You want to just barely skim your blade across the strop at the correct angle. It's the abrasives on the strop that does the job more than pressure. You could try laying your blade flat on the strop and just barely skim the surface. Lift the spine just a little and try again. Keep repeating until you've reached the correct angle of the apex, it should feel slightly different and you'll hear a very faint hiss on your pass. I'm not the best person when it comes to conveying thoughts to words , so I hope you can understand. It's sorta like learning to ride a bike and you'll be hauling ass down the street in no time .

 

[mparker]

I struggle with free hand stropping also. I can get amazing results with the strop on my Lansky. As soon as I try touch up free hand it seems to roll the edge and I have to start all over with stones to get it back.

Ive noticed it is also dependent on compound too. Green seems to roll faster than black. SOMETIMES I can bring it back with black.

It has to be my technique.

On a few occasions Ive noticed that the edge seems to my polished to much and it skates across the paper when I test it. As if its not toothy enough to bite.

 

[HeavyHanded]

If you use paper wrapped around a coarse stone it is a lot less effected by pressure. While you shouldn't finish with heavy pressure you can apply literally pounds of force without rounding the edge.

My 14" Tram bolo has been maintained years using only this method.
Disclaimer: Higher carbide steels respond less well to all forms of stropping.

 

[000Robert]

I never strop a knife using my WE130 unless I'm mirror polishing a blade that I am not going to use. For knives that I use, I would just clamp it up in my WE130 and re-sharpen it at the finishing grit that I used previously. Then I give the blade a couple of edge-leading passes to remove any burr. Done.
I do strop small blades that I use for leatherworking that are freehand sharpened. But if stropping a blade dulls the edge, I would question the steel or the heat-treat of the steel first. IMHO