To strop or not to strop

[knireguy]

Hello guys I've recently been doing alot of research on sharpening and so on and I have found information on stropping as well.
What I found out is that stropping helps to maintain your knife's edge by straightening the edge.

My question is if I should invest in a good strop or could I just improvise with something at home and would I still get good results if I did so?

 

[HeavyHanded]

You can simply wrap a few sheets of paper around your benchstone - apply compound and you're off. A piece of paperboard such as a cereal box will work too. You can also use an old leather belt. The harder the surface the more forgiving it will be.

 

[RossA]

I have seen guys use an old piece of denim, with a little compound on it.
I have always wondered if auto paint polishing compound would work.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I have seen guys use an old piece of denim, with a little compound on it.
I have always wondered if auto paint polishing compound would work.

I've tried both. The denim with compound like white rouge, Flitz/Simichrome & other aluminum oxide compounds, over a hard backing like wood, works very well. That's actually my favorite stropping method.

As for auto-polishing compound (or auto 'rubbing' compound as well), I haven't been as impressed with it for stropping. It's made to gently remove oxide from auto paint/finishes without doing too much damage to the paint itself. With that in mind, it's abrasives aren't very hard or aggressive (probably silica-based abrasives), so their effect on hardened steel will likely disappoint, from what I've seen. The abrasive isn't hard enough to cut steel cleanly, and it even seems at times to dull a fine edge, when I've experimented with it.

As for other auto-related polishing products, at least some can do better. Mother's Mag Aluminum Wheel Polish works very well on a strop of denim or similar material (canvas, linen, etc), for example.


David

 

[jc57]

I strop. Most of my strops are improvised. I bought a $3 stick of Porter-Cable green buffing compound at Lowe's. I've used it on an old leather belt, cardboard, paper. Does the trick for most of my knives.

I've got an actual balsa strop with some diamond spray but it's a new addition and I haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

 

[Bobby3326]

I've tried both. The denim with compound like white rouge, Flitz/Simichrome & other aluminum oxide compounds, over a hard backing like wood, works very well. That's actually my favorite stropping method.

As for auto-polishing compound (or auto 'rubbing' compound as well), I haven't been as impressed with it for stropping. It's made to gently remove oxide from auto paint/finishes without doing too much damage to the paint itself. With that in mind, it's abrasives aren't very hard or aggressive (probably silica-based abrasives), so their effect on hardened steel will likely disappoint, from what I've seen. The abrasive isn't hard enough to cut steel cleanly, and it even seems at times to dull a fine edge, when I've experimented with it.

As for other auto-related polishing products, at least some can do better. Mother's Mag Aluminum Wheel Polish works very well on a strop of denim or similar material (canvas, linen, etc), for example.


David

How well does flitz work as a strop compound?

 

[postoak]

Somebody once pointed out to me here that strops can be used two different ways.

1) Use plain leather to straighten an edge, i.e. "honing"

2) Leather loaded with buffing compound for really fine refining of an edge. Strops seem to be used for this more these days judging by the posts I see.

Your post seems to hint at meaning one, so no compound needed and a plain old leather belt would work, I would think.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

How well does flitz work as a strop compound?

Very well at least, and even excellently on harder strop materials like wood, for most popular cutlery steels; anything from 1095 up through VG-10 & D2, for example. The most wear-resistant steels, like S30V and others with heavy vanadium carbide content, will always do better with diamond/CBN compounds. But most anything else I've tried seems to respond pretty well to Flitz, especially when it's used on wood. The one possible downside with it is, it seems to need refreshing/recharging on the strop pretty often; it works well, but slows down with more use and heavy strop loading (of swarf). This is also somewhat true with other 'polishing paste' compounds like Simichrome (seems to last a bit longer) or Mother's Mag paste. I've found it most handy as a quick 'spur-of-the-moment' strop, when applied as needed to most any piece of smooth, flat wood you happen to have lying around. I've used it on some wooden 'craft sticks' (also known as tongue depressors) for make-as-needed strops on the fly.

For longer-lasting compound that keeps cutting & polishing even with heavy loading of swarf, the 'sticks' of buffing compound used for buffing wheels seems to last longer. Two good examples I've used are Ryobi's White Rouge, and Sears' #2 'Cleaning' compound intended for hard metals like stainless steels. These are my two favorite compounds when used on hard wood-backed denim. The strops get quickly loaded with swarf and look filthy, but they keep on cutting & polishing, and will erase stubborn burrs very easily.


David

 

[Bobby3326]

Very well at least, and even excellently on harder strop materials like wood, for most popular cutlery steels; anything from 1095 up through VG-10 & D2, for example. The most wear-resistant steels, like S30V and others with heavy vanadium carbide content, will always do better with diamond/CBN compounds. But most anything else I've tried seems to respond pretty well to Flitz, especially when it's used on wood. The one possible downside with it is, it seems to need refreshing/recharging on the strop pretty often; it works well, but slows down with more use and heavy strop loading (of swarf). This is also somewhat true with other 'polishing paste' compounds like Simichrome (seems to last a bit longer) or Mother's Mag paste. I've found it most handy as a quick 'spur-of-the-moment' strop, when applied as needed to most any piece of smooth, flat wood you happen to have lying around. I've used it on some wooden 'craft sticks' (also known as tongue depressors) for make-as-needed strops on the fly.

For longer-lasting compound that keeps cutting & polishing even with heavy loading of swarf, the 'sticks' of buffing compound used for buffing wheels seems to last longer. Two good examples I've used are Ryobi's White Rouge, and Sears' #2 'Cleaning' compound intended for hard metals like stainless steels. These are my two favorite compounds when used on hard wood-backed denim. The strops get quickly loaded with swarf and look filthy, but they keep on cutting & polishing, and will erase stubborn burrs very easily.


David

I was curious as I use the liquid flitz to clean my knives and remove stains sometimes, and it seems that if I wipe the edge with it, the edge is noticeably duller than before. I thought I was just imagining it but if it works to strop, then it makes sense it would dull it when rubbed along the edge.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I was curious as I use the liquid flitz to clean my knives and remove stains sometimes, and it seems that if I wipe the edge with it, the edge is noticeably duller than before. I thought I was just imagining it but if it works to strop, then it makes sense it would dull it when rubbed along the edge.

Wiping or cleaning the side of a blade with any abrasive hard enough to sharpen the edge, will also dull the edge when used as such (for cleaning the blade). I've also done that when using Scotch-Brite pads (plastic pad impregnated with aluminum oxide abrasive) to clean up or alter the scratch pattern/finish on blades. The pad wraps ever so slightly over the edge while doing so, and that's all it takes; it's instantly dull.

It's a very fine line marking the difference between sharpening or dulling an edge; it's only the direction the abrasive moves in relation to the apex of the edge, which determines if it'll sharpen it or dull it.

Abrasive moving adjacent to the apex and up/down the bevels = SHARP.
Abrasive moving along or across the apex itself = DULL.



David

 

[Bobby3326]

Wiping or cleaning the side of a blade with any abrasive hard enough to sharpen the edge, will also dull the edge when used as such (for cleaning the blade). I've also done that when using Scotch-Brite pads (plastic pad impregnated with aluminum oxide abrasive) to clean up or alter the scratch pattern/finish on blades. The pad wraps ever so slightly over the edge while doing so, and that's all it takes; it's instantly dull.

It's a very fine line marking the difference between sharpening or dulling an edge; it's only the direction the abrasive moves in relation to the apex of the edge, which determines if it'll sharpen it or dull it.

Abrasive moving adjacent to the apex and up/down the bevels = SHARP.
Abrasive moving along or across the apex itself = DULL.



David

Yup, I just never really stopped to think about long enough to consider flitz an abrasive. I just looked at it for its cleaning and protective properties.

 

[collim1]

Definitely worth doing. Maintains my knives significantly longer without removing metal in sharpening.

Step 1 order some green compound online. Cheap.
Step 2 go to the local hobby shop and buy some scrap leather. Even cheaper.

I strop a few swipes on the compound loaded leather and then 10 or so on plain leather. Once a week or after any heavy cutting and it keeps me sharp for a long time in between sharpenings.

I just lay mine out on the table or on a hard back book if I need some extr height. Eventually the leather will get loaded up and it's easy to just toss a well worn scrap piece and start over with a fresh one.

 

[knireguy]

Definitely worth doing. Maintains my knives significantly longer without removing metal in sharpening.

Step 1 order some green compound online. Cheap.
Step 2 go to the local hobby shop and buy some scrap leather. Even cheaper.

I strop a few swipes on the compound loaded leather and then 10 or so on plain leather. Once a week or after any heavy cutting and it keeps me sharp for a long time in between sharpenings.

I just lay mine out on the table or on a hard back book if I need some extr height. Eventually the leather will get loaded up and it's easy to just toss a well worn scrap piece and start over with a fresh one.

Thanks for the reply,
If I strop and the angle of my hand is of by a few degrees will this damage or dull my knife's edge?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for the reply,
If I strop and the angle of my hand is of by a few degrees will this damage or dull my knife's edge?

Short answer: Possibly dulls the edge, if not definitely doing so. Some depends on the stropping substrate used (softer is more likely to dull an edge), but technique still trumps most anything else (& technique also varies according to substrate used). If the angle is too far off (too high), it's very likely the edge will be dulled.

Take a look at the sticky linked below (it can also be found near the top of the Maint forum's page, with the other 'stickies'):

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750008-Stropping-angle-plus-pressure


David

 

[knireguy]

Short answer: Possibly dulls the edge, if not definitely doing so. Some depends on the stropping substrate used (softer is more likely to dull an edge), but technique still trumps most anything else (& technique also varies according to substrate used). If the angle is too far off (too high), it's very likely the edge will be dulled.

Take a look at the sticky linked below (it can also be found near the top of the Maint forum's page, with the other 'stickies'):

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750008-Stropping-angle-plus-pressure


David

Thanks for the info,what if I strop without a compound?
I'm not really looking to make my knife much sharper after I'm done with the stones,I just want to make sure the edge is aligned and therefore it will take longer until I have to sharpen my knife again(new to knife sharpening please correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[fsatsil]

You won't really cause any damage by stropping at the wrong angle but you can dull the edge if your angle is to high. You can strop without compound but if I was you I would make a few strops and experiment with both methods to see which you prefer.

 

[Bobby3326]

If your edge is some what polished before you begin stropping you'll be able to feel your angle. What I mean by that is when you're holding the correct angle it'll feel smooth and glide across the strop. If you're holding to low you'll feel the shoulders drag a lil and if you're holding to high you'll feel the edge scraping across the strop.

 

[bdmicarta]

I have a simple leather strop with some generic hardware store polishing compound. I do a few strokes with it after sharpening and it improves the sharpness. I sharpen with a DMT Aligner system. My strop is a small piece of balsa wood shaped like the DMT stones, with thin leather glued to one side. I put it in the holder just like one of the diamond stones and run it across the blade at the same angle as the stones.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for the info,what if I strop without a compound?
I'm not really looking to make my knife much sharper after I'm done with the stones,I just want to make sure the edge is aligned and therefore it will take longer until I have to sharpen my knife again(new to knife sharpening please correct me if I'm wrong).

You might have some limited success with that, but only if the edge is already pretty (or very) refined. Stropping on bare leather works only if the fine burrs on the edge are fine enough to be scrubbed off without abrasive compound; heavier burrs usually won't come off that easy. It might not 'align' an edge unless any misaligned burrs/wires are also very fine. For such stiffer burrs & wires, that's where stropping with an appropriate abrasive compound makes a big difference.

If your edge IS already that refined, then it can be stropped with some benefit on almost anything without compound, including leather, wood, paper or fabric (denim, canvas or linen work well).


David