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...

bump bump bump

All I can offer is repeats <g>. I'm not a big user of cotton or linen but have started using it more after reading how many find it a needed step.

I am told that the genuine linen is more abrasive than cotton as the fibers are less processed. There are several factors to look at though.

Is it a plain cloth component or is it treated with an abrasive of some type?

Is the fiber itself abrasive or not?

Is the fiber itself a hard or soft thread?

Is the weave (pattern of the cloth from the mill) coarse or smooth in texture?

All of this can vary the effectiveness and feel of using a cloth component.

For example my old style cotton canvas has a soft fiber but in a coarse, hard weave while my genuine linen has a hard fiber and a very smooth tight weave. I just started using a very fine, hard surface cotton now on some 2 1/2" models.
Some Jemico and Dovo strops have a very loose (soft) yet coarse weave. illinois cltoh is coated with a plastic feeling material.

Each may work differently. Some may create more friction and heat, other may simply polish.

As for the answer which is best and do we need it? ...........easy, I experimented and found the definitive answer! sadly though I forgot to write it down

Tony

All that reading and no answer? Im trying to figure out which strop of yours to get!!

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

All I can offer is repeats <g>. I'm not a big user of cotton or linen but have started using it more after reading how many find it a needed step.

I am told that the genuine linen is more abrasive than cotton as the fibers are less processed. There are several factors to look at though.

Is it a plain cloth component or is it treated with an abrasive of some type?

Is the fiber itself abrasive or not?

Is the fiber itself a hard or soft thread?

Is the weave (pattern of the cloth from the mill) coarse or smooth in texture?

All of this can vary the effectiveness and feel of using a cloth component.

For example my old style cotton canvas has a soft fiber but in a coarse, hard weave while my genuine linen has a hard fiber and a very smooth tight weave. I just started using a very fine, hard surface cotton now on some 2 1/2" models.
Some Jemico and Dovo strops have a very loose (soft) yet coarse weave. illinois cltoh is coated with a plastic feeling material.

Each may work differently. Some may create more friction and heat, other may simply polish.

As for the answer which is best and do we need it? ...........easy, I experimented and found the definitive answer! sadly though I forgot to write it down

Tony