What strops should I buy?
- This topic has 11 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 03/30/2017 at 1:27 am by
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howdy,
I’m still fairly new to the wicked edge and knife sharpening in general. I want to get some 5/3.5 micron strops to get a little better edge on my knives but I’m at a lose on with type to get. Can someone please let me know the difference between leather, balsa, and kangaroo leather strops and which one they recommend? Thanks for the help.
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Lots of viewers to your post, but no help..
Here is a link to the strops. You can click on each to see their individual use and application. No one can tell you what you need.
https://www.wickededgeusa.com/product-category/strops/
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I rarely strop. When I do, it’s with the leather and diamond paste that came with the PP2. Seems like the balsa ones have a following. I did a search on “strops”. Somewhere in the results, you might get your answer.
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One does stropping to remove the final burr or to polish the edge a little further (with a stropping compound). A great thing about the WE diamond paste is that it not only abrades, but also seems to burnish the edge. Link
For burnishing, leather works a little better than balsa. But only a little. Cow leather has a little give to it, so you need to take care you don’t round the edge. You can do so by lowering the sharpening angle 1-2 degrees. Balsa doesn’t have this disadvantage. Kangaroo leather is thinner and has less give than cow leather. It also doesn’t abrade by its own at all (due to silicates in the leather), which cow leather does. But this only becomes relevant when you use stropping compounds << 1 micron.
Long story short: I’d use the balsa.
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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I have both balsa and leather and go back and forth. I use leather when I want to get more pressure, to work harder for a mirror finish. I use less pressure with balsa. Both work well. I think you are right to get the 3.5/5 paste. That is a great do all grit and will produce great results.
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I have leather and balsa, I have diamond grits from #2,000 , # 5,000, #14,000, #30,000, and #50,000. I think the best teacher is experimentation and experience. I think the touch, ( pressure ) is as important as the strop and the grit. Of course , I’m just posting stuff I know very little about. I have lots of time, to both experiment and to develop experience… some years from now, If I’m still alive, I can offer some advice based on real experience.
Just showing that I am still active here, without a whole lot of real knowledge. I have a curious mind and gifted with very analytical skills, and good hands.
Bill aka ET
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Hello Justin,
I to am new to the WE as well, bought pro-pack 3 2 weeks ago, and I have balsa, leather, and kangaroo strops, I have sharpened 24 knives to date with very good results. I use kangaroo for my 1-.5 mic. diamond emulsion and leather for the 4-2 mic. diamond emulsion and have had very good results with that combination. Also have balsa with 14-10 paste, and balsa with 5-3.5 paste with good results for mainly “toothy” edge knives( 600 grit straight to these strops). The leather and balsa seem to bend differently over the leading edge. I also have 2 sets of leather with 4 compounds bought at Stropman web site and I get great results with those as long as the steel isn’t to hard, S30V and such. I have ordered all the pastes with leather strops and expect them soon. The kangaroo strops are a smoother, thinner, and harder leather and work very well with 1 mic. and below. I haven’t used the nano cloth yet but will probably purchase those when I get to the .050 and .025 diamond spray. If it were me and your ordering 5-3.5 strops I would buy them in leather. I think you will love them.
sksharp
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