Bypass Leather?

[William Manewal]

Newbie here with what’s either a dumb question, or a really revolutionary approach!

I’ve sliced my leather strops fairly nicely by now and have corrected my technique to keep that to a minimum, but I had the sodden thought: why not get rid of leather (and balsa) altogether?

I have just ordered some blank handles/glass platens to use with the lapping film to try out.

Why wouldn’t it be possible to lap the knife edge with the glass after smearing some diamond paste on its surface? Besides not cutting into the glass, this approach would seem to offer the advantages of a) not rounding the edges that can happen with the soft surface of leather, and b) allow the paste to be completely removed so another grit could be used without fear of cross contamination.

Has anyone tried this? Am I a pioneer or a fool? :blink:

[Mark76]

Hi manewal,

Welcome to the forum!

No, you’re not a fool at all 🙂 . I like to experiment (with the WEPS) as well! In this way you get to know it best and, ultimately, the best results.

I guess the reason people use balsa or leather or similar backings is that these materials contain small holes or crevices that hold the abrasive particles of the stropping compound somewhat in place. In addition, they have a bit of “give” to them which makes them somewhat forgiving to errors.

Glass doesn’t have these properties. But it is very flat, which is an advantage. So I’d say, give it a try! Maybe the stropping compound is wiped off after doing half a knife. Well, then you know that. But maybe it isn’t and it works great.

I’m curious. Please let us know!

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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