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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