Stropping on cardboard?

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Oct 22, 2002
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I work in a warehouse and use my Spyderco Native 5 S35V often to cut a variety of materials - cardboard, plastic wrap, plastic
straps, rubber hoses. Occasionally I strop it on corrugated cardboard from a box. It seems to work well.
Anybody else use this? What are your thoughts?
 
Have worn holes in my jeans and fronts of sweat shirts from stropping. Just ironed a new jeans patch on some shorts and figure I’ve got a few more years with those shorts.
 
I've had success using all sorts of materials for quick touch up stropping. I'm not sure if the impromptu stropping resets the edge or simply cleans off accumulated junk. If it works there is nothing wrong with it.
 
I think it simply straightens out some curling/ burrs on the edge. Thus, giving you some more use. My leather boot top does the best.
But a strop a fixed to a hard backing with grit added does the best on shaping up a used edge. DM
 
If the goal is to strip away loose burr remnants or to realign a slightly rolled edge, almost anything can be used as an effective strop for that. Cardboard, paper, fabric (firmly backed), leather, wood, etc can work.

Depending on the steel being stropped, some 'dirty' cardboard with fine, sandy dust on it can even hone/sharpen a little bit. Can actually see how the sandy 'grit' scratches the steel. I see that with some of my knives in simpler steels like 1095, CV and 420HC, stropped on heavy cardboard with our gritty southwestern silica-based sandy dust on it (I live in NM). I've also noticed a similar effect stropping on bare MDF, for the same reason (it's dusty).
 
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Have worn holes in my jeans and fronts of sweat shirts from stropping. Just ironed a new jeans patch on some shorts and figure I’ve got a few more years with those shorts.

I've got several pair of old jeans with thin spots worn-thru on the thigh, just above the knee (usually the left leg). I'm certain it's from all the swipes I've given to my knife edges when I've used and/or sharpened them. It's automatic for me anymore, to strop the edge on my thigh after cutting something and before putting the knife back in my pocket. And the holes in my jeans are the evidence of that. :)
 
I like stropping on copy paper. I think it is the clay in the paper that makes it work well

Actually, copy paper is sprayed with a mist of alumina powder in a slurry form to prevent the ink/carbon from smearing. Same is true of photo quality paper. To prevent large rolls of paper from funneling on the roll, alumina is applied to it.
The alumina is chemically made from aluminum powder
 
Some papers have titanium dioxide as a whitening agent, and (presumably) many also have trace amounts of silica. Linen papers especially.

I don't think it has a lot of effect but who knows? Run a knife through 4 ft of cardboard quickly and it gets hot, maybe more friction than can be accounted for by paper pulp and clay agents. You'd have to burn a sample and suspend the ashes in water, maybe even centrifuge.

Cardboard tubing works well, paper wrapped around a brick or coarse stone works the best - it can actually burnish the surface of the steel if enough pressure is applied. I've kept low carbide stainless (Aus8) sharp for weeks using only a plain paper strop.
 
I've got several pair of old jeans with thin spots worn-thru on the thigh, just above the knee (usually the left leg). I'm certain it's from all the swipes I've given to my knife edges when I've used and/or sharpened them. It's automatic for me anymore, to strop the edge on my thigh after cutting something and before putting the knife back in my pocket. And the holes in my jeans are the evidence of that. :)

I've done this forever and have never given it any thought. I reckon I saw those around me doing it when I grew up and it was just sort of a natural knife use thing. Not long ago a coworker saw me do it and asked me if I was just cleaning off the blade. I said sorta and sorta stropping too. he was intrigued and has since made it part of his knife-use routine. he commented that he thinks it has helped his knife retain its edge longer. :)
 
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