Thread: Strop During the Honing Progression

Anyone ever strop in between stones / grits?

I recently started stropping between my Naniwa 5k, 8k, and 12k stones. I first tried it just to clean off the edge so I could see it better under a 10x loupe, but I think I notice a difference when I strop before I switch to a higher grit. It almost seems like the stones feel slicker when I strop but grab (or pull?) a little more when I don't strop. The difference is perceptible for the first 10 or so laps. My current goal is a smooth and consistent stroke, so I am under the impression that this is probably a good thing.

Any opinions?

Thanks,
--nick

Yes, this has been discussed and used in the past, you would really have to search for it in the archives...

One thing you have to be careful of is making sure you don't get grit embedded into your good everyday strop

That last time I remember talking about this, most people that tried it said it changed things a bit for the better, in their opinion, but the plus was very very small...

Thanks Glen! I never thought about transferring grit from the hones onto the strop...

I was wondering about that too. The grit issue is a good point.

When I use thick slurry I will rinse the razor thoroughly, wipe the blade off then do 2 laps on my wool strop just to assist in removing any debris from the edge. I seldom strop between using my synthetics. As Glen mentioned, the difference between stropping and not feels small but for me it's just an OCD thing.

Personally, my belief is whatever is on the edge is minor after a thorough rinse to pose any problem with too much grit left on the wool strop.

On a side note, I have been tempted to buy a replacement cotton strop from SRD and see how well it goes through the wash with maybe a nice ironing to remove wrinkles. Dunno.

I have not used a plain leather strop but instead have used a nappy, suede type of leather glued to a block of wood...a home made paddle strop. It gets dirty so expect that. It seems to make a difference but very hard to quantify. Last night I made a paddle strop with some scrap canvas for the same purpose but that may be to coarse. Time will tell.

why someone will strop between different grits while hone dull blade?
what stropping will do before 8k level?
This is interesting topic at least new to me.
may be someone knows and light up this topic.

Yes, I clean the blade of as much slurry as possible. Then I use a special cushion strop I have made for just this reason. Cleaning between stone progression. It removes any residual swarf or slurry left on the blade from the previous stone...
Mike

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

why someone will strop between different grits while hone dull blade?
what stropping will do before 8k level?
This is interesting topic at least new to me.
may be someone knows and light up this topic.

The idea is 2 fold for me.
1. Cleaning.
Remove the swarf that might be embedded in the scratches on the bevel. This will allow greater contact of the steel with the abrasive grains in the hone.

2. Straightening.
Since we are performing an edge leading honing stroke, analogous to slamming the front bumper of your car into a gravel road, we may be deforming the edge a small amount. If that is happening, then, in theory, using a paddle strop while honing will "straighten out" the edge. This will result in better edge contact with the hone. That's my theory, I cannot prove it but it makes sense to me.

Just my $.02,