Katz Moses sharpening video

Re: My go-to strop

Ellis.....that's interesting.....first I've heard of using a piece of hard maple this way......usually, it's leather or MDF or such......and you are happy with the green compound (which is what is mostly used) ?? Far less chance of rounding with hard maple I'd imagine......

Try it, you'll like it 

... and another thing

I'm a firm believer in getting the job done, with as little sharpening as necessary.  I only find stropping necessary when I'm shaving frog hairs off something important. Edges don't last long enough (for me) to bother stropping all the time. Back in the good old days, if I was planing or chopping all day, I was at the sharpening station about every ten to fifteen minutes, depending on what gnarly wood-du-jour I was dealing with. The sharpest edges were reserved for the final passes at micro shaving thicknesses.

In the words of our old R&D chief, "time to shoot the engineers and start production."

Ellis

Re: Katz Moses sharpening video

Roger, you don't over charge me; you give me kerf makers!

There are a few reasons for stropping

1. Stropping may be done to refresh the edge of a dulling blade (do this early on and do it frequently).

2. Stropping may be done to remove the wire, and is the last step in the process of sharpening.

3. Some, like Paul Sellers, convert the strop into a sharpening stone (as their preceding stones are quite low or coarse grits).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Oh, goodie! Sharpening on the sharpening forum .... er,

Yes, hand tools deserve the very best grinding, sharpening, honing, stroking, buffing.... and, shaving cream.

It's now easy to get new replacement blades for those sucked into the garbage as dust. And, for those "hard-as-diamond" steels diamonds are available.