Thread: Pasted Strops a rough guide

Larry,

Excellent point. As an aside I have owned and used a balsa paddle strop, made exclusively for me by Tony Miller, for years.

I enjoyed this post a lot myself. I prefer stones but can certainly see a need for more conversation about strops with pastes.

I've always been under the impression that they would be great for beginners.

I think the main reason that I have found them difficult to use in the past is that they can be so effective at honing. Deceptively so. But, once you learn how to do something correctly it can become a wicked tool in the sharpening arsenal.

I did a little research too, as I like to apply graphite powder to my strop on occasion. I notice this sits at about .6 micron which as you can see would produce a nice edge. Nothing like a 50K hone for 2-3 cents.