# stropping???



## mrbushido (Apr 24, 2014)

Want to buy a good strop and some chromium oxide i think.

The chromium oxide leaves a little bite in the edge?

Anywhere to get a good strop and such that isnt to expensive and sends cheap to norway??? 

And any tips?


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Might want to find a leatherworker to make it for you, should be alot cheaper that way. I wouldn't pay 60 bucks for a bit of leather and some reclaimed wood..


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## mrbushido (Apr 24, 2014)

Isnt there difference in leather quality and such


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/640503-Make-a-leather-strop could even do it yourself for extra points.

I don't believe there's a massive difference from type to type with regard to leather, but I'm sure someone will come along and recommend only himalayan yak suede be used for fine japanese steel  kidding. Just make sure it's actually leather.


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## mrbushido (Apr 24, 2014)

Hmm then there is where i can buy leather in norway.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Oy vey, that I don't know how to help you. I found this link but I doubt it will be of much help. http://www.leatherproducts1.com/leather-product-suppliers/norway.html Sorry!!


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## mrbushido (Apr 24, 2014)

Thank you so much for good help


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Make your own strop. It's easy. Piece of wood, piece of leather, adhesive. You can get chromium oxide at ceramists shops.





  








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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

If you have access to a good arts and crafts store, you can make a stropping setup for a lot less than trying to get it sent to you.

What you need will be in four parts: a base, some adhesive-backed magnetic sheets, some balsa strips and stropping compound.

The first item is a base.  Chef Knives To Go sells a 3 inch by 11 inch (75 mm x 280 mm) coated steel stropping base for $19.99, but you can make your own.  The primary issue is to decide how long and how wide you want it to be.  This will mostly be determined by the available sizes of adhesive-backed magnetic sheeting.  And that will mostly be determined by your local paper size.

Since you are asking about something in Norway, I am supposing that you use A4 paper as your primary paper measurement system.  Since a sheet of A4 paper is 210 mm x 297 mm, then you will probably want to make a base about 75 mm wide by 300 mm long.  Find a piece of steel plate about that size which is thick enough not to flex and which will accept a magnet being attached to it (stainless steel may be problematic, so it may need to be carbon steel).  Be sure you can coat it so that it will resist having its surface get rusted, but it will still accept a magnet.  Then put something on the bottom to keep it from sliding around.  Now, you have a base.

Next, get some adhesive-backed flexible magnetic sheeting.  The thicker the sheeting, the better.  I would suggest you do not get sheeting which has a magnetic base less than 30 mil thick.  Since this is for Norway, it will most likely come in A4 paper size.  Cut the sheet(s) you get into strips 70 mm x 297 mm.  If your magnetic sheeting comes in a different size, then just adjust everything accordingly.

One trick to get exactly 1/3rd is to take a ruler (say, at least 300 mm long) with markings every 10 mm on the ruler, and lay it across the sheet so that two marks on the ruler 240 mm apart are on the edges of the sheet.  Then mark the sheet where the ruler is 80 mm and 160 mm are along the ruler.  Do this several times, both progressing along the length of the sheet parallel to your first set of marks and by turning the ruler to measure at a different angle, to mark a separate set of marks.  Then, use the ruler to mark a pair of lines parallel to the long length of the sheet and cut the sheet along those lines.

You now have your magnetic backing.

Now, buy some strips of balsa.  I don't know what's available in Norway, but most likely you can get something 75 mm wide by 1 meter long by whatever thickness is otherwise available.  Just make sure the thickness is enough to be somewhat resistant to easy breakage.

Now, you can make your strops.  Just cut the balsa so that it is just the exact length of the steel base.  Then carefully align and place a magnetic sheet strip along the balsa.  And that's it.  Make as many magnetic balsa strops as you want.

You can also make your own leather strops as well.  Cowhide is the most common, but horsehide is smoother and kangaroo is the smoothest.  Be sure when you are buying the hides that the particular curing leaves the hide stiff and without hair.

In use, the strops will directly attach by the magnetic backing to the base and can be removed by just sliding them off.

Then, acquire some stropping compounds.  Slurries may work best.  Use one balsa strop per compound.  I would also suggest keeping at least one strop completely bare of any compound.

In use, after you have finished using one of the loaded strops, wash and dry your knife or knives before you take them to a finer compound or to a bare (unloaded) strop.

Hope that helps.

Galley Swiller


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

^ wow that's alot better than the tutorials I read elsewhere. love that idea!! What is the best kind of hide for stropping unloaded? Or do you think you need to use compounds to get the most benefit from stropping?

I kind of like the idea of doing light edge maitenance on an unloaded strop as my first line of "edge defense" if you will. Primarily my concern with honing at work is metal shavings and plus if my MAC rod was at all similar I know they get loaded up with swarf pretty quickly.


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

Which stropping base for unloaded stropping can vary.  Being able to inexpensively choose is the entire idea here.

Balsa is the simplest.  As mentioned above, kangaroo is probably the smoothest, followed by horsehide, then cowhide.  The hides are also listed in that order in terms of their cost and inverse availability (cowhide being the most prevalent, and cheapest, followed by horsehide and finally kangaroo).

Just to make things cheaper, Murray Carter in one of his videos uses a Japanese newspaper as a strop, and mentions that it is probably available in your local Japanese market (did I sense a bit of his humor there?)

GS


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

in your mind is there much benefit to stropping nude or no? I know the compounds are how you get down to a really really fine edge, but do you think it's better just to stick with a fine ceramic rod if I'm not interested in compounds?


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

The compounds will be more aggressive than an unloaded strop, so consider an unloaded strop to be the final step if you are seeking the miost polished edge.

Do keep in mind that you should not over-strop.  Just a few swipes at each level will work best.  Over-stropping can result in the development of a wire bead.

GS


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## mrbushido (Apr 24, 2014)

Ok thank you for great info :-D


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I have used newspaper and cardboard to re-align an edge, but I never felt they did any kind of sharpening, though a lot of paper products will add a shine to the edge, and there have been tests done that show the green stuff doesn't do much more than this.

CBN is actually faster cutting than diamond here and leaves a better edge.  If you really want to sharpen with a strop then that is what to get, and this is the way to get "hanging-hair" sharp.  BTW balsa I think is cheaper than leather, works as well, and cleans up easier as I hear.  As SB worried, strops do load up with swarf.

US Products sell CBN slurries for less than anyone else, but you have to let them settle for a few days and pour off some of the water to get them concentrated to the point that you don't have to excessively wet your substrate.

I had intended to get a variety of CBN grits and try them out on various substrates, including some plastic materials, but, you know how things go sometimes, I haven't got around to it.

Rick


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

what is cbn


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

cubic boron nitride

Rick


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

OK guys I have to now put up a red flag here concerning the CBN.  I hate to reveal myself as the foolish knowitall, but it appears there is an issue with CBN leaving a fine wire edge, and this is likely why Ken Schwartz sells diamond for the finer finishing grits.  When I've done a little more research I am going to buy some diamond and CBN and do a little experimenting, with that and also some unconventional substrates.

At this point I'm going to say that CBN seems to be the one to start with, cuts fast and leaves a shiny finish cause it doesn't create deep scratches like the coarser diamond grades, but it may be best to go diamond at 1 micron and under when you finish.  But don't hold me to any of that right now.


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