Leather Strop

[Quixoticgeek]

I am pondering making myself a little leather strop for honing the edge of the blades. I was basically going to laminate a piece of leather onto a piece of wood so it was flat when I want to strop.

The question I have is what leather to use. I have 1.6mm, 2.2mm and 3.6mm hides in stock, along with a bag of random misc off cuts of stuff. What type of leather makes the best strops?

Cheers

J

 

[johntarmac]

MCQ goes into different thicknesses of leather here...

[video=youtube;Of4cjwJ3YBQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of4cjwJ3YBQ[/video]

 

[Robson Valley]

I have been an intense wood carver for no more than 15-20 years. I buy and use the best of the best edges, a few each year is what I can afford.
While it is traditional, I no longer believe that leather is a good strop. The honing compounds such as CrOx/AlOx mix are suspended in some sort of a waxy carrier which will soften your strop over time. Maybe 10 years, but it happened to me. The result is that pressure stropping will round off your bevels to stupid angles like 40 degrees.

Instead, I use card stock the card of dry cereal boxes or file cards and so forth taped down to a hard smooth surface. Scribble with honing compound and go to it. The "Scary Sharp" deciples will claim that the card MUST be glued down = a bunch of hooey. IMHO.

For bushcraft purposes, I claim that I can scribble honing compound on any reasonably cylindrical stick for an edge that would make you happy.

 

[Robbi]

I have been an intense wood carver for no more than 15-20 years. I buy and use the best of the best edges, a few each year is what I can afford.
While it is traditional, I no longer believe that leather is a good strop. The honing compounds such as CrOx/AlOx mix are suspended in some sort of a waxy carrier which will soften your strop over time. Maybe 10 years, but it happened to me. The result is that pressure stropping will round off your bevels to stupid angles like 40 degrees.

Instead, I use card stock the card of dry cereal boxes or file cards and so forth taped down to a hard smooth surface. Scribble with honing compound and go to it. The "Scary Sharp" deciples will claim that the card MUST be glued down = a bunch of hooey. IMHO.

For bushcraft purposes, I claim that I can scribble honing compound on any reasonably cylindrical stick for an edge that would make you happy.

wish I was that good.

 

[Dave]

I've tried all sorts over the years. Any of your leather will work. Just choose a decent paste. And spray mount to a bit of ply. Or double sided carpet tape. I use a block of green stuff from ashley isles, because its what I have, and I achieve uber sharp edges with it. More common are the white and black pastes, both different grits.
The most entertaining sharpening videos Ive seen on youtube are from virtuovice. 'Hello Knife People!'
But hes a big bark river fan and normally does a convex edge. But you'll learn a lot from watching a few of his videos.

 

[MartiniDave]

Watch some of Paul Sellers' you-tube sharpening videos, you'll see he uses the rattiest bit of leather to strop and gets amazing results on chisels, plane irons etc. It works on knives too.
I've mainly use a bit of old leather school bag as a strop, but also use a horse hide strop that belonged to my grand father that just must be over 100 years old. Of course your mileage may vary!

 

[Tiley]

I liked the MCQ Bushcraft video about sharpening - a lot of sense spoken there. I also like the Lee Enfield oil pot that he used. Does anyone know where I might find one?

On the stropping front, I've found that a piece of flat, seasoned ash with a piece of thick, hard leather glued to it works pretty well, especially with the addition of a bit of Tormek paste.

 

[Mesquite]

I liked the MCQ Bushcraft video about sharpening - a lot of sense spoken there. I also like the Lee Enfield oil pot that he used. Does anyone know where I might find one?

There's quite a few listed on Ebay

 

[Tiley]

There's quite a few listed on Ebay

Many thanks for that - I've placed my order!

 

[NoName]

I am not such a fan of stropping.
Some really nice correct info Robson Valley wrote. Too big angles are not good.
Even virtuovice does convex on stones now a days. Just natural convex sharpening on stones. Very easy.
One can finish his bushcraft knives and axes with a Ardennes Coticule 8000. Nice one come alreaddy at 20 quit.
The only strop I use is one for my razor, because that needs to be extremely sharp. But not too much! I dont want it to round too much. Here I only use CroX powder from the Artists store. Very cheap too.

 

[NoName]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z878bK-Xfc

 

[Ferret75]

From what I have seen on videos so far many recommend a thin dense leather as it does not give in to pressure and cause to much rounding in the bevel, which is what I am currently trying with pretty good results. Probably explains why the cereal box cardboard works just as well for some. Sandy who makes the excellent Jacklore Knives, strops with leather stuck to a wood backing and then follows that with just a piece of heavy print newspaper on firm flat surface. He demonstrates on YouTube.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[grey-array]

Personally I would listen to the words of Robson Valley, as after about 3 to 4 years of sharpening knives and other cutting tools professionally I found the same to be true.
However I do still think that stropping with the more agressive compounds is still faster and more effective with a leather carrier.
therefor I have created some sort of crossover. I usually make my strops with a rigid base this can be anything from a relatively softish wood like pine( plus the back of a nice piece of pine or even better cedar, works great for the final stropping/honing gritts)
to multiplex, and I usually get a board at least 15 mm thick, up to 22mm to avoid it flexing to much.
I use a type of very thin chrome tanned Goat skin, as it is the type of leather I found compresses the least, and get it as thin as you can get, I have 0.8 to 1 mm usually.
I glue this with a spray adhesive to the board as it is easier to use with the leather stuck down and a thin spray adhesive because a contact adhesive will give yet another compressible layer which I tried to minimize as much as possible.
And that is how I make my strops, the final honing of straight razor blades or carving blades which are in the silly gritts of 0.25 microns or worse I use of a flat planed piece of either birch, or cedar although cedar tends to be a bit to soft for carving knives imo

Hope that helps
Yours sincerely

Ruud

 

[Robson Valley]

While I was taught the process of free-hand, it was something to be learned through practice, just like all the other "systems."
1. Decide on the needed bevel angle. I use more than 1/2 dozen. I have a simple mechanical device to measure bevel angles.
I read that digital devices are now less than $20 (10BPS).
My spoke shaves and draw knives are different each other from gouges and crooked knives yet again.
That makes for consistency, year after year.
2. Paint the bevel with black felt marker so that you can see, at a glance, what's happening.
3. Pull strokes only, not much pressure.
4. Standing up, hold your forearms against your sides. Elevate the blade (I have a set of cards of marked angles to follow.)
5. Straight down. Pull & stop. Straight up. Back to start and repeat 5X each side.
6. Test in the material to be cut. I don't carve hair or fingers so I use my carving woods of choice for judgement.