A question of stropping??

[Siberianfury]

Does it realy make that much of a difference in making the edge sharper and last longer?

does it sharpen the knife and push the microserations closer together, or does it just remove the wire edge?

i use fine ceramics to sharpen my knives, ive never had any problem with wire edges, would stropping still help the edge?

ive heard alot of people never take their knives to the stone, just strop them back to razor.

id like to hear your thoughts on this

cheers

Josh

 

[sasquatch]

I don't know exactly what it does Josh, I've alway thought it got rid of the wire edge by aligning the hairs on the edge of the steel. When I do a knife I sharpen it on stones after filing then strop it to finish it. My knives won't see a stone again until something bad happens to them, I just strop them before I go out and they're sharp as...

 

[FerlasDave]

Stropping actually blunts the knife, (as far as Im aware) it should be done then ceramics used very lightly and finely to put a razor edge back on it. see Mr Mears video on knife sharpening.

 

[Andy2112]

It gets rid of the bur on the edge created when sharpened with stones. You get the same when run across the edge of a car window as well.

 

[sasquatch]

Stropping actually blunts the knife, (as far as Im aware) it should be done then ceramics used very lightly and finely to put a razor edge back on it. see Mr Mears video on knife sharpening.

Stropping seems to work well on my knives and straight edge razors! I've got a ceramic rod and tried honesteels and various things, I think it's one of those things down to personal preference...

 

[Asa Samuel]

I always find I get a better edge after stropping but it does take a long time (100-200+ strops on a plain leather belt)

 

[Dave Budd]

stropping does several things.

firstly it removes the burr, not just by moving it back and forth til it snaps off but also by gripping it and pulling it off (if using a soap based compound for example).

It also polishes the edge a little so is like using a finer grit abrasive than your final stone, turning the toothy edge left by hard abrasives into a wave-form left by the abrasive backed by a soft matrix (leather).

Finally it straightens a slightly rolled edge, so returning a blade to 'just sharpened' state without removing any fresh material.


that's all based on what I can see with a small microscope and according to a heavy book on tribology I read at Uni


most of the time I find a strop will bring a slightly dull edge back to good, probably 7 out of 10 times, unless I've been cutting something stupidly abrasive like a back of sand or have rolled the edge on something very hard like fencing wire

 

[Everything Mac]

stropping does several things.

firstly it removes the burr, not just by moving it back and forth til it snaps off but also by gripping it and pulling it off (if using a soap based compound for example).

It also polishes the edge a little so is like using a finer grit abrasive than your final stone, turning the toothy edge left by hard abrasives into a wave-form left by the abrasive backed by a soft matrix (leather).

Finally it straightens a slightly rolled edge, so returning a blade to 'just sharpened' state without removing any fresh material.


that's all based on what I can see with a small microscope and according to a heavy book on tribology I read at Uni


most of the time I find a strop will bring a slightly dull edge back to good, probably 7 out of 10 times, unless I've been cutting something stupidly abrasive like a back of sand or have rolled the edge on something very hard like fencing wire

What Dave said really.

 

[poddle]

Mac I had no problem with Dave's OP thanks

 

[Everything Mac]

well that's good then.

 

[Hitecrednek]

Stropping actually blunts the knife, (as far as Im aware) it should be done then ceramics used very lightly and finely to put a razor edge back on it. see Mr Mears video on knife sharpening.

Stropping with too much pressure will dull the edge; but then you really don't want to use a strop in the first place. Strops are for razors.

What you need is a hone. That is basicly a strop with a wooden backing. Add some abrasive compound and with practice you get an edge every bit as sharp as the mighty Mears gets in the video.

 

[poddle]

I have the Sharpmaker and mine will pass the paper test straight off the white ceramic. I have not found stropping to make it any sharper.


All I need to do is run the blade down the white ceramic and its hair popping.

Next question is..... !Do I need it any sharper? and if so, why?"

 

[8thsinner]

I think poddle, it depends on whether the compound used is finer than the ceramic it would make it sharper, but ceramics tend to be pretty low on the micron level,
so finding a finer compound, you would have to look specially for it I think.
In otherwords, if you have a ceramic with 25 microns or something stick to it. I have heard of ceramics going down to 1 micron too though.

Would you want any sharper, perhaps only if your doing heart surgery.

With a japanese slip stone of 1000 grit, I always use a strop just to clean up, I have a finer stone, but to be honest the strop brings it up just as good for me as the finer stone.

If your having to use 100+ strokes on a strop your doing something wrong or using a bad belt somehow, ten strokes each side should be plenty 20 at the most. Try different leather.

 

[poddle]

8thsinner
I agree, although I do regularly carry out heart surgery with my knife, ask the Roe that I shoot, it works well.

The paper test is enough for me, I really don't need it any sharper than that, and if I did, well I would probably use a specialist tool for the job like a scalpel or a chisel rather than a knife.

I think too much is read into blade sharpness, a good utility edge is all that is needed then honed up to "smooth"

 

[C_Claycomb]

The purpose of stroping, then using a fine ceramic, or the edge of a car window, whichever you find easiest to carry with you in the field, is to first remove the wire edge, then to introduce a few scratches back onto the edge to give it bite. An edge can be stropped to the point where it doesn't slice all that well any more.

Anyway, in answer to Josh's question, the easiest thing to do is to try stropping your knife and see if it makes a difference for you. I know people who were perfectly happy with the edge they got on a stone, near enough razor sharp, until they saw what stropping the same edge would do. For the cost of a tube of Autosol and a bit of suede glued to some MDF, or just a 1"x5" bit of leather layed on a flat surface it seems ludicrous not to just try it and find out for oneself.

 

[poddle]

What is the difference? I am not being pedantic, just trying to put my finger on the "actual difference" I have stropped, and never really found any advantage to having the knife that much sharper.

 

[sasquatch]

What is the difference? I am not being pedantic, just trying to put my finger on the "actual difference" I have stropped, and never really found any advantage to having the knife that much sharper.

I honestly think it's different strokes for different folks. Some swear by honesteels, some ceramic and some stropping. I've tried lots of things but personally the easiest thing for me is waterstones then stropping, job done. Might be partial to stropping from using cut throats for the last 15 years but it works for me.

Is it necessary? Probably not, but for the two minutes it takes after my final stone it's worth it to me. If I'm camping for a weekend I'll spend two minutes on the strop before I go out the door and I'm good to go until the next time. My knives rarely see a stone once I've got my bevels sorted so in the long run I prefer this method.

Go with whatever works for you, I'm not trying to convert anybody, just trying to explain why I like it!

 

[MSkiba]

I have a different view on this.

I got the mora 2000, as you can see its a difficult blade to sharpen as a noobie like myself (new to using jap stones).

My stones get it really sharp, but it does not shave hair. after a strop, it does shave hair. Thus proving stropping makes my blade sharper, but maybe because I dont sharpen well enough with the stones.

 

[Tadpole]

I use my EDC every day for chopping open heavy duty cardboard boxes, and cutting packing straps, slicing through thick wrapping plastic and shrink-wrap, I also use it for cutting up my lunch or opening letters. I use a board-back leather strap lightly coated in autosol. I sharpen it on stones maybe twice a year.
Stropping keeps the working edge sharper for longer and means less trips to the stone which also means the knife lasts longer.

 

[robin wood]

Sharpening is about the whole system not just one part of it. Stropping will do lots of different things some good and some bad depending on when and how you do it. For instance if you go from a 1000 grit stone to a strop then you will have a big wire edge to remove which will leave a very coarse sawtooth edge (great for cutting tomatoes). Following a sharpmaker with a strop is less likely to make a difference, you already have put a secondary bevel on with a fine abrasive chances are the stropping doesn't even touch the edge. Stropping on a wood backed strop or I prefer just on planed softwood or MDF with compound (eg autosol) has the same effect as using a very fine stone which is good to follow say a 6000 stone, this will significantly improve an edge for some purposes (woodcarving). Now I am finishing on 12000 and 16000 stones but these are expensive, autosol smeared on mdf does a similar job.