# Strops



## BillHanna (Apr 12, 2022)

Who has reliable videos on using them?


----------



## Pie (Apr 12, 2022)

Idk if I do it right, but don’t you just basically edge trailing deburring stroke? I feel like you know a heck of a lot more than me about this sort of thing . 

The way I do it helps clean up, but I’ve really started not stropping because I find it refines white steel a bit too much.


----------



## BillHanna (Apr 12, 2022)

Not me. I’ve never stropped in my life. Too much diving in the forum combined with the strops for sale got me curious if it’s even up my alley.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 12, 2022)

Just light edge trailing strokes at your edge geometry and sharpening angle or maybe a couple strokes just slightly higher. Doesn't take much. Nothing complicated.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 12, 2022)

By edge geometry Bill, I just mean raising up slightly for the tip and belly curve if applicable.


----------



## Wagnum (Apr 12, 2022)

BillHanna said:


> Not me. I’ve never stropped in my life. Too much diving in the forum combined with the strops for sale got me curious if it’s even up my alley.


Definitely worth messing around with. I use bare (no compound) leather for touching up harder steels in between sharpening and it works great. I'll use the rougher suede-ish (not sure what it's called) aggressively for de-burring soft/stubborn stainless then go back to the stones to finish. As far as videos go I've seen so much conflicting info in bits and pieces of different videos I don't know who to trust. One thing I've noticed is too much stropping with the right compound will remove toothy-ness, that's why I started using bare leather for touch ups


----------



## Pie (Apr 13, 2022)

+1 for no compound. The following is enough to take some of the fun out of a fine jnat edge. Mind you it becomes blinding sharp afterwards, but it may not be the edge I’m looking for. 



Heh, this looks a lot more awkward when I see it from another point of view. Keep in mind I’m the last person who should be demonstrating how to strop.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 13, 2022)

Pie said:


> +1 for no compound. The following is enough to take some of the fun out of a fine jnat edge. Mind you it becomes blinding sharp afterwards, but it may not be the edge I’m looking for.
> 
> 
> 
> Heh, this looks a lot more awkward when I see it from another point of view. Keep in mind I’m the last person who should be demonstrating how to strop.




Nothing wrong with that at all.  I typically prefer going tip first in both directions but that's just my style and lots of folks do it just as you demonstrated.

That's a pretty straight edge Bill so not much adjusting needed for a curved belly.


----------



## esoo (Apr 13, 2022)

How I strop:



I do this kind of motion at the end of every stone I work on. 

My favorite kitchen edge right now is 3K (via SG3K or Naniwa Diamond 3K) followed by 1u stropping (on a diamond loaded strop or SG12K). Toothy with a very refined edge.


----------



## Pie (Apr 13, 2022)

esoo said:


> How I strop:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Do the stones go sideways too? The thought often crosses my mind that this would make sense. Also if that’s another MM, what is it doing looking so perfect? 

I feel some personal bias against strops, as I used them in the past as something to hide mistakes. The objective reality is that Stropping can give a wide range of results, and can fine tune your edge depending on the presence and type of compound. I believe there is something to be gained even by the highest level sharpeners, as the versatility is near unlimited.


----------



## esoo (Apr 13, 2022)

Pie said:


> Do the stones go sideways too? The thought often crosses my mind that this would make sense. Also if that’s another MM, what is it doing looking so perfect?
> 
> I feel some personal bias against strops, as I used them in the past as something to hide mistakes. The objective reality is that Stropping can give a wide range of results, and can fine tune your edge depending on the presence and type of compound. I believe there is something to be gained even by the highest level sharpeners, as the versatility is near unlimited.



The stones go front to back (although I've tried sideways). One thing for me is that I use "western method" sharpening - so full strokes back and forth on the blade, so it would be easy to adjust to sideways.

And yes that is my MM210. It had been put away for a while after cleaning it up (the fiancee had use a scrubby on it and scratched the finish) so I could bring out the MM240. Not enough rack space to have everything out at once.

I would consider myself an average sharpener, and my edges have always improved by stropping. I think that the stropping motion helps avoid wobble which yields a crisper apex.


----------



## BillHanna (Apr 13, 2022)

It's nice to SEE pressure as a reminder. like sticky notes to reinforce routine. I can be heavy handed.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 13, 2022)

Sorry about the angle Bill. I was struggling to get a decent top-down shot. 

Anyway, here I do a suji, a nakiri, and a santoku. I employ slightly different techniques for each. The suji has a very low angle on the left side. For no strong reason, with knives like this, I'll go tip to heel on the right and then heel to tip on the left. The nakiri is pretty straight forward. With the santoku you'll notice I do sort of a little "J" step on the tip. I just feel like that helps catch the angle better. Does it? I don't know but I makes me feel warm. 



Pressure is subjective. Here I was going pretty light with more or less just the weight of fingers on the knife. You can strop pretty hard if you want and some folks advocate it, just be aware that on soft substrates like this you can round your apex.

Anyway, not sure that helped but thought I'd toss it up.


----------



## BillHanna (Apr 15, 2022)

Alright. I’m gonna go no compound. Which leather?


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 15, 2022)

BillHanna said:


> Alright. I’m gonna go no compound. Which leather?



If you mean suede or smooth, I'd recommend a combo so you have options.

If you mean animal breed, just get a quality strop. I recall reading one of Dr. Vadim's articles or one of his vids where he tested several types and determined the best was kangaroo _tail_. I seem to remember everything was about the same.


----------



## ModRQC (Apr 15, 2022)

I don't entirely advise fine leather with no compound. With various steels it just is too fine for kitchen use. 

It think Jon says a bit of the same in the descrption of the stropping kit he sells IIRC.

You'll mostly just need some practice to find your grounds but you'll be fine. As for the method, it may just come down to your preferences in the end.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 15, 2022)

You know you can also strop on newspaper, cardboard, denim, etc. if you just want to do some testing before spending any money.

A well respected sharpener that I know saves the mud from stones and uses it rubbed on newspaper wrapped around a stone for a strop. He also uses ashes from his grill. Swears by the method and is edges are outstanding.


----------



## ModRQC (Apr 15, 2022)

Ah yes BTW it's called split leather.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 15, 2022)

For many years I stropped on denim and it worked great. Only got away from it because of playing with new toys. I cut the bottom foot or so off the leg of an old pair of jeans. Then slipped a 2x4 in there that was 8-10" long, wrapped it tight and call it a strop.


----------



## esoo (Apr 15, 2022)

I like the feeling of my latigo leather strop for use bare.


----------



## Rangen (Apr 15, 2022)

I stopped stropping knives. Not razors, of course, you have to strop those, just knives. I stopped because I told myself that it was a crutch, that I should be able to do it all on the stones. And, I admit, because I enjoy sharpening on stones more than I enjoy stropping.

It's worked out, most of the time. Sometimes I find myself eyeing my strops, and then I get back to business. Long, arduous business, occasionally.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 15, 2022)

I've never considered strops a crutch. I know many do but I just don't get that. It's just another tool.

Let's say a sharpener doesn't get the crispest edges off of the stone. Good but just a touch lacking. Yet, it's close enough that a strop brings it right up. I don't see that as a crutch or lacking. You still need to be pretty darn good off the stone for a strop to make a lasting difference and if that tool takes it over the edge for folks then, I say cool.

But stropping is also a great way to give final refinement to an excellent stone-fresh edge. There are many a great sharpener who use strops.

I also use a strop for routine maintenance.

To me, a strop is no different than moving up in stone grits. Again, it's just another tool.


----------



## Rangen (Apr 15, 2022)

I'm not saying strops are bad, or a crutch, in general. I'm just saying that my inner goad voice tells me *I* should not need to ever rely on them.

I don't even know whether it's true. I'm just listening to that guy for a while, to see how it works out.


----------



## M1k3 (Apr 15, 2022)

HumbleHomeCook said:


> You know you can also strop on newspaper, cardboard, denim, etc. if you just want to do some testing before spending any money.
> 
> A well respected sharpener that I know saves the mud from stones and uses it rubbed on newspaper wrapped around a stone for a strop. He also uses ashes from his grill. Swears by the method and is edges are outstanding.


Sleeve of the Chef coat works also. Apron too!


----------



## Pie (Apr 15, 2022)

Rangen said:


> I stopped because I told myself that it was a crutch, that I should be able to do it all on the stones. And, I admit, because I enjoy sharpening on stones more than I enjoy stropping.


My thoughts exactly. Maybe I strop when I’m curious about peak sharpness, but I’d like to be able to get where I want to be just off stones.


----------



## Kawa (Apr 16, 2022)

Guys, using a strop after sharpening isnt a trick to compensate for or hide 'bad sharpening'
When you didnt deburr properly, a strop won't do anything. It accomplishes a good deburred knife.


You can wash your car with shampoo and use wax after.
'No no, I want to be able to get the same level of gloss with only using shampoo'. Wax is cheating.'
Without a clean car, wax wont do anything.


It's a tool for a next step, if preffered


----------



## natto (Apr 16, 2022)

Stropping is great for cleanup. My sharpening got bad with so so touch up only. Now I miss my cheapo strop with rough SiC paste.


----------



## Luftmensch (Apr 16, 2022)

A kitchen towel.... jeans... newspaper... the carpet... Just dont use an _actual_ strop - they dont work! 

I havent found a _need_ for stropping on hard steels (>62HRC ??). On rare occasions I have done it for fun. I recently purchased an old Sab (probably 54-56HRC?). I am still figuring out how to sharpen the damned thing using only stones. The fastest route to decent sharpness has been finishing the progression with stropping (on the carpet ).


I havent really explored compounds. Nothing wrong with it... but I dont really see a need. Perhaps it could be used as a touch up method?




BillHanna said:


> Alright. I’m gonna go no compound. Which leather?



My experience with stropping kitchen knives is shallow - so there is no point me speculating which material is 'best'. Like everything else, personal preference probably plays a role. With razors, I prefer the feel of materials that provide a bit of resistance. A light/medium draw leather... is nice. Same with denim. I think I would even choose heavier feedback like wool felt or suede over slick surfaces like really hard/compressed leather for a kitchen knife. I am not saying one is better than the other... I just like to feel something (because I am so dead inside ).


----------



## BillHanna (Apr 16, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> snip


Your feedback on feedback is appreciated


----------



## Kawa (Apr 16, 2022)

My experience with suede and hard, smooth leather:

Suede has less feedback. I've rounded my edge multiple times without noticing during stropping.

Hard smooth leather, which still has some visual give, gives a lot of feedback. Especially when you come to a part with some burr left: you really feel the difference in drag (resistence). After a few strokes, that resistence is gone as is the burr.
But you also have a clear difference in feel when you hit the shoulders instead of the edge.


----------



## Bobby2shots (Apr 16, 2022)

When I wash my knife, I dry it off with a kitchen-towel that hangs on my oven door-handle,,, I give that a tug to pull it taught, then zip-zop, a few stropping-strokes on that towel and done. The result is always amazingly sharp. I've also used rolled-up news-print, lightly dampened, and that works well too. I seldom bother using my compound-loaded paddle-strop or my Tormek's stropping wheel. Sometimes, I'll just strop it on my jeans' leg, and so far, both of my legs are the same length.


----------



## BillHanna (Apr 16, 2022)

Bobby2shots said:


> so far, both of my legs are the same length.


FOR NOW


----------



## BoSharpens (Apr 16, 2022)

The minimum amount of stropping & done at the correct shallow angle should be used on razor sharp edges or you may (might) push the very tip of the edge sideways if you use a 'heavy hand.' Then you have another burr to get rid of = much more work.

Now if a sharpener has left large burrs on the edge, he should NOT be stropping. It is time to go back to the Hard Arkansas stone & carefully flip back and forth to get the burrs off. Once I think I've finished my honing enough, I run the blade backwards, 'laid down' across my finger tips. If I feel a 'grip' on one side of the blade on my fingertips, I know I have not finished my honing! If you have heavy calluses on finger tips, this won't work as easily.

I've seen people strop an edge at high angles to the 'leather' & I cringe. Worse yet is when they do it multiple times HARD @ VERY HIGH ANGLES and you know the edge tip is going to be damaged.

I have a 200 power microscope and look at edges occasionally. Trust me you can see damage from bad stropping. Not a bad idea to get an inexpensive "loupe" or hand held magnifier to learn with.

People often don't know that the typical straight razor has the bulging thick spine which makes the proper angle for the edge to be honed, so that the barber touching the strop does NOT 'tip over' the fine razor's edge. That's the only reason the barber can strop quickly without looking at the razor. Knives are not like that.


----------



## M1k3 (Apr 16, 2022)

In all seriousness, I prefer harder strops. Like balsa putting or newspaper/cereal box cardboard on top of a stone, etc. No worries about rounding the edge. And it's cheap and easy to fix any gouges I might make.


----------



## M1k3 (Apr 16, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> In all seriousness, I prefer harder strops. Like balsa putting or newspaper/cereal box cardboard on top of a stone, etc. No worries about rounding the edge. And it's cheap and easy to fix any gouges I might make.


And easy to put a different compound on.


----------



## deanb (Apr 16, 2022)

I have at least a dozen strops loaded with CRo2, diamonds of various grits, and not loaded. My favorite is a pre-loaded 12” X 3” strop that I bought from Knive’s Plus. I use it exclusively now. I’ve been at this for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything this strop.


----------



## jjlotti (Apr 17, 2022)

Luftmensch said:


> A kitchen towel.... jeans... newspaper... the carpet... Just dont use an _actual_ strop - they dont work!
> 
> I havent found a _need_ for stropping on hard steels (>62HRC ??). On rare occasions I have done it for fun. I recently purchased an old Sab (probably 54-56HRC?). I am still figuring out how to sharpen the damned thing using only stones. The fastest route to decent sharpness has been finishing the progression with stropping (on the carpet ).
> 
> ...


Luftmensch I like your style, but please share your secrets with me. My wife puts up with my 600 dollar knife amusements, but showing her a new strop technique on one of her Persians....emmmm errrrrrr


----------



## Greenbriel (Apr 17, 2022)

I’m a big fan of the CKTG kangaroo strop kit. Sturdy base, two magnetic backed ‘roo strops and two bottles of diamond spray. I think it’s like $80.


----------



## Delat (Apr 17, 2022)

Rangen said:


> I'm not saying strops are bad, or a crutch, in general. I'm just saying that my inner goad voice tells me *I* should not need to ever rely on them.
> 
> I don't even know whether it's true. I'm just listening to that guy for a while, to see how it works out.



I stopped stropping for a few months for similar reasons. When I went back to it, I did notice that the feel of cutting through paper is a touch smoother; overall it adds just a bit of refinement. With food I don’t notice much difference with a freshly sharpened edge (stropped vs not), but for a slightly dull edge a strop brings back the edge with much less fuss than getting out a stone. 

I’ve noticed refreshing an edge with a strop works really well with low-alloy high carbon steels, less so with my stainless R2 and VG10 knives.


----------



## Luftmensch (Apr 17, 2022)

jjlotti said:


> Luftmensch I like your style, but please share your secrets with me.





Yeah... i find that deburring doesnt work until about 500 kpsi.... and silk is much better! 

Haha... no. My secret is to do it when the Mrs isnt looking . In our new rental we have a galley/island kitchen in the main living space. The kitchen is a small tiled section that meets the carpeted living space. It must be a wool and polyester blend? Who knows!? Either way... carpet is never far away....


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 17, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> In all seriousness, I prefer harder strops. Like balsa putting or newspaper/cereal box cardboard on top of a stone, etc. No worries about rounding the edge. And it's cheap and easy to fix any gouges I might make.



Never tried with bigger knives but for smaller ones, the free paint stir sticks you can get at hardware stores work well.

Balsa blocks of various sizes can also be had pretty readily at craft stores like Michaels. These type strops work well for higher-alloy steels.

I have some very nice diamond lapping film pieces in various grits that I was able to salvage for personal use and have them stuck on hard poly blocks. Very different and good experience. The ones I have right now are .5 and .1um and coupled with the hard backing they will polish a lower alloy edge in no time so I've only been using them on the higher stuff (R2, K390, etc.).


----------



## Tler (Apr 19, 2022)

Home depot has large paint stir sticks that I've loaded with cheap green chromium oxide. Works well when I'm too lazy to use higher grit stones. 1k stone and then a quick strop on chromium oxide will give me shaving sharp when I'm in a pinch (or sharpening someone else's knife).

My question: is trying leather and diamond worth it? I'm afraid my edge will become too smooth (not toothy) or it'll only be marginally better than my cheap setup. I've got some strops and compounds in my CKTG cart and I'm debating if it's worth it.


----------



## Kawa (Apr 19, 2022)

Worth the try if you make a strop yourself.
Block of wood, piece of leather, clothingglue and diamond spray.
About 20,- dollar material?

Dont buy a fancy 80,- thing to try


----------



## Troopah_Knives (Apr 19, 2022)

Just to throw something out there stropping also can convex your micro-bevel so there could be some situations in which you can go even thinner behind the edge than the steel would normally support and then strop on something aggressive like 5um diamond and get a preferable cutting geometry to a triangular edge. Although there hasn't been any real study in that area so I don't know for sure what the effects would be


----------



## Bobby2shots (Apr 19, 2022)

Troopah_Knives said:


> Just to throw something out there stropping also can convex your micro-bevel so there could be some situations in which you can go even thinner behind the edge than the steel would normally support and then strop on something aggressive like 5um diamond and get a preferable cutting geometry to a triangular edge. *Although there hasn't been any real study in that area* so I don't know for sure what the effects would be



Leonard Lee,,, the founder of Lee Valley Tools, holds several patents for surgical tool design;,,, his book "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" probably covers the topic in depth.



https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/books-and-dvds/32991-the-complete-guide-to-sharpening?item=73L0155&utm_source=free_google_shopping&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping_feed&gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmfwZo7GdzcIBxFXppRAjQEn7Lav2zHPBmAQTP_VrB3DadYeQlKzQ5ghoC7O0QAvD_BwE


----------



## esoo (Apr 19, 2022)

Tler said:


> My question: is trying leather and diamond worth it? I'm afraid my edge will become too smooth (not toothy) or it'll only be marginally better than my cheap setup. I've got some strops and compounds in my CKTG cart and I'm debating if it's worth it.



If you remove the tooth, you are stropping too much.

And yes it is worth it. I've take a knife off a 3K and cut paper towel, then stropped it on 1u diamond on leather and then cut paper towel again. After the stropping, it sounds and feels like a cleaner smoother cut. There was no loss of tooth, but the edge is definitely refined.


----------



## Bobby2shots (Apr 19, 2022)

Bobby2shots said:


> Leonard Lee,,, the founder of Lee Valley Tools, holds several patents for surgical tool design;,,, his book "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" probably covers the topic in depth. I bought a hard-cover copy,,, maybe 30 years ago,,, it's probably in my shop.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/books-and-dvds/32991-the-complete-guide-to-sharpening?item=73L0155&utm_source=free_google_shopping&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping_feed&gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmfwZo7GdzcIBxFXppRAjQEn7Lav2zHPBmAQTP_VrB3DadYeQlKzQ5ghoC7O0QAvD_BwE


----------



## Tler (Apr 19, 2022)

Thank you. So i'll be buying some 1u and maybe .5u diamond spray (another thread said spray is easier than paste).
I also read some opinions that different leathers don't make a huge difference, so would buying something like this amazon leather work?


----------



## Kawa (Apr 20, 2022)

I've tried paste and spray.
The thing is, spray is almost paste, like a fat mud coming out. You have to spread them both.

I've found it easiest to put a few spots on the strop and use a creditcard (or simular) to spread it out. Its flexible, straight, plastic and easy to clean.

Ive used (only) 1u and 0,5u.
My experience: the 0,5u is good fresh of the stone as is the 1.0. Can't really tell how they are different on the end result (tried about 10 times, but on different knives with different end stones. So its hard to scale the knives and results and compare directly)

But I do notice a difference when touching up with the strops after some dinner preps. The 0,5 tends to make edges too slick when used as a touch up, where the 1.0 does this less. You feel the 0,5 makes the knives sharper on newspaper again, but it skids easier over food. The 1,0 keeps some teeth.

As a touch up strop Im experimenting with red-rouge right now. No-one knows what it exactly is (different from brand to brand, originale it should be iron oxide) but it should be more fine then green chromiun oxide.
So far I like it for touch ups, brings more teeth to the knife then 1.0 diamond spray does.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook (Apr 20, 2022)

From Trible B Handmade (@Deadboxhero):


----------



## BillHanna (Nov 24, 2022)

I was searching for a thread on strops and found this one.


----------



## ch_br (Nov 24, 2022)

Kawa said:


> Worth the try if you make a strop yourself.
> Block of wood, piece of leather, clothingglue and diamond spray.
> About 20,- dollar material?
> 
> Dont buy a fancy 80,- thing to try



This is even an simpler option, if you choose to use compound (which I would only do on the coarse side)

$15 on amazonia, feels like stealing


----------



## coxhaus (Nov 24, 2022)

I use a leather strop on my Worksharp Ken Onion with green compound. I use trailing edge on low speed. I tried high speed but my leather belt broke. I have a couple on the way. I find my German knives cut better and hold an edge longer. When I cut into an onion it is smoother. It cuts tomatoes about the same less notice on them.


----------



## M1k3 (Nov 24, 2022)

ch_br said:


> This is even an simpler option, if you choose to use compound (which I would only do on the coarse side)
> 
> $15 on amazonia, feels like stealing


Even cheaper option is balsa wood and paste. Maybe a little sandpaper to prep the surface if needed.


----------



## stringer (Nov 24, 2022)

I don't feel like stropping often. But when I do, I strop like this.


----------



## ch_br (Nov 24, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> Even cheaper option is balsa wood and paste. Maybe a little sandpaper to prep the surface if needed.


True, I was giving a option for a "traditional" strop


----------



## ch_br (Nov 24, 2022)

stringer said:


> I don't feel like stropping often. But when I do, I strop like this.



Quick and to the point.


----------



## spaceconvoy (Nov 24, 2022)

Thanks for pulling up this thread I missed. I got inspired to dig out the old strop, and remembered why I don't use it anymore.

I think strops make sense after synthetic stones because they're so abrasive-dense it makes deburring on them very difficult. But I don't see the point in using them after my cretan stone.

I just let the stone dry out at the end and it becomes a really nice surface for finishing. The feedback it gives is so clear and precise, audible and tactile. And if something's off you can just go back to sharpening.


----------



## Kawa (Nov 25, 2022)

stringer said:


> I don't feel like stropping often. But when I do, I strop like this.




Seems so effortless 

Which makes me think aswell...
This seems like denim with some compound on it? Green? If so, its kinda rough and really does abrade a little, right?

I'm not doubting your angle control skills, but I can imagine stropping (or sharpening) this way leaves a little more room for wobble or 'different angle every stroke'.

How do you counter 'too obtuse, too shallow' this way? Too shallow and nothing happens, too obtuse and the edge will be rounded and looses sharpness.

Are you just that good (which I really can imagine, doing knife stuff daily for years)) or doesn't it really matter? (if the latter, then why do I dull my knives sometimes with bad stropping )


----------



## stringer (Nov 25, 2022)

Kawa said:


> Seems so effortless
> 
> Which makes me think aswell...
> This seems like denim with some compound on it? Green? If so, its kinda rough and really does abrade a little, right?
> ...


It is denim stretched and furniture tacked around a scrap of wood. I have tried lots of different compounds on it over the years so now it is a composite of crox/diamond/cbn. It would work fine without compound too. With the compound it definitely makes your bevel shinier. Not sure what it is doing at the true apex. I think I'm pretty good at hitting right on the bevel. Good enough anyways. I find that I like very stiff strops and hard stones for finishing knives. If you are worried about rounding the Apex or losing toothiness. Then hard media will give the crispiest edge. And when stropping on a very stiff medium you get good tactile feedback if you are close to that sweet spot. I don't know if you have seen this video. It might help for thinking about finishing a sharpening job. So much of the user experience is defined by the last couple of strokes in my experience. Playing around with different finishing touches can really make a big difference.


----------



## daveb (Nov 25, 2022)

M1k3 said:


> Sleeve of the Chef coat works also. Apron too!



I tried that once. Didn't work well and it was really awkward explaining to the chef what I was doing...

I've got many strops, leather (bovine, buffalo and roo), felt, and other and am not in love with any of them. Will use the felt block then strop when deburring stainless but not everytime. The others I play with occasionally. I do like finishing with a few edge leading strokes on a fine stone.


----------



## NotAddictedYet (Nov 25, 2022)

stringer said:


> I don't feel like stropping often. But when I do, I strop like this.



Nice work as always. Your deburring video helped me a lot. 

Have to say though, that knife is as sharp as my knife fresh off the stone...pre-strop.  Never was able to get my knife to cut paper towel that cleanly like yours post strop.


----------

