Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Stupid strop questions
Frank D. in Montreal
>Hi everyone,
I'm finally getting around to using a strop to touch up my blades while I work. I have some leather but I was wondering which side is best to use: the smooth side or the fuzzy side? Does it matter if the leather is dyed? I also have some green Lee Valley honing compound that I use with a felt wheel on my grinder; would this compound be OK to use with my strop?
Thanks for any info,
Frank
Re: Stupid strop questions
Brent Smith
>Use the smooth side.The Lee Valley green compound is more than ok.As far as the leather being dyed,it shouldn't make a difference as long as it hasn't been treated in some way to soften it.You don't want the edges of your tools being rounded over as you hone them.
Re: Stupid strop questions
Brent Smith
>Hey Frank,
Just realized you're in Montreal too!
Re: Stupid strop questions
GolfSteve in Calgary
>For what it's worth, I use the rough side out, but don't know why I did it that way. It seems to work fine - with a full load of honing compound the strop surface is smooth anyway.
The green honing compound is great. You might have difficulty loading the compound onto the strop. I learned to first prep the strop by coating it with mineral oil. Once the mineral oil has soaked in, the honing compound will then evenly load into the leather.
If I recall correctly, Lee Valley also has this tip somewhere on their web-site.
ps. I use the strop for carving tools, but wouldn't use it for plane or chisel blades - I think it would be too easy to round over the edge or dub the backside.
Re: Stupid strop questions
Frank D. in Montreal
>So that makes 2 of us here! I'm near the Jean-Talon market. Thanks for the info BTW.
Frank
Re: Stupid strop questions
Frank D. in Montreal
>Thanks for the tip Steve, I'll try it with oil. I certainly wont strop the backs of my blades but I need a way to touch up an edge without leaving my shop. I use water stones and I know if I bring them into the shop I'll forget them eventually and they'll freeze in the winter. I've stopped counting the containers of glue I've lost that way. I've been meaning to try stropping plane and chisel blades and I've read so many people that touch up their blades that way (or even get a final edge) that I have to try it. I work mostly hard maple and my A2 plane blades last between half an hour and an hour's work, so it's a PITA to stop in the middle of something. It shouldn't be any harder than sharpening freehand, and it won't even cost me anything so I might as well give it a go.
Re: Stupid strop questions
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>A piece of MDF with Veritas green rouge rubbed in makes a great strop to maintain an edge while you work. I keep a 6" square piece alongside me all the time.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Re: Stupid strop questions
Frank D. in Montreal
>Thanks for the tip Derek! I was wondering whether my leather might be too soft. I'll try the MDF alone first...simpler is always better.
Re: maybe...
paul womack
>This guy claims (with facts and everything) that stropping doesn't always improve an edge. It rathers depends on how good the edge was before stropping.
Stropping tests under the microscope(literally)
BugBear
Re: Stupid strop questions
Brent Smith
>Hey Frank,
I'm over by Blue Bonnets(Hippodrome).The MDF idea is a good one.It'll prevent you from rounding over the edges till you get use to stropping your tools,but I find I get a keener edge on leather.
Brent
My observations
Adam Cherubini, NJ
>No such thing as a stupid question.
I use a piece of craft store suede glued onto an MDF scrap with 3m spray adhesive. I charged the suede with green compound (probably the same stuff LV sells). I strop both sides of all of my blades after sharpening.
I test my edges by slicing a piece of scrap printer paper. I first draw the blade across the paper�s edge to see if there are burrs. If I�ve done a decent job honing, this test will be significantly improved by stropping. Try it yourself and see. I want a nice smooth cut.
The next test is pushing the blade onto the paper�s edge. If it cleanly cuts the paper, the blade is sharp enough for me. (These aren�t carving tools I�m talking about)
I have tried stropping to improve a dull blade. I�ve not had much success with this. I think the benefits here are marginal. I have noticed that pine resin or something sometimes builds up on my plane irons. Stropping sometimes removes such build up and make the blade feel sharper to me. Not sure what�s really happening. I have also been soaking irons in kerosene to remove the same stuff and to help stave off rust. I habitually strop those irons before resetting them, but I don�t know what that does.
I�m only guessing, but I think the strop removes any wire edge or burrs, but it doesn�t really sharpen a dull edge. Maybe I have a light touch, but I don�t think the strop does much to reshape the edge, so I don�t think too much about dubbing. It may help create a smooth edge and may allow you to stop honing sooner.
Otherwise, I think dubbing is a good thing. I think its the old fashioned version of the micro-bevel and one of the benefits of honing by hand.
I think if you asked Leonard Lee, he'd say an elliptical cross section makes the strongest edge, and that's more or less what he was trying to achieve with his honong guide and micro bevel. (Of course it wouldn't be a true ellipse, but you get what I mean). I think this is what happens when an experienced hand sharpens.
One more thing: I was told that honing front to back (the way the LV honing guide works) makes a stronger edge. You can imagine why. It isn't quite as convenient honing by hand, btu that's what I've been doing (haven't noticed any difference though).
Adam
Re: Stupid strop questions
john jesseph
>I use hard maple charged with green crayon, I guess the MDF would be fine too though...
Re: maybe...
john jesseph
>i'm not sure why you would strop after sharpening to 0.5 micron grit??
Double tempered...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>Masonite works well also. Smooth and hard, works very well with the green compound.
Re: maybe...
Frank D. in Montreal
>I sharpen to 8000 but the stropping is just for refreshing an edge.
Re: My observations
Frank D. in Montreal
>Thanks for your thoughts Adam, I'll give it a go this evening and see if there's any improvement to the edge. It should be quite easy to see with hard maple; the gradual change in the blade's performance is quite evident (gradually harder to push until it just glides over the wood without taking shavings).
Frank