Kangaroo Leather Strops Pack

Welcome to the Wicked Edge Forum , Larry, any or all of the diamond stropping products can be used with any of the stropping mediums.  The difference, I understand, between the Kangaroo leather and cow leather is the kangaroo is thinner and stiffer.  It gives or compresses less under stropping pressure. Those guys using the Kangaroo suggest you only need to reduce the stropping angle 1º less than the sharpening angle was set.  As opposed to 1.5º to 2º less is recommended for cow leather.  If I only had one pair of strops I would go with the 4µ, 2µ diamond emulsion sprays.  I like the feel of the diamond emulsion stropping compound.  It applies easily and stays on well.

Even though the product is called a spray it doesn’t really spray on the leather.  I touch the spray tip right against the leather and squeeze it to leave a dollop of emulsion.  Three or four spots of the spray can be spread across the entire length of the strop.  Rub the two similar grit leather strops together to spread the emulsion across the hole thing.

Be sure to wipe clean the sharpened steel knife prior to stropping to help keep the strop clean of sharpening debris. Remember to strop only in an up and off stroke. That’s called edge trailing stroke so as not to cut the leather.

I suggest you read in the forum posts about stropping like this one and this thread.  There are many others also.

2 users thanked author for this post.

wickededge, Organic

If sharpened at 17*, then strop at 16* to avoid rounding the edge with the kangaroo.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Organic, Marc H

Larry wrote:

So are you saying if i sharpen at 17 degree, then strop at 18 degree?

No. Just the opposite Larry.  For stropping with Kangaroo you lower the angle 1º from 17ºsharpening angle to 16º for stropping.  With cow leather you’d lower it 1-1/2º or 2º, to 15-1/2 º or  15º. You are trying to strop behind the edge or on the shoulder portion of the edge and keep the pressure off the apex of the edge so as not to round over the sharp acute knife edge.  You’re trying to smooth the bevel from the shoulder to right up to almost the edge.