All about stropping

[B.J. Mantell]

Many times I have heard mention of "stropping" my swivel knife blade before carving to help keep a clean sharp cutting edge. I love my swivel knife and want to keep a good edge on it so I can do nice carvings with no drag; so could someone explain it to me. I have no doubt that it is something simple it just has never been explained to me how to do it.

[Tom Katzke]

Stropping is used to keep a blade in shape. Stropping does not sharpen a blade as much as it helps keep it sharp by polishing it. The ideal is to strop your swivel knife every time you pick it up. My favorite strop is a paint stick with very fine emery paper on one side and red rouge on the other.

Here is how I make them. First you need to get the stuff together. A paint stir stick from the hardware store and a sheet of very fine emery paper like 800 or 1000 grit. If you can not find it at your hardware store try an auto parts store. This is the paper that is black or very dark grey. Red rouge or white polishing compound. Some of the thin cardboard that comes in some packages or on the back of a spiral notebook. You can use a cereal or cracker box if that is all you have. Rubber cement is preferred but you can use any glue that will not be lumpy under the paper.

I think putting it together should be easy to figure out. Cut a piece of the emery paper and a piece of cardboard to fit the side of the stick you are using. Glue the emery on one side and the board to the other. You will see why the rubber cement is suggested as you use the strop, easy to peal off the paper and replace later. Apply the polishing compound to the cardboard. Red sticks better then the white. All you need is enough to color the board. It does not need to be thick.

A note about using cardboard or leather. I know leather is traditional for strops. The problem is very firm leather is needed to keep it from giving under the blade. That give will round the edge as you strop. The cardboard solves this as it is firm. It is hard enough to keep all the blades we use in leatherwork sharp. Best to use materials and techniques that will keep them sharp for as long as possible. Also the back of a business card can be used as a strop in a pinch

Now the tough part, using a strop. The emery paper only needs to be used on blades that are in tough shape but not quite bad enough to pull out a stone. The emery can also be used on a blade that has just been stoned to polish it before stropping. The important thing is to hold the blade so that it is at the same angle as it was sharpened. Hold it at that same angle as you drag it across the strop. The biggest problem people have is putting wrist action into stropping. Do not bend your wrist while pulling the blade across the strop. If you do you will round the blade and it will not cut well.

If you have any questions just ask,

Tom Katzke

Central Oregon

Many times I have heard mention of "stropping" my swivel knife blade before carving to help keep a clean sharp cutting edge. I love my swivel knife and want to keep a good edge on it so I can do nice carvings with no drag; so could someone explain it to me. I have no doubt that it is something simple it just has never been explained to me how to do it.

[B.J. Mantell]

Thanks. I was recently sent some ceramic blades from a friend and was afraid to use them until I understood the process.

[Gregory B. Moody]

"I know leather is traditional for strops. "--Tom

Yes it is and that was a big mistake allowing it to be that way... and I think I know how it happened...

Barber's used leather strops for their straight edged razors... so people assumed that was the way to get a sharp edge...

But the difference is that those old razors had a thin blade and almost no pressure could be applied at the edge being sharpened...

If the blade had been heavy enough to apply pressure they would have figured out that the leather gave under the edge and the rebound effect rounded over the edge...

If you don't believe me ( Dave ) there is an Al Stohlman book that says exactly that... Greg

[Regis]

Tom,

When you use cardboard, do you still apply oil and then rouge? Do you periodically apply more rouge or just pull it off and start over? I'm currently using hard leather strip and don't have problem "at this time" but, may be due to the fact that I don't appy pressure (about the weight of blade) and strop many many times. For cardboard,,,is filefolder or similar suitable? I think they are harder finish than business card.

Thanks,

Regis

Stropping is used to keep a blade in shape. Stropping does not sharpen a blade as much as it helps keep it sharp by polishing it. The ideal is to strop your swivel knife every time you pick it up. My favorite strop is a paint stick with very fine emery paper on one side and red rouge on the other.

Here is how I make them. First you need to get the stuff together. A paint stir stick from the hardware store and a sheet of very fine emery paper like 800 or 1000 grit. If you can not find it at your hardware store try an auto parts store. This is the paper that is black or very dark grey. Red rouge or white polishing compound. Some of the thin cardboard that comes in some packages or on the back of a spiral notebook. You can use a cereal or cracker box if that is all you have. Rubber cement is preferred but you can use any glue that will not be lumpy under the paper.

I think putting it together should be easy to figure out. Cut a piece of the emery paper and a piece of cardboard to fit the side of the stick you are using. Glue the emery on one side and the board to the other. You will see why the rubber cement is suggested as you use the strop, easy to peal off the paper and replace later. Apply the polishing compound to the cardboard. Red sticks better then the white. All you need is enough to color the board. It does not need to be thick.

A note about using cardboard or leather. I know leather is traditional for strops. The problem is very firm leather is needed to keep it from giving under the blade. That give will round the edge as you strop. The cardboard solves this as it is firm. It is hard enough to keep all the blades we use in leatherwork sharp. Best to use materials and techniques that will keep them sharp for as long as possible. Also the back of a business card can be used as a strop in a pinch

Now the tough part, using a strop. The emery paper only needs to be used on blades that are in tough shape but not quite bad enough to pull out a stone. The emery can also be used on a blade that has just been stoned to polish it before stropping. The important thing is to hold the blade so that it is at the same angle as it was sharpened. Hold it at that same angle as you drag it across the strop. The biggest problem people have is putting wrist action into stropping. Do not bend your wrist while pulling the blade across the strop. If you do you will round the blade and it will not cut well.

If you have any questions just ask,

Tom Katzke

Central Oregon

[BruceGibson]

You can actually use a plain business card for a strop. And no oil...just rouge. Lay it on your stamping block or marble to keep it flat and true, and strop from it. Keep your wrist straight through the entire stroke or you'll round-off the edge. Draw it to you, flip it, and draw it to you again. Use your thumb or forefinger to check the edge. Always keep scrap leather close by to "test" it. And in my case, reading glasses to SEE the dang thing!

When the card gets ragged, throw it a way and get another.

I just wish my response was as good as the other folks. Good stuff!

[Billsotx]

A business card will work, so will a piece of manilla folder, and illustration board is good; as for leather use a piece of sole bend. Where cardboard or leather, you're looking for something firm. Oil, rouge, automotive polishing compound and valve grinding compound all work for an impregnation. For a tune-up a piece of 2000 grit sandpaper work for me - it's in my burnishing kit anyway.

[Patrice]

I'm using a ceramic blade.

I bougth some jeweler rouge at my local tandy store, but i have a question about how to apply the jeweler.

Tandy only have white rouge, and each time i apply a layer, it goes lumpy and bumpy. It seem like i cannot to apply rouge evenly.

So, can someone tell me how to correctly apply rouge on cardboard paper? I would like to use a paint stick, so, i would me more easier to strop my ceramic blade and my other cutting tool.

[BruceGibson]

Hi, Patrice,

I'm not a stropping expert, but I know the rouge you're using from Tandy. I use it some myself. You're looking for a light coating, whether on leather, a business card, file folder, cardboard or poster board. It really doesn't take much, and you can use the Tandy rouge like a really fat crayon--just rub it back and forth. If you wind up with some "lumpy-bumpy's" I would suggest using a straightedge (metal ruler works well) to scrape down the strop and even-out the lumps & bumps. Don't be afraid to just scrape some off. Just remember, the rouge coating is very thin--if it's too lumpy, you might be using too much.

[Romey]

I thought i would add a couple tips here as i am a custom knife maker and cutting competition winner . All the advise here is correct more or less so ill add a couple tips some of you may want to try . With your stropping you may want to try using flitz or simicrome as quick compound. Flitz being courser then simichrome. So one could use both one then the other , as said sharpening is nothing more then polishing, 36grit to polishing compands , its all polishing. Johanna asked me to do a article on blades and sharpeing perhaps ill include from start to finish on a cutting competition knife. A indicator that im getting close to where i want my blade to be is cutting the lettering off a buisness card without cutting into the paper..

[Patrice]

Thank's Bruce and Romey. But forgive my ignorance, but, what is flitz or simicrome? It's the fiorst time i heard those products

I'll try to spread my rouge and eliminate the excess!

[BruceGibson]

My pleasure, Patrice.

Romey, put me on the list of folks that will look forward to you knife-making article!

[Billsotx]

Patrice,

Flitz is a polishing compound like Brazo except it's a paste rather than liquid. it's finer than fine valve grinding compound. As mentioned stopping is polishing and you can polish than porcelian blade. Flitz is handy stuff to have around ... now where did I put that tube of Flitz ... lol!

Looking forward to Romey's knife making tips!

'trice - Here's a Flitz link:

http://www.flitz-polish.com/?source=ov&cam...-1331-flitz-S-0

[whinewine]

Romey: I also look forward to your article on metal polishing (in particular) and knife making. Many thanks in advance.

Russ

[Romey]

Patrice,

Flitz is a polishing compound like Brazo except it's a paste rather than liquid. it's finer than fine valve grinding compound. As mentioned stopping is polishing and you can polish than porcelian blade. Flitz is handy stuff to have around ... now where did I put that tube of Flitz ... lol!

Looking forward to Romey's knife making tips!

'trice - Here's a Flitz link:

http://www.flitz-polish.com/?source=ov&cam...-1331-flitz-S-0

Funny you mention it, for somthing i use ALOT i have to keep several tubes around the place cause flitz tubes i am always misplacing! Frustrating when one is a hour from town and a person needs it NOW,lol

[Patrice]

Patrice,

Flitz is a polishing compound like Brazo except it's a paste rather than liquid. it's finer than fine valve grinding compound. As mentioned stopping is polishing and you can polish than porcelian blade. Flitz is handy stuff to have around ... now where did I put that tube of Flitz ... lol!

Looking forward to Romey's knife making tips!

'trice - Here's a Flitz link:

http://www.flitz-polish.com/?source=ov&cam...-1331-flitz-S-0

Wow Thank's a lot! But, a last question about flitz! Should i use marble polish or paste metal polish on my ceramic blade?

[Billsotx]

Paste metal polish is the only Flitz I've ever used. I've also used valve grinding compound and Flitz is mild compared to that. I "think" the porcelian blades are much harder than any metal blade that we use in a swivel knive, so metal polish should not hurt them. Rouge does seem to polish them, at least they cut better when stropped. That said we probably should try the marble polish and find out what it does on porcelian. If it doesn't work on porcelian we can polish all our marles. Believe me, my marbles can stand some polishing ... lol

[Romey]

I would say any polishing compound would work on anytype of blades, its not so much the type of compound but the grit of it. Its the grit thats doing the work, the paste is just a way of providing a carrier. I have used and still use everything from harley davidson chrome polish, wich works VERY well i might add as a exstremely high grit abrasive polish( it would be like 10,000grit area) to ground pumice in a oil or water paste which I use for certain japanese bladesmith techniques. The advantage of grinding your own pumice compound is you can take it to varying degrees of grittyness. I often use buffing compound as they come in color for each grit starting with black, brown ,green white and pink-no-scratch for a mirror polish.I come off the belt grinder with a edge at 6 or 800 grit so i dont use the black ,about 220 grit, the brown,about 400, or the green with is roughly 600 grit. Ill talk more about it in the article wich i have found time to write part one of and am ready to post.

Edited February 10, 2007 by Romey