# stropping on a 10K stone



## chiffonodd (Feb 20, 2015)

Just picked up a 10K splash and go - any reason not to strop on this stone for quick touch ups? I don't have a leather strop but I'm assuming that 10K is fine enough for a few light strokes to realign the edge. Thoughts?


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## Adrian (Feb 20, 2015)

I use a 10k Naniwa pro for this purpose on carbons and it is absolutely fine. I do tend to strop on leather afterwards but really this is not essential.


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## Benuser (Feb 20, 2015)

I use a 8k for maintaining my carbons, by very light stropping, indeed. If I can't have them OK with a few strokes I take a coarser stone.


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## chiffonodd (Feb 20, 2015)

Do you use a compound on the leather? Let's see the 10k stone is equivalent to a one micron compound is that right? So I'd need something finer than that on the strop after? 

because obviously I need to buy more stuff . . .


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## XooMG (Feb 20, 2015)

I have 14k-ish polycrystalline diamond paste on some stiff polystyrene and balsa that does well. Don't need it much, but it's kind of fun.

Big difference between a stone and a balsa/felt/foam/leather strop though because of the hardness of the substrate.


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## chiffonodd (Feb 20, 2015)

XooMG said:


> I have 14k-ish polycrystalline diamond paste on some stiff polystyrene and balsa that does well. Don't need it much, but it's kind of fun.
> 
> Big difference between a stone and a balsa/felt/foam/leather strop though because of the hardness of the substrate.



Yeah I'm thinking of stropping on the 10k stone as basically a substitute for a ceramic honing rod - just find it too difficult to maintain consistent angle/contact on a "steel"


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## Keith Sinclair (Feb 20, 2015)

chiffonodd said:


> Yeah I'm thinking of stropping on the 10k stone as basically a substitute for a ceramic honing rod - just find it too difficult to maintain consistent angle/contact on a "steel"



Good idea the polishing stone will not remove much steel and refresh your edge between major sharpening. Murry Carter has a good stropping technique on polishing stone.


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## psfred (Feb 21, 2015)

Stropping on a fine stone is much better than using a ceramic rod -- almost no chance you will use too much pressure and cause chipping as well as being vastly easier to maintain the correct angle.

It won't raise the dead, but it should restore as much of the edge as is possible.

Peter


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## chiffonodd (Feb 21, 2015)

keithsaltydog said:


> Good idea the polishing stone will not remove much steel and refresh your edge between major sharpening. Murry Carter has a good stropping technique on polishing stone.



Thanks is that technique on a video somewhere around here? Still finding my way around the forum...


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## Ruso (Feb 21, 2015)

I heard that ceramic rod is around 2000 JIS grit, way below 10K as you can see.


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## Benuser (Feb 21, 2015)

That's one of the advantages of stropping on stones as a touch-up. You try on the finest one, and go coarser only if needed. Especially with carbons you may postpone a full sharpening a very, very long time.


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## chiffonodd (Feb 21, 2015)

Would there be any reason to get a leather or balsa strop on top of the 10k stone or is that excessive


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## rick alen (Feb 22, 2015)

chiffonodd said:


> Yeah I'm thinking of stropping on the 10k stone as basically a substitute for a ceramic honing rod - just find it too difficult to maintain consistent angle/contact on a "steel"



In using a honing rod try starting at a shallow angle and work your way up to the desired angle. You often know you've hit it when you hear the blade sing. And in this way you add a little thinning/profiling to the edge.


Rick


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## mikemac (Feb 22, 2015)

You mentioned "realign the edge"...most of the knives discussed on this forum are not going to 'realign' (I think...?). The combination of harder steel, thinner blade and more acute sharpening angle - all vs. the traditional European Wusthoff/Henkel/Sabatier/Forscher knives - results in an edge more likely to micro chip than roll. So when stropping we are smoothing out or sharpening the micro chipped raggedy edge. From the discussions in the past I believe the problems 'we' create in stropping are:
a) stropping on a stone we tend to roll our hands a very small amount, but enough so as to round over our just sharpened edge
b) stropping on leather we tend to apply to much pressure and the leather wraps around the edge - again rolling over the just sharpened edge.
I believe that the rock hard felt (and/or Balsa ?) with a spray compound gives most of us a solution...something we can strop on to refine or revive our edge without actually retarding it. [I actually have no experience with balsa - I either ran out of $$ or got a hold of my OCD just before that came along]. So for me, and IMHO, for most home users & newer j-knife junkies, a 1k ->5k -> felt or balsa progression yields the best results. For the professional who uses traditional J-knives (i.e. yanagiba) or someone like Dave or Jon who may sharpen thousands of knives - different story.
Now - since you own the 10k...use it. (and I'd say "no" to leather). I'd suggest a minimal of strokes, and being very aware of minimal pressure and trying to 'strop & lift' without rolling your wrist.



chiffonodd said:


> Would there be any reason to get a leather or balsa strop on top of the 10k stone or is that excessive


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## Adrian (Feb 22, 2015)

To answer your earlier question, I use just a tiny bit of stropping paste on leather, held down on a board. I strop quite gently and really this just polishes the edge for me: the knife is already sharp. I have learnt to be quite gentle with it and I test the edge with a push cut through soft paper kitchen tissue: I expect it to be super clean. I keep meaning to get some diamond spray, as clearly the obsession needs feeding, but so far have not got round to it. 

Just lately I have mostly been touching the edge up regularly on an 8000 Naniwa Snow White and that ash provided a super sharp and durable edge for cooking. Today I used a 270mm Yanagiba to slice 5 lots of 3 or 4 bone ribs of beef (about 18 kilos total or 42 pounds) cooked to 55 degrees (rare) and it made short work of taking these off the bone, trimming down and producing endless fine slices. This was straight off the Snow White. I was just trying this knife out and thought it would not be ideal for the job, but it was razor sharp and effortless.


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## chiffonodd (Feb 22, 2015)

mikemac said:


> You mentioned "realign the edge"...most of the knives discussed on this forum are not going to 'realign' (I think...?). The combination of harder steel, thinner blade and more acute sharpening angle - all vs. the traditional European Wusthoff/Henkel/Sabatier/Forscher knives - results in an edge more likely to micro chip than roll. So when stropping we are smoothing out or sharpening the micro chipped raggedy edge. From the discussions in the past I believe the problems 'we' create in stropping are:
> a) stropping on a stone we tend to roll our hands a very small amount, but enough so as to round over our just sharpened edge
> b) stropping on leather we tend to apply to much pressure and the leather wraps around the edge - again rolling over the just sharpened edge.
> I believe that the rock hard felt (and/or Balsa ?) with a spray compound gives most of us a solution...something we can strop on to refine or revive our edge without actually retarding it. [I actually have no experience with balsa - I either ran out of $$ or got a hold of my OCD just before that came along]. So for me, and IMHO, for most home users & newer j-knife junkies, a 1k ->5k -> felt or balsa progression yields the best results. For the professional who uses traditional J-knives (i.e. yanagiba) or someone like Dave or Jon who may sharpen thousands of knives - different story.
> Now - since you own the 10k...use it. (and I'd say "no" to leather). I'd suggest a minimal of strokes, and being very aware of minimal pressure and trying to 'strop & lift' without rolling your wrist.



Thanks I'll try to pay very close attention to technique. Right now I'm using a mac gyuto which is a bit softer than a lot of these knives, but I'll be upgrading soon so am trying to develop the right habits sooner rather than later.


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## 99Limited (Feb 23, 2015)

mikemac said:


> ... a) stropping on a stone *we* tend to roll our hands a very small amount, but enough so as to round over our just sharpened edge
> b) stropping on leather *we* tend to apply to much pressure and the leather wraps around the edge - again rolling over the just sharpened edge.



Don't include me with your *we* statements, probably a good many others as well. :rolleyes2:

When I strop I always imagine my knife as a aircraft doing a touch 'n go landing. 

Nice and gentle. No rolling of the blade. Not even a tiny bit. 

As far a stropping on a fine stone. I used to have a 15k stone I got from Jon that was used primarily for that purpose.


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 3, 2015)

Yes touching up & esp. burr removal are light touches. A steady spine can be learned with practice.

I saw the Murry Carter stropping on his advanced sharpening techniques DVD. It got me into stropping on a polishing stone for touchups instead of steels & ceramics. I believe a splash & go higher grit is an excellent alternative.

You do not need a leather strop, but I like to finish off on one, again light pressure not pushing into the leather. Steady angle is always important.


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## chiffonodd (Mar 9, 2015)

keithsaltydog said:


> Yes touching up & esp. burr removal are light touches. A steady spine can be learned with practice.
> 
> I saw the Murry Carter stropping on his advanced sharpening techniques DVD. It got me into stropping on a polishing stone for touchups instead of steels & ceramics. I believe a splash & go higher grit is an excellent alternative.
> 
> You do not need a leather strop, but I like to finish off on one, again light pressure not pushing into the leather. Steady angle is always important.



Just purchased those videos, making my way through them. Lots of good stuff!


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## Benuser (Mar 9, 2015)

Fine grits are indeed the way to go for removing the last burr remainings. Just a few very light edge trailing strokes. You probably don't want to polish. As for leather, it may work very well for loosening a carbon burr. Be sure to use for stropping on leather a lower angle than your sharpening angle, or you will round the edge considerably. Try at a few degrees below and see when you're just 'kissing' the very edge. I use split leather before a 8k.


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