Leather Strops

Leather strop for sharpening, polishing, and removing the burr after sharpening.

Have you got a leather strop?

Here are 3 things you must know

1. Don’t overdo it. About 10 passes per side should suffice.  If you find yourself stropping your blade over and over again without noticing much of a difference, you have to go back to your (super fine) stone and minimize the burr there.

2. Be careful not to use too much pressure, or you could round over the edge. The leather folds over the apex and causes it to become rounder, diminishing the sharpness of the blade. To avoid this, apply only light pressure and let the leather strop do its thing.

3. Strop in the same direction as the scratch pattern you achieved on the sharpening stone. If you scratched from tip to heel on the stone, make sure to do the same on the strop, so you are refining the existing scratch pattern, not ruining it.

And remember: The blade needs to already be sharp before stropping, or it won’t be after.