Chris Freemesser asked,

> > Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge 
> > appreciably sharper

Then Ken replied,
> As to specifics, yes you charge the strop with very fine compound.  If 
> you buy a strop from galoot Keith De'Grau, it comes with a jar of 
> compound, something like 10000 grit as I recall. It's amazing stuff.

I haven't tried Keith's stuff yet, mostly because I already have one of 
those green crayon things.  It works great, and I've been convinced 
through experience, that it does improve the sharpness and durability of 
an edge.  I do think, however, that it does dub the edge enough that the 
next sharpening requires a slightly more aggressive grit than I used to 
use, in order to bring the edge sharp to the back of the iron (could be 
bad stropping technique, I suppose).

(I'm **not** trolling for a strop / no-strop | dub / no dub debate here, 
honest!)

One thing I've noticed with the green crayon is that it's really too 
hard to apply directly to my leather strop (or the piece of hard maple I 
sometimes use).  I wind up wetting a scrap of cloth with some 
turpentine, rubbing this on the crayon to soften it, and then rub the 
crayon onto the leather / wood.  I get a lighter, more even coating of 
the compound this way.  It could be because I keep my shop pretty cold 
(60 F / 15 C).

Chris
-- 
Christopher S. Swingley      University of Alaska Fairbanks
cswingle@i...        http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle

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On 16 Jan 2003 at 12:34, Chris Freemesser wrote:

> Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge 
> appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to 
> justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). 
> If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green 
> charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather 
> as-is?

Many of us like to use the strops after scary-sharp. Of course, 
sharpening techniques are sort of like religions. Each method has 
its advocates, everybody does things a bit differently, and over the 
years you just get to a point where you figure out what's best for 
you after trying lots of different approaches. 

As to specifics, yes you charge the strop with very fine compound. 
If you buy a strop from galoot Keith De'Grau, it comes with a jar of 
compound, something like 10000 grit as I recall. It's amazing stuff.

http://www.handamerican.com/

is Keith's web site.

-Ken, just a happy user

Ken Greenberg (ken@c...)
400 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95032
woodworking page: http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/wood.htm
books page: http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/booksfor.htm

--- Chris Freemesser  wrote:
 
> Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge 
> appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to 
> justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). 
> If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green 
> charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather 
> as-is?

Lately I have been using the mylar backed micron grit sheets instead of
SiC.  If you just substituted  a .5 micron sheet instead of 2000 grit, you
won't need a strop.  According to Brent Beach's microphotographs, the .5
micron sheet leaves a smoother edge than the green crayon, which is also
.5 micron.  I can vouch that the .5 micron sheet cuts more aggessively and
leaves a better edge than the 2000 grit SiC (WalMart) I have been using.

=====
Roger Nixon
Out in the Flint Hills of Kansas
www.traditionaltools.com

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Hi all.

A quick question regarding tool sharpening from a relative newbie:

I use the "Scary Sharp" system of sandpapers to sharpen my plane 
blades and chisels.  With this, I can get the tools sharp enough to 
shave hair off of my forearm.  The highest grit sandpaper I use for 
this is 2000 grit.

Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge 
appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to 
justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). 
If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green 
charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather 
as-is?

That being said, I've now posted a few questions here (thanks for all 
the answers, guys!), but haven't officially posted a bio.   Here's 
the short-n-sweet version:

Name:  Chris Freemesser
Age: 33
Location:  Upstate NY
Profession:  Computer systems administrator
Status:  Married, one son (19 mos. old)

Woodworking info:  I've been doing it for about 2.5 years now, mostly 
building stuff for our house (both outdoor items and interior 
furniture we need).  Started out like most newbies...watched N*rm on 
TV and loaded up on power tools.  As my skills developed, I picked up 
a few hand tools to play with, educated myself regarding how to 
properly use them, and discovered that I *really* liked doing stuff 
by hand.  No noise, no dust all over the place, and no worries about 
losing a finger or two....it's a beautiful thing.  I now have a 
variety of hand tools which all see appreciable amounts of use, as 
well as a large list of handtools I, uh, "need" to get.  :^)

Thanks much,

Chris
-- 
_____________________________________________
Chris Freemesser                  chris2@c...
_____________________________________________

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Christopher Swingley [mailto:cswingle@i...]
> Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 12:33 PM
> To: oldtools
> Subject: [oldtools] Re: Sharpening question & Bio
> <>
> One thing I've noticed with the green crayon is that it's really too 
> hard to apply directly to my leather strop (or the piece of 
> hard maple I 
> sometimes use).  I wind up wetting a scrap of cloth with some 
> turpentine, rubbing this on the crayon to soften it, and then rub the 
> crayon onto the leather / wood.  

Same here. I use mineral spirits. Or you can crayon it on the surface
first and then spread it around with a rag with mineral spirits on it. 

Stropping with a leather strop charged with some kind of buffing 
compound will make an edge appreciably sharper even after a 9000 water 
stone. You don't need the green crayon any number of buffing compounds 
will work. Whatever you can get locally or order the green when you 
happen to be ordering something else. I use yellow rouge because I 
happen to have some and it doesn't have much wax in it so it isn't messy 
it just makes dust. Just glue a piece of leather to a nicely flattened 
hardwood. I like veg. tanned leather because it is harder than  oil 
tanned and won't compress quite as much. With stropping a little goes a 
long way. It is amazing how  fast a strop will cut tool steel. Since the 
leather tends to compress and wrap around the edge it will round off the 
edge destroying the edge if over done. I go no more than 2 strokes on 
the bevel and 3 or 4 on the back.  I also use a pine board as a strop. 
Being hard it allows me to swirl the plane blade around in a circular 
fashion that I use when honing the back of the blade on my water stones 
yet woun't destroy the edge so fast. If one is very sensitive to how the 
plane is (or chisel) is working and can sense dulling fast enough, 
before too much damage is done, one can strop a blade back to life 
without having to hone.
Ken
in Ypsilanti

>  
>
>>Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge 
>>appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to 
>>justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). 
>>If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green 
>>charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather 
>>as-is?
>>    
>>
>
>
>  
>

Welcome to the porch, Chris!

Paul Womack (Bugbear) says he uses cereal box cardboard charged with 
abrasive compound for stropping. (He told me this after I bought a leather 
strop.) I haven't tried it myself, but cardboard may dub the edge a little 
less than soft leather.

I use Simichrome Polish on a leather strop. The polish comes in a toothpaste 
tube and it works very well for me. Stropping definitely gave me a better 
edge than Scary Sharpening up to 1000 grit emery paper. I was unable to find 
2000 grit, so can't say whether stropping will improve your edge over the 
2000 grit treatment.

Hope this helps.

Rob in Winnipeg
Galoot Canuck

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> Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge
> appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to
> justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually).
> If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green
> charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather
> as-is?

welcome to the Porch, Chris ...

You've had a variety of good answers to your questions.  I'm a little
behind the rest, but I say use a strop.  I use two types ... one of
several leather strops charged with Herb's Yellowstone compound, or a
length of flat hard rock maple charged with green crayon.  The wood &
crayon is for those instances when I really want a sharp edge and
minimal dubbing.  Of the leather strops, only one was bought (a Butz
carver's strop); made the rest myself as it is very easy to do.  If you
make your own leather strop, opinions are mixed as to whether you put
the smooth side out or use it for gluing, but I glue the smooth side and
use the rough side out like nearly all strops I've ever used or seen.
Hadn't heard of Ken's suggestion of veggie tanned vs. oil tanned
leather, so that's an interesting twist I'll consider with future
strops.  Whatever style you use, swipe the edge across your strop with
very light pressure.  The more pressure, the more you dub the edges.

Charlie Driggs
Newark, DE