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Hard leather strop and 600 grit Silicon Carbide
compound is what we recommend for all our tools.
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When your strop is new you will want to add a fair
amount to charge or butter the strop (the size of a lima bean).
Use your knife or finger to apply. (paper towels are handy) |
Once your strop is established (two or three uses)
you will only need to add a small amount (the size of a pea)
occasionally to keep it charged when it starts to dry out. |
To establish the proper angle for stropping- pull
the knife away from the edge with a light pressure. You want
to tilt the knife until you feel the edge bite in. You can see
a line form on the strop. |
At which point you will want to lower the back
of the knife a few degrees, so that you are working the area
behind the edge. Once your angle is established using two or
three passes on both sides with about 5 lbs of pressure is all
it should take. |
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To make sure you are honing the blade properly.
you can run the following test. You will need to add a bit of
fresh compound and strop as you think you should. |
If your angle is correct, you will produce a
thin (1 /32") line free of compound at the edge of the blade.
This tells you that you are honing the area behind the edge correctly.
That is perfect. |
If your angle is too steep, you will pile the
compound along the edge.
Bad!
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If your angle is too low, you will smear the
compound right off the blade.
Also bad!
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A few basic things to think about while stropping.
Maintain the angle the entire length of the stroke by locking
your wrist and elbow. |
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| A common mistake is to let
your hand sweep up at the end of the stroke. This takes your
edge right back off. Defeating the purpose. |
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