bikermutt07

I don't use it on my high dollar knives. Mostly out of fear of ruining them. But all my less expensive knives and tools ( I'm doing a full set of Wuta half round chisels right now) I start at 600 and go up from there to 1000. So, 600, 800, 1000, and then the leather strop belt. After I do this once, I rarely have to go to less than 800, with good steel. My every day pocket knife that gets used all the time is a Kizer made out of VG-10. I rarely have to do more than strop it every couple of weeks. Like 2-4 weeks. Every now and then I may use the 1000 grit on it. If I am reprofiling something I may go down to 200 and work up from there. Keep in mind I'm no expert. I was 41 before I even learned how to sharpen a knife. I'm only 45 now.

I'm following along.

I'm following along.

Well that is cheap enough to buy the whole thing and discard the nylon in a pinch. Thanks.

I guess I'm having a hard time seeing it in my head.... I may have some big pipe at work. I'll see if I can imagine it.

The reason I was asking was for if I wanted to produce aprons, vests, or tool pouches. I would need a smallish quantity. And every search has come up a dead end.

Thanks for the heads-up on the old stones. Fot the inside curve with a round knife?....... I think it would have to be a big diameter. One could maybe turn a spooned out spool shape on a lathe and glue leather to it and maybe mount said spool to a drill press or leave it in the lathe and have a power strop for their round knife......Hhhhhmmmmmmm???? I wonder? Maybe the best or most dangerous idea ever, who knows? We may have stumbled onto something, Ferg....

It's from Terry Knipshield. It is his curved detail knife. He is a Fantastic knife maker. He is extremely particular and extremely backed up for the last six years, but is also very reasonably priced. I currently own 3 of his knives and have two on order that I may see in June. He is a one man show and I always promise not to pester him. My patience has always paid off. I just used Barge's. I imagine plumbing cement would have worked as well.

I'm just a field carpenter, not a cabinet maker. I'm thinking I probably shouldn't venture into another hobby. I already have a leather habit, a shoe thing developing, minor woodworking, and I like hats. I don't think I need to add metal working into the mix. I imagine no more than I need I'll probably just Rob them from something else. I have a few laying around on items I don't use. The notebook was a freebie from a co-worker that never used it.

Thanks guys.

Ha, nope.

Each piece looks perfectly balanced with style, leather and color selection, along with the hardware and execution. It looks stylish with a dash of vintage. The fact that it is a matching set just adds more awesome. I love seeing pieces balanced like that. I haven't really achieved that in my work yet. Be very proud.

I cannot seem to figure out how to even search for these.... Every time I try I wind up finding tape measures or clips already on a product. I just want a source for the actual clip for the tape to hook onto in the picture.

I know one is kind of plain, but I thought the second one was a good idea. This one is made from a piece of PVC pipe.

@RockyAussie has a belt grinder version he built with an adjustable guide.

I would think a right angle grinder may be a better fit. I have had my Dremel bog down just using the tiny burnishing wheel, not to mention the aforementioned lateral pressure issue. But it is definitely an original idea.

Here are my two new real strops. This one I had the idea for awhile back and finally made it last night. I used a piece of 8oz Herman Oak belly split down to 5 oz with grain side up and scuffed it with a wire brush. The pipe is a 2in. PVC. I'm sure I could have went with a smaller diameter but this is what I had. Seems to work like a charm.

The edge came out nice in the picture. I like it. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations on being Great, Ferg.

You need to list price and location, right side up not required.

I broke down a few years ago and bought a Kalamazoo 1x42 belt grinder. It cost me about 300 dollars but it solved so so many problems. Now all my stuff gets a convex edge and maintaining them is easy with the leather stropping belt. I still don't use it on my high dollar leather knives though. I'm just worried I will mess them up. But, all my tools and pocket knives, and work knives go to the Kalamazoo. And yes, it is an investment for a hobbyist, but a good one to be sure. You will find yourself using it all the time for stuff. And it will outlast it's original purchaser. I found the learning curve to be short for me. I just ran thru all the cheap pocket and kitchen knives until I had the process down. Now I use it for wood chisels, strap cutters, all kinds of stuff.

My Knipshield's have yet to see a stone. I've had my french model for about 3 years now, and I only strop it. From what I can see with a magnifying glass is a proper sharp edge will not cast a glare. Meaning the absolute edge reflects 0 light. If you can see light glaring from the actual cutting edge it is too dull for leather work. I can't remember who taught me that. It may have been Mr. Knipshield. Most people, myself included, had no idea that when they got into leather they would have to learn how to sharpen. It never crossed my mind in the first couple of months. But, if you want your stuff to look as clean as other's work it takes sharp sharp sharp tools. Not just your knives either. Stitch Groovers, end punches, just about everything needs to be sharpened. Check out Al Stohlman's " Leather Tools". It is a fabulous reource. And just accept it upfront, any mass production tools you buy will require finishing on the user end to get them to the final levels of sharpness. This is an industry standard to keep prices reasonable. When you buy custom tools, they should usually come in the level of sharpness required. This is one of the differences between a 60 dollar knife and one that costs over 200. And keep everything behind the blade. It's a push knife so push it away from all of you. Good luck.

That sounds like really good advice to me.

No one has said it so I will..... That knife is ugly. The sheath, however is super awesome. Great job putting lipstick on that pig. (I didn't really want to be the mean guy, but...)

I'll take a guess. Wicket and Craig vegtan. I have some scrap I bought off a member here and it is a very pale shade of off whiteish looking stuff.