Stropping

J

Joshua_Barney

Joined
Jan 7, 2015
Messages
46
I apologize if this is the wrong thread.

I'm looking to acquire a 3" paddle strop. I'm curious as to if I need a striping compound. And what you al might suggest. I'm finishing my knives on the ultra fine spyderco sharp maker rods and id like to refine and put the finishing touch on a strop.
 
No, you do not HAVE to use compound on a good strop. The leather alone will work.
 
EChoil said:
No, you do not HAVE to use compound on a good strop. The leather alone will work.
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A compound does making stropping on leather strops 1000x more effective imho.

Esee5_edge_00.JPG


After my waterstones I first use a (green)compound loaded strop and then finish with a bare leather strop.

Enzo-Edge_00.JPG
 
Black compound: black emery
Then green compound: chrome oxide
Then Flitz metal polish.

The compounds should be very cheap if you look around a bit. They aren't some special, space age, exotic stuff.
 
Save your money for knives, get an old belt and glue it to a board, makes a perfect strop. Lots more info in the Tinkering/Maintenance section.

 
Get some White Gold. It's formulated specifically for hand stropping.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
+1. IMHO, the best strop on the market.
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I love their advertising copy; "We make'em right here in the Knives Plus shop and test each one to be sure it works right!"

Reminds me of the advert I saw for one of the higher-end bottled waters; "No Trans-fat and Zero Calories!"
 
I've found stropping to be overrated except right after sharpening on stones. Even then, it can be accomplished with the cheapest substrate material and some decent compound. No need to go super fancy.
 
bodog said:
I've found stropping to be overrated except right after sharpening on stones. Even then, it can be accomplished with the cheapest substrate material and some decent compound. No need to go super fancy.
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Stroping is very finicky.

It works best with a crisp apex and quality compounds and light pressure.

Not all compounds are created equally.

I bought some regular hardware store green compound.

It cut very poorly but polished good with heavy pressure.

A few years later, I tried some Bark River White compound.

What a difference!

Now Im not saying to go ape and buy all the fancy diamond and CBN compounds.

But at least go with something that has some level of performance.
 
bodog said:
I've found stropping to be overrated except right after sharpening on stones. Even then, it can be accomplished with the cheapest substrate material and some decent compound. No need to go super fancy.
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'Cuz THAT is what stropping is for!

We knifeknuts decided we'd try something new and different, and following the lead of woodcarvers who do most of their daily touch-up sharpening on green compound painted ('painted' because they used ordinary green barn paint... [the green pigment is Chromium Oxide] ) on a paint stirring stick, took THAT to the next level and tried many different compounds on many different substrates. We discovered that we actually 'could' take a dull knife, and with the proper succession of different compounds, bring that dull edge back to sharp, and so "Voila!" we must have created a new and 'better' way to remove metal.

Better? No. Just different. Maybe more interesting than a succession of stones. Maybe not. Just different.

But after the fat lady sings (after the final extra-extra-extra fine stone, that is,) that's the original and still effective place for stropping. Chromium Oxide on a firm substrate, followed by bare high-quality horsehide. THAT is perfection.


Stitchawl
 
Magnaminous_G said:
+1. IMHO, the best strop on the market.
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Lol...do people actually collect strops and compare them? Can you elaborate why you consider the KnivesPlus strop the best? Is it the pre-treated leather? I have a couple of strops, a HandAmerican and a Pinewood Forge, and I see no difference apart from the compounds I use.
 
kamagong said:
Lol...do people actually collect strops and compare them? Can you elaborate why you consider the KnivesPlus strop the best? Is it the pre-treated leather? I have a couple of strops, a HandAmerican and a Pinewood Forge, and I see no difference apart from the compounds I use.
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I'm with you, although I do have dozens of strops that I've amassed over the years. So long as the leather is firm, none is better or worse than others.
At one time HandAmerican was selling a dozen different leathers, some of them embossed with a diamond pattern, some latigo, some rougher than others, and I bought 'em all. They all worked the same except for the latigo leather, which, due to its oil content, made keeping compound on it difficult.

Spending 30-45 minutes making one out of good quality vegetable tanned (so that it will take the 'casing' treatment to firm it up) leather produces a strop every bit as effective as any sold for use with compound.

Were it to be use bare... there we get into some interesting comparisons, as certain leathers contain higher natural silicate levels, smaller cell structures making the leather more dense, etc., but when using a stop with compounds, so long as the leather is firm and flat, all work well. If you purchase one, most of your money is going into the sanding and finishing of the wooden base, and the companies just slap on an unprocessed piece of leather, melt enough compound on to last a lifetime, and put it into a pretty box. There isn't a single knife-supply company that says that it cases its leather for the strops it sells. That means the resulting leather on the strop is not a firm as it should be, making it easier to roll an edge. You can prevent that by being careful when you strop... but you shouldn't have to.

Me? I don't need a finished wooden base, a pretty box, or four pounds of compound. I'll spend $5 on leather that I case and roll down to the density of wood, use scrap lumber, and crayon on just a wee bit of compound. Hmmm.... reading that makes me wonder why I don't just use the wood without the leather... that's what the wood carvers do!


Stitchawl
 
No reason at all to use leather if youre using compound unless you simply want to. Personally I think it's a waste of money when flat wood, denim, very flat, thin cardboard, linen, cotton sheets, printer paper, etc work very well, are much less expensive, easy to do yourself, and easier to maintain and/or replace when loaded up.
 
bodog said:
No reason at all to use leather if youre using compound unless you simply want to. Personally I think it's a waste of money when flat wood, denim, very flat, thin cardboard, linen, cotton sheets, printer paper, etc work very well, are much less expensive, easy to do yourself, and easier to maintain and/or replace when loaded up.
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Amen. As mentioned already, unless using a quality piece as a finale for a straight razor I cannot imagine needing to use leather. Paper has the added advantage of being used over a variety of backings to achieve varying levels of finish - its as easy to customize as it is to improvise, and just as easy to replace - no cleaning, no conditioning, and far more forgiving of pressure variation.

Edit to add: :thumbup: What Chris said ^ ;) (caught me while posting)
 
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