Thread: Question about the canvas/linen/cotton etc.

Is the canvas/linen/cotton/etc. side of a strop at all abrasive?

I've heard it said that linen is abrasive, and on many of the old strops the canvas side will say "Sharpen" and the leather side will say "Finish"!
For me, I find that my edges last much longer when I use the linen side regularly!

I dont know what the linen/canvas does exactly, but I do know stropping is wasted effort without it.

Anything that comes in contact with the edge is abrasive. The question is, is it enough to have any sharpening effect or more of a dressing effect. For my money the leather is more a dressing effect the linen has a very slight abrasive effect but I don't think it really does anything to sharpen unless you do several hundred strokes. I think it just kind of heats up the edge a bit and better prepares it for the leather but thats just a belief on my part.

I believe some canvas is treated which may make it more abrasive than regular cotton/linen. On the two newish vintage strops that I've seen the canvas has this plasticky king of thing. Don't really know what it is, but it's certainly put there and I'd assume there was a reason for it.
But as people before me said - how abrasive your strop will be can be answered only by experimentation.

Not just on your part, bigspendur. When I was in Trumpers last year the fellow in there told me the same thing - friction heat to warm the edge before leather. He also suggested you can get the same effect in the "modern world" (his words) by running your blade under hot water before stropping on leather.

Personally I've never owned a strop with a linen or canvas or whatever side, so I can't give an opinion. But that's what I was told.

James.

This is all very interesting , and i would love to hear Tony Miller chime in on this one and give us all his opinion...

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Anything that comes in contact with the edge is abrasive. The question is, is it enough to have any sharpening effect or more of a dressing effect. For my money the leather is more a dressing effect the linen has a very slight abrasive effect but I don't think it really does anything to sharpen unless you do several hundred strokes. I think it just kind of heats up the edge a bit and better prepares it for the leather but thats just a belief on my part.

Wait a second, you forgot to remind us that the grand canyon was honed by water [about 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 strokes]