Newcomer

[developer (ChrisB)]

I received my WESP Pro Pack I yesterday after ordering it on Amazon and all I can say is – WOW! I am amazed at the edges I can achieve and the ease at which I can achieve them. I absolutely love it. I used to use only a Spyderco Sharpmaker with the accessory stones and a loaded strop. I could get some OK edges but nothing compared to what I can with the WESP. While it was on its way I must have watched every single Youtube video involving the WESP there was haha. I couldn’t wait for it to come! I do have one question – what is the typical life span of the leather strops? I have done about 14 knives ranging from small pocket folders to 8″ fixed utility blades. I have a couple small shavings missing from the surface of the strops which is user error I’m sure. I try to use the up and away motion when stropping but if the strops make contact while in motion and knock it out of my fingers it would drop onto the edge and gouge it slightly.

Also – the store that fulfilled my order on Amazon upgraded me to a granite base for free with my Pro Pack 1!! I was ecstatic when I opened the box and say a huge chink of granite staring me in the face! Just beautiful!

Working to make knife.wickededgeusa.com a great forum!

[Josh]

Welcome! It is surely a wonderful feeling to be able to get your own knives razor sharp!

As far as the strops… use them until they are all nicked up on regular knives, or if you are going for a perfect mirror finish or sharpening straight razors or something then you will need to replace them sooner. personally I would use them until I noticed that they were affecting performance on my edges. It totally depends on how you strop and what your goals are w/ stropping. if you only strop very lightly a few passes to finish your edge then they will be good for a LONG time.

To clean them just use a can of the green brake kleen (name brand), spray some on a paper towel and wipe off. It will evaporate w/ no residue and does a great job of cleaning gunk out/off of your strops. Then you can re-load them.

[tcmeyer]

Strops will last a long time, even with substantial chunks missing from them. It happens to everybody. Just continue using them as usual. Most newcomers tend to overload them with paste. A 1/4″ long bead of paste will last many knives. The diamond particles embed themselves in the strop and continue to provide the needed abrasive. Try to follow the standard rule – use strops at about 2 degrees less of an angle with your strops than your stones. This will tend to reduce the possibilities of rounding over the apex.

[Mark76]

Welcome MesaCranker! Enjoy your WEPS!

My first strops lasted a couple of days. At least, without gashes. But as Tom wrote, they’ll still function after that. And with your second strop you’ll be more careful 🙂 . Strop lightly and use up-movements only. And don’t forget to lower your angle for about 2 degrees with leather strops.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Leo James Mitchell]

Seems we all the same kind of experiences with the leather strops. My are three years and almost four now and they are bedraggled looking but function just fine with a little quarter inch of paste. You received royal treatment with the new granite base. All in all over the years, I can’t remember when I got anything less from Clay and his crew.
All the best in your endeavours with the WEPS. You are on your way to having the sharpest, most beautiful edges possible.

Cheers
Leo

[Zamfir]

I just gave my strops a new slice last night. Doh. Practice makes perfect. Been a while since I used the strops. It gives them some good character! The shape and nicks and cuts. Leather is no match for steel. The leather is just the carrier for the diamonds that do the work. I still like how the balsa feels a little better.

BTW. Welcome to the fold! And many sharp blades in the future!

[developer (ChrisB)]

Well i got he Pro Pack 2 upgrade kit even though I had gotten the new universal joint arms that didn’t have any play whatsoever, I still hd some binding issues between the black piece and clamp piece. I also wanted to be able to dial in the perfect angle with the micro adjustment screws. After a week of owning the PP2 kit I can say it was definitely worth the money and I should have gone ahead and gotten it from the get go. I just didn’t have the money at the time and wanted to customize my stones a little more. Kudos to everyone at WEPS!

Also about my 5/3.5 strops, the strops have beomc eking of “sticky” when running down the blade. I rubbed them together a bit and that seemed to help but not by much. I think I’m just going to get another set of strops so I can start anew. Unless Clay would del so charitable as to send me a blank set of 5/3.5 strops without any compound since I already have it. I don’t want to have to et straight up blank strops bc it doesn’t say the micron amount on the side it just says ‘coarse’ or ‘fine.’

Working to make knife.wickededgeusa.com a great forum!

[Mark76]

If your strops start feeling sticky, that’s a good sign: then you can really enjoy their burnishing effects. https://moleculepolishing.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/wicked-edge-diamond-pastes-what-the-heck-are-they-doing/

If they’re so sticky you can hardly move them anymore, just apply a bit new stropping paste. That’s what I usually do. Clay often applies some rubbing alcohol. And some people clean them using a leather cleaner. Or (what did you use, Josh?) motor oil.

The blank strops WE sells are just… blank. So they have no abrasive effects at all substantial enough to mention.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Author]

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