Leather I use below ⬇ Links to compound, and everything else, in the description. These tend to sell out fast 😬If you have any questions for future vides leave them below. Thanks for watching! leather amzn.to/42hBGi3 These are amazon affiliated links as an amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. Personal statement⬇ As an affiliate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. I bought everything in this video with my own money, and am free to link to anything I want. Recommendations, comments, and criticisms, are based on personal experience with products. At this time, (time of video upload, subject to change) I am NOT sponsored by any company. Thanks
Serious question: what about hide glue? I have several vintage bottles (older than both of us, so old formula from back when shit worked) that are still good... and I would assume it should work... and I can't find my contact cement, lol.
Your link to the Jende 4 Micron is already sold out and do not see 6 μm either. Would you recommend 2 or 8 μm since they are the closest size in stock?
DUDE! DO NOT EVER apologize for making a long video. I think I've watched all of the videos that you've put out, and one thing I can guarantee I have never said is "Man, that video was too long!" Almost every video you put out gets watched twice in a row by me. And im still wanting more at the end of every one. Youre very skilled, smart, funny, and some other words I don't know. That makes me keep watching your stuff trying to learn. Youve got something here, and you're good at it. 😊 Thanks for the videos you've already put out, thanks for the stuff that you're in the process of putting together and putting out, and most importantly thanks for the lifetime of information. TONS AND TONS of YT channels suck. Yours doesn't
no one say "it's too long" - they just silently skip parts or drop it ) statistics is "average watch time is 8 mins" and "more then 15mins is a waste" i don't mind long videos if it worth it (and this author makes it so), but statistics is statistics - can't be helped.
I'm not sure as I don't know the stats, but I feel that these numbers hughly depend on the type of video and the target audience @@tomekvilmovskiy6547
refreshing to see someone on youtube who actually knows what they are talking about. as a former tooling service tech, i can expand on what he is saying about burrs. when steel dulls the cutting edge rounds over. as opposed to carbide, which is sintered and therefore the material breaks down and falls away from the tool material. rough sharpening is traditionally done with the grinding direction away from the cutting edge as is shown here, resulting in the steel curling back over the opposite edge. this is a perfectly normal result of the material. carbide will not burr, but the sintered particles can lose their bond at the cutting edge with the end result being not as sharp as it could be in either case. my experience doingn that work taught me that grinding in the opposite direction for a final few passes will eliminate the burr AND result in a very crisp cutting edge. especially on carbide for reasons i have yet to understand. from the perspective of a tool grinding machine, if the last pass grinds INTO the cutting edge with a feed in of maybe .005" to .010" results in a burr free and insanely sharp edge which may only require the briefest and lightest swipe of a superfine stone. the greatest acknowledgement i ever got as a tool grinder was when the owner of the company inspected my work and cut his finger.
@@TrevorV Sorry, it's polishing compound that comes in bars, it's used in the jewelery trade to polish gold and silver. It's meant to be used on a buffing wheel but it was what I had.
Little tip. DOUBLE sided carpet tape works great for attaching leather to wood or whatever you like. Alot less messy and a bit more forgiving also can be removed afterwards if you wish. Thanks for the great vid and keep making sharp things fun and enjoyable
alternatively just use wood. imho it works better than leather, with diamond. any wood works but I like woods that aren't too soft, like balsa, or too hard like oak. woods like birch or basswood are ideal. those sticks for stirring paint work just fine. There is nothing magical about leather as a substrate.
@@TimJohnson-x1o I agree with that I've used Denim, stir sticks, leather, wood, dowels, cardboard and other materials as a stropping base to get slighty different results. The compound does the cutting in that case, although some materials can be used bare without compound to get the job done in a pinch, and diamond compound is definatly my favorite to use.
This is THE definitive stropping video Alex! THANK YOU for making and sharing it. This video contains everything the viewer needs to know about stropping. Combining it with your previous sharpening videos will yield an incredibly sharp knife, IF THE VIEWER PAYS ATTENTION! Saving this one to my Knives Playlist.
i was about to say the same, this is the most information dense and all encompassing video on stropping ive ever seen. learned so much and confirmed some things i already knew, all around an amazing video. i would show this in a school
There is nowhere else on UA-cam that provides this level of detail delivered in a clear, concise and articulate manner. What long video? I watched it twice and several parts of it a lot more than that. Thanks for this - I'm making a new strop tomorrow following exactly what you've shared with us here.
Im going to say it . Alex makes the BEST sharpening videos on UA-cam. Its not even a contest. No one has properly explained before exactly what the strop does, with such clear images
I really like this channel. It reminds me that if I buy the absolute best knife sharpening tools, the best stones that have been blessed by various monks, and worked my hardest, this dude could do a better job with a random 50 year old brick that has been laying in the elements he found on the side of the road.
You encouraged me to make my own strop, 2 or 3 years ago, so I went online and bought some thick sheet of leather, cut a 2.5 x 6.5 inch piece of hardwood plywood with a sort of "handle" on one side, glued the piece of leather onto it using woodglue (smooth side down, but still holding perfectly for 2 years of weekly use. But it was some industrial grade woodglue from a friend of mine, so maybe that helped). Then I used a utility knife and cut along the sides of the plywood, to fit it perfectly to the contours of the piece of wood, for the reasons you mentioned in the video So far, I've only tried 1.0 micron aluminium oxide compound for stropping and it worked very well for all of my pocket and kitchen knives. Although, S90V takes quite some time though XD My sharpening routine starts depending on the condition of the apex with a coarse DMT 8", next a fine DMT 8" and finally the leather strop. As I started out on those crappy amazon stones, years ago I felt the sharpening to be extremely exhausting and frustrating, you generate tons of slurry, arms getting tired, but barely any results. My 2 step diamond stone set-up (based on your recommendations) however is really !really fast, effective and no mess at all. No water, no oil, no slurries in the kitchen... my wife also likes it a lot more ... :D Maybe I will try out those diamond compound in the future, however I'm quite happy at the moment with this set-up. Thanks for your content ❤👍 Did I mention that I really appreciate those insane macro-footage 😯👍
When you slapped that piece of leather on the table and said “ Does this bring back memories? “ I lost it!!😅 too funny and so true. My Dad when he got really mad at my brothers and I, would whip his belt off and smack it on something and say to us..”You guys want a piece of this?” I was laughing so hard I've got tears in my eyes. Alex your sense of humour is absolutely the best! Great video as usual..Number 1 fan in Nova Scotia. Cheer MikeR.
@@artsnow8872My mom had a board of education (written on it) that had holes that whistled on the way to my behind. Or alternatively she made me go out and pick a switch from the weeping willow which transferred the weeping to me😮. But hilarious stuff.
Would you be willing to either describe how you apply the diamond compound from the syringe? Know you said it depends… but would be interested in seeing how much you apply; what tools you use to mash it into the leather; how thick you do for your compound. There are quite a few about the aluminum oxide, but few on diamond compounds.
Great video (perfect length too). I learn something new in each video you put out. You were the one that got me to finally start my proper sharpening journey. Absolutely love the instant macro shots to true understand what is happening to the steel. Keep it up.
As cursed as this may sound, I've been using a strop made out of a piece of microfibre cloth stuck onto a piece of wood. With green compound on it, paired with dialux green compound. It was intended to polish the main bevel of a knife for it to shine. The use as a strop was an accidental discovery. Just make sure to not put too much pressure and go with a very shallow angle, as microfibre is highly compressible. You can even lie the blade flat and strip away as the not compressed part of the cloth will still polish the secondary bevel and edge.
I made some strops out of exotic woods and this guy bought a few from me. I think he has passed now. RiP, Sultan of Speed. He stropped a Spyderco Delica ZDP-189 down to 26 on a BESS meter with my strop. He wanted to send me Kangaroo leather to adhere to an exotic wood to see how low we could go. I love your videos and use them as a reference, Outdoors55! You do great work for knife makers!
Nothing related to that vid. But wanted to compliment your work. From all the sharpening clips and channels which were really „in“ a while ago, i still enjoy only your channel at the moment fir many reasons. Whenever i got friends over (which became somewhat rare lately due to personal reasons) every one is like „dude, your kitchen knives are amazing“ i just tell them to watch your vids. I only use cheapest knives and ever since i use your tips, they are extremely sharp and also keep the edge so much longer. Again.. appreciate your work. Keep it up!
Most steels I ever sharpened are 14c28n, nitro-v and D2... nothing more fancy! I prefer toothy edge but few passes on the strop makes it better! I don't get hair whittling everytime but I get it to shaving every time. I just have a fallkniven CC4 or victorinox diamond sharpener, and as a strop I use the leather from the fallkniven stone sheath or an old leather belt! And if the knife is starting to get dull, stropping brings it back in shape few times before needing sharpening again! For the first few times I dulled my knife too but I kept trying, watching your tutorials and neeves knives I learned how to hold the angle, that I don't need different grit stones, etc. I think I'm begging to develop a feel and movement that works for me! You don't need top notch expensive stones and sharpeners, because even with those there can be user error, I'm not saying you can just get that 5$ sharpener either, I had one that was just crumbling with each pass... See what others recommend in your budget, build confidence with a knife you don't mind ruining. And think of it as a fun project, if you think it will be frustrating you already set yourself to fail! Good luck!
There are diminishing returns on sharpness. "Hair-whittling sharp" lasts only one use, and it's instantly downgraded to barely shaving sharp. Same with "shaving sharp", it doesn't last much longer long, depending on what you're cutting. I find that "almost shaving sharp" gets you the most for the least effort and lasts a little longer.
11:53 you can strop straight on glass and the benefit is that it is a very flat surface if you’re making micro bevels. cowhide is around 4mm-6mm and it squishes and stretches which makes a convex edge. kangaroo leather is 1mm-2mm thick and it has much more grain to it than cowhide which also holds more compound and has a better tactile feel to it than cowhide. kangaroo leather is ten times stronger than cowhide and it doesn’t stretch and it’s more abrasion resistant than cowhide so it holds up a lot better than cowhide. kangaroo leather is usually around $30 for the whole thing except for the tail which by itself is around $50. the tail is a better quality for strops than the hide but the kangaroo hide is still much better than cowhide. a barbers strop is still an effective tool for removing the burr and polishing strops are more for removing metal. you can remove a burr with a brick or a polishing strop but people who think that’s what was designed for are wrong.
I made one using kangaroo tail and it is indestructible. Kangaroo TAIL is the strongest leather in the world. It was surprisingly easy and not excessively costly to buy a couple of suitable strips online. Might have helped finding them seeing I live in Australia.
I used to use a bulb from a heat lamp as a hone and it worked fantastically well. It was made of a 10" long quartz glass tube with a frosted (so slightly roughened) surface. Not as much cutting power as a steel hone because of the relative smoothness but it worked great for bringing scalpel and craft knife blades back to a keen edge.
I don’t know if you’ve ever ordered from Tandy leather before but I’m always super happy with their leather. Because I buy rolls of belly for sheath making I’m generally not quite as concerned about small imperfections or inconsistencies but I also was recently at one of their physical stores and they told me that if you order by actually calling the store, you can be more choosy about getting rolls without imperfections
Another excellent video. Thank you so much for the information and examples you provide us. You are without a doubt the best sharpening tutor on youtube. Keep up the great work!
Yeah. I see some people say an edge is "over stropped". I think a more accurate assessment is in those cases the edge is actually just badly stropped. Using a strop carefully, and not just looking at it like a cure all for bad sharpening. Can lead to some amazing edges. In my opinion.
I think what you’re observing between the large pieces of veg tan leather you get and the belt kits is that the belt kits are split leather. When the belt leather is split, it gets further down into the finer grain of the leather, whereas the larger pieces of tan are just the complete skin with the flash side being, however, it came off of the cow. The belt leather is basically shaved on the flesh side to make it a consistent thickness, a pleasant side effect is that the grain is tighter as you get deeper into the flash side and more advantageous for a strop.
DAMN! Off a 400 grit stone...... it just goes to show that a guy is better off spending effort on keeping a constant angle while sharpening rather than 20 different stones or gadgets.
@@CorpseGrin The point was that you don't need high polish and thus many different stones for a hair whittling edge. Strops are cheaper for working up to a mirror polish anywho.
The macro shots of the edge are nice. And yes, you definitely want to strop at the same angle you sharpen. Cork strip will also work for a strop, but it wont last as long as leather.
Give beavercraft strops a try they are fantastic ! The white stropping compound really does help it’s a game changer in my eyes I used it on my bk9 and Victorinox’s explorer blades they are almost hair whittling sharp
I've found that leather from a 2 year old unicorn and the yellow pixie dust compound leaves my knife edge magically sharp! Thanks for the great information. I really enjoy your channel sir.
Can you make a video on the significance of scratch pattern angle on the bevel? Is there any difference between 45° and 90° patterns? In 45° pattern, is there a difference between stratches going from handle to tip or tip to handle? It seems like 45° tip to handle pattern is the norm. Is there a particular reason for that?
I'm very much a noob, but from what I can gather, it doesn't matter much (as long as it's not parallel to the edge that is). the idea of "45" (maybe 30 to 60, it doesn't matter, depends a lot on the length of the knife) is because it's the only way to hit the whole blade at once -- so it looks better AND you're sure you've hit the whole thing.
I've been trying to whittle hair for 2 yrs. Tried several stones. Sharp, yes, manly sharp, no. Never get it. Been watching you for a year or so. You said get the Sharpal diamond, so I did. After a tiny wee bit if prcatice, I now even have the $12 Kershaw Hotwire knife I found while fishing razor whittling hair sharp. Thank brother.
I'm now 'hooked' on your videos! This was incredibly detailed, straight forward and helpful. Even if I just wanted to know what a strop does, no one does this type of video better. I'm on amazon now ordering my 'kit' and making my own strop. Unfortunately much of the stuff in your links is currently NOT available.
I ran across an old cowboy belt in my closet a few years ago, a co-worker said his dad would sharpen all his knifes on a belt for decades. Incredible results! This video took it to another level. Thanks man
Just made my first strop yesterday. Glad to know I did it mostly right. Thanks! Do you have a vid on cleaning the strop? I used the green compound from Harbor Freight and its already pretty dirty after stropping like 9 blades.
I have been watching your videos for a while and I have to say that your explainations and visualizations are fantastic! The science of sharpening a knife free hand has always been difficult for me and your videos have made it very clear. Thank you for taking the time to share your information with us.
I have aluminium oxide compound for a lifetime. Given the fact that Mora knives are my go to knife, I'll be fine. 😁 I agree on the commercial strops being sold. My annoyance with them, many don't have the leather right up to the edge of the piece of wood beneath it. A scandi grind can't be stropped near the handle that way. 👺 Great video. Lots of useful information. 👌
If I bought a strop and the leather wasn't flush with the edges, it'd be going straight back to the seller. That's no use to anybody. I bought a block of the Veritas green compound when I first started sharpening seriously, and I've had nothing but good luck with it. When I take a knife off the strop, I've generally got a mirror finish on the edge. I believe Veritas rate it as half a micron or something, which seems ridiculous. Alex has sold me on the idea of trying some of the diamond jizz though.
@@twatmunro Yeah I send one back to the seller. I have the Veritas compound also. As well as other compounds. None of them diamond. I have enough to serve me the rest of my life. And I have mainly simple steels, Mora knives, Hultafors HVK GH. etc. No need for diamond paste... I do have different microns regarding the aluminium oxide compound. The black being 0.6 micron according to Knives and Tools. That one is the most fine one I have. Also the red and green, the yellow Flexcut Gold . It's all good for me.
@@twatmunro I also bought a piece of leather at Baptist. 50 x 30 cm. 16 euro. What's with the Matt Monro guy in your profile pic, and the name twat munro. Any reason behind it..
@@Yuzuki1337 For kitchen knives I just wash them off before using. Even a few passes on your jeans if being outside should clean them off I would say ?
I’m amazed at the quality of these videos. Thank you kindly for putting them out. They’re pleasant to watch and probably the most informative I’ve found. No hype, no BS, just facts. There’s literally nothing I’d want to see done differently from the way they are done.
@@OUTDOORS55 that's the wonderful aftermath of tiktok and deteriorating attention span... Edit: btw, because of you, I recently bought my first "starter kit" to get into knife sharpening^^
Your videos really nail home that hand sharpening is not expensive or impossible, just takes good fundamentals and practice! That being said I still can't get hair whittling edges still even with a mirror edge... I know it's down to me not holding a consistent enough edge on ANY of the stone/strop grits
This video is great, based on your videos and recommendations, especially for the brand DMT, I made myself 3 strops and got the 3 paste set from them, 3 6 and 9 micron I think, I also got the 3 set of dmt small stones which are fine for pocket knife sizes, They were the best value for the money but their design means they aren't full stones, they are polkadotted to hold the abrasive to the plastic frame but they still work pretty well. So well in fact that I'm looking at getting better and bigger versions of the same stones though I can't decide what I want next, those stones I mentioned or one of the glass stones you've showed recently. I think the glass stone as a single sharpening tool rather than running up through stones would be better. Either way my 3 strops are the real heroes, they make the knife psycho hair whittling sharp, the difference between sharpening super well at a high grit with barely any pressure and just using a basic strop is a massive difference and working my way through my strops makes the knife insane.
I made one comment already, but this second one is worth the time as well. You basically started my interest in sharpening by hand and essentially taught me how. About a year and a half ago I set down my system based sharpeners and started my journey of learning how to hand sharpen. After more than a year of failing and succeeding I have finally gotten pretty efficient at hand sharpening. I now prefer it to almost any other method and would not go back for anything. The gear I eventually settled on was the (4) grit DMT dia-sharp stone set with a stone holder from sharpening supplies, of course that's also where I got the stones. I usually finish with my Bacher strop using 1 micron gunny juice and few strokes on the smooth side with no compound. Watching your videos has a real benefit, it's not just sensless rambling about a topic. I have watched your videos for years and taken your suggestions for getting the best results. I am now in a situation where I frequently make money sharpening other peoples knives from work. You don't realize until you become proficient at hand sharpening just how much feedback a blade can give you. Thanks so much for your help!!
Great video! Not only is this the best stropping video I've ever seen, it's probably the only one on UA-cam truly worth watching. For my money kangaroo is the best blend of price and performance but as you say, the leather just holds the compound (the part that does the work). I like CBN more than diamonds but there's only one truly great source for it and I'm not sure if he's still active in the marketplace. But I'll be honest, I do still use green chromium oxide paste for some things (mostly for doping my leather belts for the grinder) mostly due to the low cost. On a 1x42" belt the green stuff works fine. Thanks so much for this wonderful reference work. Apropos of nothing, back in the day when you mostly discussed knife making I liked your channel but it's so much better once you started to get into reviews and tutorials, especially the sharpening stuff. There's so much nonsense and noise in that space so it's a breath of fresh air to see a science-based and practical approach to the science (and art!) of sharpening. Those affordable digital microscopes are a game changer!
Thanks to your detailed videos, I actually managed to sharpen my first knife ever (freehand). Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, I truly appreciate it ! 🤝🏻👍🏻
Those perfect sharp knives are not needed in my kitchen. Besides accidents do happen and an accidental cut from a perfectly sharp knife is dangerous. So I like my knives sharp enough only to slice breads, peel onions and potatoes and slice vegetables. I don't do any cutting with meat and bone. I leave those to the professional butchers in the market. Just like most people don't mince their meat themselves. Still I watch these videos out of curiosity and desire to learn why I couldn't sharpen a knife properly in my whole life 😂 Thank you for these nice videos that teach in a fun way. You are not only good at sharpening knives, you are a good teacher and a good video maker too.
You have a no fear approach and confidence with your angle. I need to work on that. Sometimes I get very good results but I have good days and bad days with sharpening abilities.
@@kevin8582 I also had the same problems. Some days would be better than others. It honestly wasn't till I practiced every day that it started to become second nature. 👍
I actually bought that cheap 13 dollar for 3 compounds you showed in the video just to see how it was. I’m using it on leather belts and idk if it’s because I’m using an electric system so much fast than by hand but I was pretty impressed by how it worked for the price. Can get shaving sharp in just a couple passes. With this said idk how accurate or consistent there grit ratings are, but if you want a strop on the ultra cheap I’d say it’s fine.
So I have only found one strop worth actually buying, but it’s kind of expensive. They are made in Podhale Poland using 3mm(1/8”) bark-tanned leather. They cost about $30. The paddle is made from a solid piece of beechwood and is unbelievably comfortable. The Bacher strop probably has the best rough side leather I have ever used. I usually run 1 micron gunny juice on the rough side and then finish on the smooth side with a few strokes with no compound, using only the weight of the knife on the smooth side.
Congratulations, you made a masterpiece of a stropping video, I have been sharpening for the past 5 years and also been sharpening 1000s of kitchen knifes for customers. This is perfect as it both affirmatives what I do know but also which details I should look further into to improve stropping. The last section just proves why strops are just amazing for maintaining sharpness, mindblowing to see how it actually looks like up close
I've been watching you for a few years now, and your videos have gotten better and better! Great instructions and love the macro/explanations of what is going on on the edge...
You can make a great portable strop by glueing a piece of basswood to the underside of an Altoids can lid and applying compound. Leather is optional if the surface is smooth. I keep one in my desk at work.
The first time I sharpened my knife so sharply was through Diamond 800 > Kuromaku 1000 + Strop This video really changed my knife sharpening skills. Thank you very much.
I'm sure there's no way to really answer this but how often should you reapply the compound? Are there some rules of thumb? Every other time you use it or every dozen times? Strictly by feel when it seems to be less effective? Should you recondition with the sanding block before adding more compound or just spluge some more on?
I absolutely never thought I'd watch an 18 minute video on stropping technology, but you did a great job not only making things clear, but keeping it interesting. I'll definitely use the knowledge you've given here. Thanks! And subscribed!
I LOVE that you have the zoom camera and are putting out all these videos. I've been wanting to sharpen a handful of my knives for years now and keep dragging my feet. But now these new videos will really help me out!!
Great video, great advice as usual! You're 1 of the few who understands all the why's and how's of stropping. I take a different approach. I buy a large rawhide dog chew from Tractor supply, soak it, cut it, stretch it over a 2x2, and fasten it with rows of little carpet tacks. I then dry it a few days and *lightly* checker it with a cheap serrated knife. That gives me 3 sides! I use 5um, 3um, and 1um diamond paste similar to yours. The diamond never seems to need reloading, and the strop should last 2 lifetimes. Some blades respond better to the 5um, others mysteriously like the finer sides. The rawhide is so hard it acts like both a fine ceramic wet stone, or a strop! No problems with over stropping or going a bit off on the angle!
A really very good touch of humor to offset how easy and excellent the Sharpal sharpener is. Wickedly sharp, durable, and idiot proof (mostly) technique. Kudos for the person doing thecamera work. Thanks. GB
Theoretically speaking if you just use the back side of the leather you could also buy just the split, it's cheaper than buying the top grain, but I don't know if the performance is the same.
I used to be a supplier of shoemaker products in Brazil and I know the issue you had with the leather. The big leather pieces you have we call it "soleta", meaning it's made to create shoe leather soles so it won't be the same quality as leather that is created to be used on belts, it's a different quality and process to make it viable as a belt leather. The contact cement is the best advice you can give to anyone trying to glue leather products since it's the only thing that really works. Some cobblers will swear on instant glue but we know this is just a temporary solution and will make the leather lose all its malleability after just one application. The big pieces of leather can also be used to cut some 'type of washers' (can't find how to say it in English) that you can use on the connections with a faucet and a hose, it will hold longer than those rubber ones that make the connection leakproof, especially ones with a higher pressure.
The washers part makes sense, as old manual water pumps used leather check valves to operate for many generations before rubber became a thing and in many cases, continue to be used today. The cyanoacrylate instant glue problem, also making sense, it's fairly low viscosity and hence, penetrates the leather, then instantly polymerizes, stiffening the leather. Now, one would be trying to strop an edge against leather/polymer and that'd not be quite as supple.
@@spvillanoThe thing with a strop is the compound. The leather is just a medium to hold the compound and that is what is making the most work. The leather itself will work as old barbers did use the leather to 'sharpen' their blades after a shave. As the old saying goes "Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away". It doesn't matter that a blade is harder than the leather, it's the way you use the blade/leather that gives you the result. Also, you do wear away the leather with time thus you do need to make/buy another strop.
@@Wat3va I know, I still use a straight razor and was taught how to hone it by an old barber. A few strops got dedicated to specific grit compounds only. One advantage I have over the old barbers is, stropping is rarely needed, as one rotates razors, allowing much to all of the burr to straighten itself out again. For stubborn burrs, one of my strops had a second canvas strop, but a few treatments with that and one would need to properly hone the razor again. Someone once saw me honing a razor and thought I was polishing the sides. Not the sides, just honing the edge, but polishing and honing do use the same compound, for the same reasons. Most of the public don't realize, polish contains an abrasive, which is what makes it work. Whether it's metal or even headlight lenses on your car, the polish abrades away the oxidized and scratched layer to visual smoothness.
Hi Alex - another excellent video. Two quick questions. I have also experienced poor results with the “not recommended”compound. Can I put the recommended compound on top of it or does the leather require resurfacing? Second question; what are you using to achieve the magnification depicted in the video. I have seen a previous description of your camera and lens set-up but wondering if you use additional equipment.
That diamond emulsion is a 0.5 micron size. It's, probably, best used to put a high polish on something, and may not be abrasive enough to remove a burr.
It's really the best video around knife edges 👍 Perfect micro pictures Tipp: try to use plywood plates (300x80x21mm) coated with diamond emulsion instead leather. You'll minimise the risk of dulling the edge. Cheers from 🇦🇹
What I've learned is you can buy whatever sharpening kit, whatever strop, and it will all do realitivly the same as long as you know what you are doing. I've spent a lot of money on sharpening tools, and I just can not get angles correctly. no matter how long I spend on a knife it comes out dull and with real big bur. I am currently practicing on a worksharp ken onion and using low - mid grade steels to practice.
Great video. Two points I would add for adhesive I use spray 3M 77 It is a contact adhesive but one with the advantage of being removable so you can remove damaged leather and put a new strop on the same wood. Secondly instead of leather with any compound if you know a knifemaker ask him for any wore out 2000 to 3000 grit 2X72 belts he may have you can section them into pieces to fit your wood. Glue them on with the 3M 77 and then clean them with Windex or any glass cleaner and as soon as they dry they are ready. They will give you a shaving edge quickly providing you did your sharpening correctly and when they seem to stop working clean them again with your glass cleaner and they will come right back. They last a very long time and when they do finally wear our just remove the belt and mount a fresh section of belt. What is wore out to the knife maker is just right for you or you can just order one belt online it will last for years before you use it all up.
Man, your videos, the depth of knowledge I'm getting here, awesome. And you're helping me make and buy the stuff all the way to having links. Dude, Thank you, a bunch!
As a novice I bought the Ken Onion work sharp, a great tool, but still couldn't get the edge I "wanted", then found this video and can say using a strop made the difference I was looking for! so thanks man I appreciate the education !!!
Stropping is critical in so many cutting tasks. I built a series of strops for my hand tools a long while back to keep my blades, gouges, swivel knives, and edge bevelers sharp as I work with leather a lot. I even strop my utility blades before use to get cleaner cuts on my veg tan and you can definitely feel the difference! I can get a lot more life out of a disposable utility blade just by doing a few passes every few cuts and I don't have to fight the material. The compound I use is a hard white rouge that Tandy Leather used to sell, and while it's hard to load onto a strop at first, it cuts with incredible results. I'm talking mirror finished edges! I don't know if they still offer it online, but it was certainly worth the $8 I paid for it!
Lots of great info. Big fan of your videos. Myself, I use hide glue to adhere the leather to the wood. I find it to be even more reliable than contact cement. Drawback is it takes overnight to dry, and you have to be careful to not get it on the working surface of the leather.
I know from that in machining using diamond tools on steel almost immidiatelly makes the diamond dissolve into the steel hence why CBN is used. How come this doesn't happen in stones or stropping compounds, is it just the difference in temperature or is it something else?
Maybe it's temperature. I don't know. However, diamond abrasives are ubiquitous in the steel sharpening world. HOWEVER, CBN wheels are the preferred abrasive for sharpening knives on wheels. (Bench grinder style wheels for sharpening.) Diamond wheels "load up," CBN wheels don't.
Excellent advice. There are two glues I have found that work in most cases where contact cement is often recommended. One is E6000 hobby glue that you can find everywhere glue is sold. The other is original Gorilla Glue. Spread the glue on the leather side and moisten the wood before gluing, and that bond will outlive both the leather and the wood.
Hi Alex, a video (or several videos) would be interesting where you show how to freehand sharpen the different types of bevels such as convex, concave, etc. Thank you for your explanations, always welcome, warm greetings from Italy.
I started right off the bat with making my own strops because it just seemed to make the most sense. In doing so I’ve experimented with so many different leathers and same with compounds and “emulsions”. After years and years I decided I didn’t like the inconsistency, variability and overall density of leather, so I moved to bass/balsa wood and for the diamond “emulsions”, I started making my own. With the wood I always sand it down and get it perfect flat with a final grit somewhere from 400-800 depending on what micron diamond will be used. As far as the “emulsion” which is really a suspension because i never liked the result of using anything other than distilled water in my mix simply because it drys completely leaving behind just the diamonds. My favorite thing I like about making my own is the ability to control the concentration of diamond. When I was first looking into premade “emulsions” (shake well before use lol) I found that when you did the math most of them only have a concentration of around 2-4% and these are the expensive ones you see a lot of people pushing. So by buying the diamond powder in whatever micron I want and mixing my own, I can make them anywhere from 8% to upwards of 20% for half the cost and end up with either twice the volume or a much much higher concentration. Pair that with my wooden strops and no burr stands a chance. Plus it only takes a couple passes to bring an edge back to shaving sharp. The one thing I will say about the wood is that since it has much less give to it, you have to be very good about keeping the bevel flat, that said it’s also more responsive so you know immediately if your angle is too steep or shallow. The way I kinda look at it now is they are my “soft stones”. On a final note, I do still use my leather strops on knives that have a convex edge as well as axes and other tools of that nature since it has more give.
Thank you so much for the in depth dive into leather strope, the technicality and the quality of the knowledge you shared is amazing! The perfect strope is rought leather, a bit sanded, enought surface and quality diamond conpound (i have a too small leather strope, smooth leather, with low cost green polish; exactly the opposite...). I have seen people "removing the burr" only by slicing throught soft wood (pine) and a few "strope" on their pants, standard quality jeans. Is it bullshit or better than nothing ? I ❤🐵and you ! 😘
I really look forward to your videos no matter how long. Everything you recommend seems to get sold out very quickly. I have bought almost everything you recommend and everything was great. Thank you for another excellent video.
I swear, almost every one of your links to recommended products I've opened has been out of stock...other than the diamond plate, it's the one thing I've been able to get so far, hopefully I can find some of the others soon
I know my question is odd. But I always wonder what grit/grit equivalent is a brand new strop like what you showed in this video without applying any compound. Thanks for all effort you do to determine myths and reality.
I made a bunch of strops a few years ago. I tried different methods, leathers, and adhesives. I was eventually quite pleased with a couple of them. But even the worst of them worked great.
SO IMPRESSED with your skills as a communicator and teacher. You clearly have tremendous expertise and put information across in an entertaining and informative manner -- NOT easily accomplished! I wonder if you have any experience with kangaroo tail as a strop material -- and if so, how do you think it compares to the leather you recommend in this video? It's way more expensive - any chance it's worth the premium?
@@OUTDOORS55 Here are the steps I use: Lightly abrade the two mating surfaces with some coarse sand paper, clean well-tack cloth/vacuum/acetone/mineral spirits/alcohol (generally your preference, just do a decent job). Let dry. Before applying the glue wet both abraded surfaces with water (this is not for foaming glue), you can generally add ~20% water to glue without affecting glue strength and many glue joint failures occur because the standard preparations of glue are to thick/concentrated. Apply the glue to the wetted surfaces and spread evenly. There should be sufficient water on the surface that when the glue is applied it starts to obviously self-level at the edges of the bead and spread very easily with your finger but not so thin that when left for a moment that the glue draws together leaving the appearance of holes/voids in the glue. Mate the two glued surfaces and slide back and forth to tack the glue a little and ensure good contact. Clamp the leather to the strop-I use a piece of MDF for a flat surface and clamp it in a vise. Glue should be visible around all the edges. Wipe off excess. Let cure for at least an hour. Trim leather/plane the wood as desired.
I tried with a loose belt that I attached with the buckle to a gard. Put some diamond 6u stuff on it and I get "shaving" result. But maybe my angle is horrible.
Leather I use below ⬇ Links to compound, and everything else, in the description. These tend to sell out fast 😬If you have any questions for future vides leave them below. Thanks for watching!
leather amzn.to/42hBGi3
These are amazon affiliated links
as an amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Personal statement⬇
As an affiliate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.
I bought everything in this video with my own money, and am free to link to anything I want.
Recommendations, comments, and criticisms, are based on personal experience with products.
At this time, (time of video upload, subject to change) I am NOT sponsored by any company.
Thanks
I’ve had pretty good luck buying sides of leather through Tandy. Totally agree on the belt blanks though if all you’re doing is making a strop.
Serious question: what about hide glue? I have several vintage bottles (older than both of us, so old formula from back when shit worked) that are still good... and I would assume it should work... and I can't find my contact cement, lol.
СПАСИБА!!! Thank you! I've been asking you for this for a while and YOU CAME THROUGH!!! 🙂
Your link to the Jende 4 Micron is already sold out and do not see 6 μm either. Would you recommend 2 or 8 μm since they are the closest size in stock?
How do you feel about gunny juice diamond emulsions?
DUDE! DO NOT EVER apologize for making a long video. I think I've watched all of the videos that you've put out, and one thing I can guarantee I have never said is "Man, that video was too long!" Almost every video you put out gets watched twice in a row by me. And im still wanting more at the end of every one. Youre very skilled, smart, funny, and some other words I don't know. That makes me keep watching your stuff trying to learn. Youve got something here, and you're good at it. 😊 Thanks for the videos you've already put out, thanks for the stuff that you're in the process of putting together and putting out, and most importantly thanks for the lifetime of information. TONS AND TONS of YT channels suck. Yours doesn't
no one say "it's too long" - they just silently skip parts or drop it )
statistics is "average watch time is 8 mins" and "more then 15mins is a waste"
i don't mind long videos if it worth it (and this author makes it so), but statistics is statistics - can't be helped.
I wish his was longer to, insightful and entertaining guy
Facts brother 👍😎 this dude is amazing 🤩
I always watch his channels full videos and want more ahahah
I'm not sure as I don't know the stats, but I feel that these numbers hughly depend on the type of video and the target audience @@tomekvilmovskiy6547
refreshing to see someone on youtube who actually knows what they are talking about. as a former tooling service tech, i can expand on what he is saying about burrs. when steel dulls the cutting edge rounds over. as opposed to carbide, which is sintered and therefore the material breaks down and falls away from the tool material. rough sharpening is traditionally done with the grinding direction away from the cutting edge as is shown here, resulting in the steel curling back over the opposite edge. this is a perfectly normal result of the material. carbide will not burr, but the sintered particles can lose their bond at the cutting edge with the end result being not as sharp as it could be in either case.
my experience doingn that work taught me that grinding in the opposite direction for a final few passes will eliminate the burr AND result in a very crisp cutting edge. especially on carbide for reasons i have yet to understand. from the perspective of a tool grinding machine, if the last pass grinds INTO the cutting edge with a feed in of maybe .005" to .010" results in a burr free and insanely sharp edge which may only require the briefest and lightest swipe of a superfine stone.
the greatest acknowledgement i ever got as a tool grinder was when the owner of the company inspected my work and cut his finger.
Its crazy to think that our fingers are so sensitive that we are capable of feeling a tiny burr in a knife that you can barely see
Made a strop out of a piece of wood, old belt, and some red compound I had. Works great.
Yep, $2 belt from the local thrift store.
apparently jeans work well too, I've sharpened plenty of razors with them anyways
@@moonasha
Cotton is rough enough to knock the burr off. Even better if you coat the cotton with a compound.
What do you mean by "red compound"?
@@TrevorV
Sorry, it's polishing compound that comes in bars, it's used in the jewelery trade to polish gold and silver. It's meant to be used on a buffing wheel but it was what I had.
Little tip. DOUBLE sided carpet tape works great for attaching leather to wood or whatever you like. Alot less messy and a bit more forgiving also can be removed afterwards if you wish. Thanks for the great vid and keep making sharp things fun and enjoyable
alternatively just use wood. imho it works better than leather, with diamond. any wood works but I like woods that aren't too soft, like balsa, or too hard like oak. woods like birch or basswood are ideal. those sticks for stirring paint work just fine. There is nothing magical about leather as a substrate.
@@TimJohnson-x1o I agree with that I've used Denim, stir sticks, leather, wood, dowels, cardboard and other materials as a stropping base to get slighty different results. The compound does the cutting in that case, although some materials can be used bare without compound to get the job done in a pinch, and diamond compound is definatly my favorite to use.
@@TimJohnson-x1o I use a plastic cutting board since it's right there in the kitchen where I'm sharpening knives.
I totally use double sided tape for my strop
My favorite character on Sharpening Street is Big Burr
Dude, my life is full of dull knives... you are saving me from all that! You are a mad genius!!! GLORIOUS!!!
Haha thanks! Appreciate the support 🙏🙏👊
This is THE definitive stropping video Alex! THANK YOU for making and sharing it. This video contains everything the viewer needs to know about stropping. Combining it with your previous sharpening videos will yield an incredibly sharp knife, IF THE VIEWER PAYS ATTENTION! Saving this one to my Knives Playlist.
i was about to say the same, this is the most information dense and all encompassing video on stropping ive ever seen. learned so much and confirmed some things i already knew, all around an amazing video. i would show this in a school
There is nowhere else on UA-cam that provides this level of detail delivered in a clear, concise and articulate manner. What long video? I watched it twice and several parts of it a lot more than that. Thanks for this - I'm making a new strop tomorrow following exactly what you've shared with us here.
Actually there is, his name is kneves knives
@@tacobellgaming3253 Sure, I like Jerad's content as well.
Im going to say it . Alex makes the BEST sharpening videos on UA-cam. Its not even a contest. No one has properly explained before exactly what the strop does, with such clear images
I really like this channel. It reminds me that if I buy the absolute best knife sharpening tools, the best stones that have been blessed by various monks, and worked my hardest, this dude could do a better job with a random 50 year old brick that has been laying in the elements he found on the side of the road.
Alex, I'm a professional sharpener. Your video on stropping is outstanding. Well done, young man. Keep up the good work. Best regards,
You encouraged me to make my own strop, 2 or 3 years ago, so I went online and bought some thick sheet of leather, cut a 2.5 x 6.5 inch piece of hardwood plywood with a sort of "handle" on one side, glued the piece of leather onto it using woodglue (smooth side down, but still holding perfectly for 2 years of weekly use. But it was some industrial grade woodglue from a friend of mine, so maybe that helped). Then I used a utility knife and cut along the sides of the plywood, to fit it perfectly to the contours of the piece of wood, for the reasons you mentioned in the video
So far, I've only tried 1.0 micron aluminium oxide compound for stropping and it worked very well for all of my pocket and kitchen knives. Although, S90V takes quite some time though XD
My sharpening routine starts depending on the condition of the apex with a coarse DMT 8", next a fine DMT 8" and finally the leather strop.
As I started out on those crappy amazon stones, years ago I felt the sharpening to be extremely exhausting and frustrating, you generate tons of slurry, arms getting tired, but barely any results.
My 2 step diamond stone set-up (based on your recommendations) however is really !really fast, effective and no mess at all. No water, no oil, no slurries in the kitchen... my wife also likes it a lot more ... :D
Maybe I will try out those diamond compound in the future, however I'm quite happy at the moment with this set-up.
Thanks for your content ❤👍
Did I mention that I really appreciate those insane macro-footage 😯👍
Your tutelage has been invaluable and I've been sharpening many more years than you've been alive. Thank you.
When you slapped that piece of leather on the table and said “ Does this bring back memories? “ I lost it!!😅 too funny and so true. My Dad when he got really mad at my brothers and I, would whip his belt off and smack it on something and say to us..”You guys want a piece of this?” I was laughing so hard I've got tears in my eyes. Alex your sense of humour is absolutely the best! Great video as usual..Number 1 fan in Nova Scotia. Cheer MikeR.
Did anyone ever ask for a piece of that?
@@artsnow8872My mom had a board of education (written on it) that had holes that whistled on the way to my behind. Or alternatively she made me go out and pick a switch from the weeping willow which transferred the weeping to me😮. But hilarious stuff.
@@artsnow8872Lol😅 Not me that’s for sure! Cheers MikeR.
Lol
And here I was thinking about leather-bound fun in my 30s...
13:20 I was ready to hear “smash that like button”, and was so confused when that did not happen 😂
Those zoomed in shots are always so incredible, both because they really help explain what's going on and because they're beautiful
I've been sharpening knives for 50 years or so. This video is most practical no nonsense single bit of sharpening advice I've ever seen.
Would you be willing to either describe how you apply the diamond compound from the syringe? Know you said it depends… but would be interested in seeing how much you apply; what tools you use to mash it into the leather; how thick you do for your compound. There are quite a few about the aluminum oxide, but few on diamond compounds.
That would be great! Did you find an answer?
Great video (perfect length too). I learn something new in each video you put out. You were the one that got me to finally start my proper sharpening journey. Absolutely love the instant macro shots to true understand what is happening to the steel. Keep it up.
As cursed as this may sound, I've been using a strop made out of a piece of microfibre cloth stuck onto a piece of wood.
With green compound on it, paired with dialux green compound.
It was intended to polish the main bevel of a knife for it to shine. The use as a strop was an accidental discovery.
Just make sure to not put too much pressure and go with a very shallow angle, as microfibre is highly compressible.
You can even lie the blade flat and strip away as the not compressed part of the cloth will still polish the secondary bevel and edge.
I made some strops out of exotic woods and this guy bought a few from me. I think he has passed now. RiP, Sultan of Speed. He stropped a Spyderco Delica ZDP-189 down to 26 on a BESS meter with my strop. He wanted to send me Kangaroo leather to adhere to an exotic wood to see how low we could go. I love your videos and use them as a reference, Outdoors55! You do great work for knife makers!
Please do a video on how to apply compounds (especially emulsions)!! 🙏
they go in the trash learn to sharpen ur blade on a sharpener
Nothing related to that vid. But wanted to compliment your work. From all the sharpening clips and channels which were really „in“ a while ago, i still enjoy only your channel at the moment fir many reasons. Whenever i got friends over (which became somewhat rare lately due to personal reasons) every one is like „dude, your kitchen knives are amazing“ i just tell them to watch your vids. I only use cheapest knives and ever since i use your tips, they are extremely sharp and also keep the edge so much longer. Again.. appreciate your work. Keep it up!
Thanks for the support! It's definitely appreciated 🙏
Most steels I ever sharpened are 14c28n, nitro-v and D2... nothing more fancy!
I prefer toothy edge but few passes on the strop makes it better!
I don't get hair whittling everytime but I get it to shaving every time.
I just have a fallkniven CC4 or victorinox diamond sharpener, and as a strop I use the leather from the fallkniven stone sheath or an old leather belt!
And if the knife is starting to get dull, stropping brings it back in shape few times before needing sharpening again!
For the first few times I dulled my knife too but I kept trying, watching your tutorials and neeves knives I learned how to hold the angle, that I don't need different grit stones, etc. I think I'm begging to develop a feel and movement that works for me!
You don't need top notch expensive stones and sharpeners, because even with those there can be user error, I'm not saying you can just get that 5$ sharpener either, I had one that was just crumbling with each pass...
See what others recommend in your budget, build confidence with a knife you don't mind ruining.
And think of it as a fun project, if you think it will be frustrating you already set yourself to fail!
Good luck!
There are diminishing returns on sharpness. "Hair-whittling sharp" lasts only one use, and it's instantly downgraded to barely shaving sharp. Same with "shaving sharp", it doesn't last much longer long, depending on what you're cutting. I find that "almost shaving sharp" gets you the most for the least effort and lasts a little longer.
Yes, I think that how long an edge lasts is more important than splitting hairs (fun intended).@@Bob_Adkins
11:53 you can strop straight on glass and the benefit is that it is a very flat surface if you’re making micro bevels. cowhide is around 4mm-6mm and it squishes and stretches which makes a convex edge. kangaroo leather is 1mm-2mm thick and it has much more grain to it than cowhide which also holds more compound and has a better tactile feel to it than cowhide. kangaroo leather is ten times stronger than cowhide and it doesn’t stretch and it’s more abrasion resistant than cowhide so it holds up a lot better than cowhide. kangaroo leather is usually around $30 for the whole thing except for the tail which by itself is around $50. the tail is a better quality for strops than the hide but the kangaroo hide is still much better than cowhide. a barbers strop is still an effective tool for removing the burr and polishing strops are more for removing metal. you can remove a burr with a brick or a polishing strop but people who think that’s what was designed for are wrong.
I made one using kangaroo tail and it is indestructible. Kangaroo TAIL is the strongest leather in the world. It was surprisingly easy and not excessively costly to buy a couple of suitable strips online. Might have helped finding them seeing I live in Australia.
I used to use a bulb from a heat lamp as a hone and it worked fantastically well. It was made of a 10" long quartz glass tube with a frosted (so slightly roughened) surface. Not as much cutting power as a steel hone because of the relative smoothness but it worked great for bringing scalpel and craft knife blades back to a keen edge.
I don’t know if you’ve ever ordered from Tandy leather before but I’m always super happy with their leather. Because I buy rolls of belly for sheath making I’m generally not quite as concerned about small imperfections or inconsistencies but I also was recently at one of their physical stores and they told me that if you order by actually calling the store, you can be more choosy about getting rolls without imperfections
Another excellent video. Thank you so much for the information and examples you provide us. You are without a doubt the best sharpening tutor on youtube. Keep up the great work!
The macro footage are lovely❤ i love macro AND knives.
When I was a kid, 1950s, and your dad used a straight razor, the strop was dual use. It also was used to make your butt red.
My Dad too. It hangs in my bathroom but i havnt mastered how to use it. Thats why im here!
The unmistakeable “Thwip” of Dads belt coming out of the loops. Usually never did whatever I did wrong again, lol
For anyone looking for the Jende 4 micron compound, if you go directly to their website, they do have it in stock. They also have smaller sizes.
Yeah. I see some people say an edge is "over stropped". I think a more accurate assessment is in those cases the edge is actually just badly stropped.
Using a strop carefully, and not just looking at it like a cure all for bad sharpening. Can lead to some amazing edges. In my opinion.
I think what you’re observing between the large pieces of veg tan leather you get and the belt kits is that the belt kits are split leather. When the belt leather is split, it gets further down into the finer grain of the leather, whereas the larger pieces of tan are just the complete skin with the flash side being, however, it came off of the cow. The belt leather is basically shaved on the flesh side to make it a consistent thickness, a pleasant side effect is that the grain is tighter as you get deeper into the flash side and more advantageous for a strop.
DAMN! Off a 400 grit stone...... it just goes to show that a guy is better off spending effort on keeping a constant angle while sharpening rather than 20 different stones or gadgets.
Yep, it was a good eye opener
Hey bozo what about polishing. You need more than a 400 grit stone 🤡
@@CorpseGrin The point was that you don't need high polish and thus many different stones for a hair whittling edge.
Strops are cheaper for working up to a mirror polish anywho.
@@jabokd574 let’s see a video of you getting a mirror finish like that. Should be compelling content 🤡
The macro shots of the edge are nice. And yes, you definitely want to strop at the same angle you sharpen. Cork strip will also work for a strop, but it wont last as long as leather.
Give beavercraft strops a try they are fantastic ! The white stropping compound really does help it’s a game changer in my eyes I used it on my bk9 and Victorinox’s explorer blades they are almost hair whittling sharp
I've found that leather from a 2 year old unicorn and the yellow pixie dust compound leaves my knife edge magically sharp!
Thanks for the great information. I really enjoy your channel sir.
Can you make a video on the significance of scratch pattern angle on the bevel? Is there any difference between 45° and 90° patterns? In 45° pattern, is there a difference between stratches going from handle to tip or tip to handle?
It seems like 45° tip to handle pattern is the norm. Is there a particular reason for that?
I'm very much a noob, but from what I can gather, it doesn't matter much (as long as it's not parallel to the edge that is). the idea of "45" (maybe 30 to 60, it doesn't matter, depends a lot on the length of the knife) is because it's the only way to hit the whole blade at once -- so it looks better AND you're sure you've hit the whole thing.
I've been trying to whittle hair for 2 yrs. Tried several stones. Sharp, yes, manly sharp, no. Never get it. Been watching you for a year or so. You said get the Sharpal diamond, so I did. After a tiny wee bit if prcatice, I now even have the $12 Kershaw Hotwire knife I found while fishing razor whittling hair sharp. Thank brother.
Fantastic close up shots, you are very skilled!
Thank you so much 😀 And thanks for taking the time to watch 🙏
you are making by far the best videos on youtube about these things I have ever seen. bravo to you.
I'm now 'hooked' on your videos! This was incredibly detailed, straight forward and helpful. Even if I just wanted to know what a strop does, no one does this type of video better. I'm on amazon now ordering my 'kit' and making my own strop. Unfortunately much of the stuff in your links is currently NOT available.
I ran across an old cowboy belt in my closet a few years ago, a co-worker said his dad would sharpen all his knifes on a belt for decades. Incredible results! This video took it to another level. Thanks man
Just made my first strop yesterday. Glad to know I did it mostly right. Thanks!
Do you have a vid on cleaning the strop? I used the green compound from Harbor Freight and its already pretty dirty after stropping like 9 blades.
I have been watching your videos for a while and I have to say that your explainations and visualizations are fantastic! The science of sharpening a knife free hand has always been difficult for me and your videos have made it very clear. Thank you for taking the time to share your information with us.
I have aluminium oxide compound for a lifetime.
Given the fact that Mora knives are my go to knife, I'll be fine.
😁
I agree on the commercial strops being sold. My annoyance with them, many don't have the leather right up to the edge of the piece of wood beneath it. A scandi grind can't be stropped near the handle that way. 👺
Great video. Lots of useful information.
👌
If I bought a strop and the leather wasn't flush with the edges, it'd be going straight back to the seller. That's no use to anybody.
I bought a block of the Veritas green compound when I first started sharpening seriously, and I've had nothing but good luck with it. When I take a knife off the strop, I've generally got a mirror finish on the edge. I believe Veritas rate it as half a micron or something, which seems ridiculous. Alex has sold me on the idea of trying some of the diamond jizz though.
@@twatmunro
Yeah I send one back to the seller.
I have the Veritas compound also. As well as other compounds. None of them diamond.
I have enough to serve me the rest of my life.
And I have mainly simple steels, Mora knives, Hultafors HVK GH. etc.
No need for diamond paste...
I do have different microns regarding the aluminium oxide compound. The black being 0.6 micron according to Knives and Tools. That one is the most fine one I have.
Also the red and green, the yellow Flexcut Gold .
It's all good for me.
@@twatmunro
I also bought a piece of leather at Baptist.
50 x 30 cm.
16 euro.
What's with the Matt Monro guy in your profile pic, and the name twat munro.
Any reason behind it..
I wouldn't mind aluminum oxide as much for my softer knives if I wasn't cutting so damn much food with them :(
@@Yuzuki1337
For kitchen knives I just wash them off before using.
Even a few passes on your jeans if being outside should clean them off I would say ?
I’m amazed at the quality of these videos. Thank you kindly for putting them out. They’re pleasant to watch and probably the most informative I’ve found. No hype, no BS, just facts. There’s literally nothing I’d want to see done differently from the way they are done.
Love the longer videos, thx ✌️
They don't do as well but I wanted to get as much as possible in this one👍 Thanks my friend!
@@OUTDOORS55 that's the wonderful aftermath of tiktok and deteriorating attention span...
Edit: btw, because of you, I recently bought my first "starter kit" to get into knife sharpening^^
Your videos really nail home that hand sharpening is not expensive or impossible, just takes good fundamentals and practice! That being said I still can't get hair whittling edges still even with a mirror edge... I know it's down to me not holding a consistent enough edge on ANY of the stone/strop grits
This video is great, based on your videos and recommendations, especially for the brand DMT, I made myself 3 strops and got the 3 paste set from them, 3 6 and 9 micron I think, I also got the 3 set of dmt small stones which are fine for pocket knife sizes, They were the best value for the money but their design means they aren't full stones, they are polkadotted to hold the abrasive to the plastic frame but they still work pretty well. So well in fact that I'm looking at getting better and bigger versions of the same stones though I can't decide what I want next, those stones I mentioned or one of the glass stones you've showed recently. I think the glass stone as a single sharpening tool rather than running up through stones would be better. Either way my 3 strops are the real heroes, they make the knife psycho hair whittling sharp, the difference between sharpening super well at a high grit with barely any pressure and just using a basic strop is a massive difference and working my way through my strops makes the knife insane.
I made one comment already, but this second one is worth the time as well. You basically started my interest in sharpening by hand and essentially taught me how. About a year and a half ago I set down my system based sharpeners and started my journey of learning how to hand sharpen. After more than a year of failing and succeeding I have finally gotten pretty efficient at hand sharpening. I now prefer it to almost any other method and would not go back for anything. The gear I eventually settled on was the (4) grit DMT dia-sharp stone set with a stone holder from sharpening supplies, of course that's also where I got the stones. I usually finish with my Bacher strop using 1 micron gunny juice and few strokes on the smooth side with no compound. Watching your videos has a real benefit, it's not just sensless rambling about a topic. I have watched your videos for years and taken your suggestions for getting the best results. I am now in a situation where I frequently make money sharpening other peoples knives from work. You don't realize until you become proficient at hand sharpening just how much feedback a blade can give you. Thanks so much for your help!!
Great video! Not only is this the best stropping video I've ever seen, it's probably the only one on UA-cam truly worth watching. For my money kangaroo is the best blend of price and performance but as you say, the leather just holds the compound (the part that does the work). I like CBN more than diamonds but there's only one truly great source for it and I'm not sure if he's still active in the marketplace. But I'll be honest, I do still use green chromium oxide paste for some things (mostly for doping my leather belts for the grinder) mostly due to the low cost. On a 1x42" belt the green stuff works fine. Thanks so much for this wonderful reference work. Apropos of nothing, back in the day when you mostly discussed knife making I liked your channel but it's so much better once you started to get into reviews and tutorials, especially the sharpening stuff. There's so much nonsense and noise in that space so it's a breath of fresh air to see a science-based and practical approach to the science (and art!) of sharpening. Those affordable digital microscopes are a game changer!
Thanks to your detailed videos, I actually managed to sharpen my first knife ever (freehand). Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, I truly appreciate it ! 🤝🏻👍🏻
This is the best sharpening content on UA-cam.
Period
Your camera work is incredible and offers visual proof of what you're saying. Thank you.
Those perfect sharp knives are not needed in my kitchen. Besides accidents do happen and an accidental cut from a perfectly sharp knife is dangerous. So I like my knives sharp enough only to slice breads, peel onions and potatoes and slice vegetables. I don't do any cutting with meat and bone. I leave those to the professional butchers in the market. Just like most people don't mince their meat themselves.
Still I watch these videos out of curiosity and desire to learn why I couldn't sharpen a knife properly in my whole life 😂
Thank you for these nice videos that teach in a fun way. You are not only good at sharpening knives, you are a good teacher and a good video maker too.
Loved this and the breakdown of how-to and why, hope all is well and best wishes from here in the UK
Same to you!
You have a no fear approach and confidence with your angle. I need to work on that. Sometimes I get very good results but I have good days and bad days with sharpening abilities.
@@kevin8582 I also had the same problems. Some days would be better than others. It honestly wasn't till I practiced every day that it started to become second nature. 👍
I actually bought that cheap 13 dollar for 3 compounds you showed in the video just to see how it was. I’m using it on leather belts and idk if it’s because I’m using an electric system so much fast than by hand but I was pretty impressed by how it worked for the price. Can get shaving sharp in just a couple passes. With this said idk how accurate or consistent there grit ratings are, but if you want a strop on the ultra cheap I’d say it’s fine.
So I have only found one strop worth actually buying, but it’s kind of expensive. They are made in Podhale Poland using 3mm(1/8”) bark-tanned leather. They cost about $30. The paddle is made from a solid piece of beechwood and is unbelievably comfortable. The Bacher strop probably has the best rough side leather I have ever used. I usually run 1 micron gunny juice on the rough side and then finish on the smooth side with a few strokes with no compound, using only the weight of the knife on the smooth side.
Congratulations, you made a masterpiece of a stropping video, I have been sharpening for the past 5 years and also been sharpening 1000s of kitchen knifes for customers. This is perfect as it both affirmatives what I do know but also which details I should look further into to improve stropping. The last section just proves why strops are just amazing for maintaining sharpness, mindblowing to see how it actually looks like up close
I've been watching you for a few years now, and your videos have gotten better and better! Great instructions and love the macro/explanations of what is going on on the edge...
You can make a great portable strop by glueing a piece of basswood to the underside of an Altoids can lid and applying compound. Leather is optional if the surface is smooth. I keep one in my desk at work.
The first time I sharpened my knife so sharply was through Diamond 800 > Kuromaku 1000 + Strop
This video really changed my knife sharpening skills. Thank you very much.
I'm sure there's no way to really answer this but how often should you reapply the compound? Are there some rules of thumb? Every other time you use it or every dozen times? Strictly by feel when it seems to be less effective? Should you recondition with the sanding block before adding more compound or just spluge some more on?
I absolutely never thought I'd watch an 18 minute video on stropping technology, but you did a great job not only making things clear, but keeping it interesting. I'll definitely use the knowledge you've given here. Thanks! And subscribed!
I LOVE that you have the zoom camera and are putting out all these videos. I've been wanting to sharpen a handful of my knives for years now and keep dragging my feet. But now these new videos will really help me out!!
Great video, great advice as usual! You're 1 of the few who understands all the why's and how's of stropping. I take a different approach. I buy a large rawhide dog chew from Tractor supply, soak it, cut it, stretch it over a 2x2, and fasten it with rows of little carpet tacks. I then dry it a few days and *lightly* checker it with a cheap serrated knife. That gives me 3 sides! I use 5um, 3um, and 1um diamond paste similar to yours. The diamond never seems to need reloading, and the strop should last 2 lifetimes. Some blades respond better to the 5um, others mysteriously like the finer sides. The rawhide is so hard it acts like both a fine ceramic wet stone, or a strop! No problems with over stropping or going a bit off on the angle!
“Does that bring back memories or what?” Had me rollin man
A really very good touch of humor to offset how easy and excellent the Sharpal sharpener is. Wickedly sharp, durable, and idiot proof (mostly) technique. Kudos for the person doing thecamera work. Thanks. GB
Theoretically speaking if you just use the back side of the leather you could also buy just the split, it's cheaper than buying the top grain, but I don't know if the performance is the same.
Thanks to this video, I finally got a knife sharp enough to wittle hair. Never knew it was so simple, with a little practice
I used to be a supplier of shoemaker products in Brazil and I know the issue you had with the leather. The big leather pieces you have we call it "soleta", meaning it's made to create shoe leather soles so it won't be the same quality as leather that is created to be used on belts, it's a different quality and process to make it viable as a belt leather. The contact cement is the best advice you can give to anyone trying to glue leather products since it's the only thing that really works. Some cobblers will swear on instant glue but we know this is just a temporary solution and will make the leather lose all its malleability after just one application. The big pieces of leather can also be used to cut some 'type of washers' (can't find how to say it in English) that you can use on the connections with a faucet and a hose, it will hold longer than those rubber ones that make the connection leakproof, especially ones with a higher pressure.
The washers part makes sense, as old manual water pumps used leather check valves to operate for many generations before rubber became a thing and in many cases, continue to be used today.
The cyanoacrylate instant glue problem, also making sense, it's fairly low viscosity and hence, penetrates the leather, then instantly polymerizes, stiffening the leather. Now, one would be trying to strop an edge against leather/polymer and that'd not be quite as supple.
@@spvillanoThe thing with a strop is the compound. The leather is just a medium to hold the compound and that is what is making the most work. The leather itself will work as old barbers did use the leather to 'sharpen' their blades after a shave. As the old saying goes "Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away". It doesn't matter that a blade is harder than the leather, it's the way you use the blade/leather that gives you the result. Also, you do wear away the leather with time thus you do need to make/buy another strop.
@@Wat3va I know, I still use a straight razor and was taught how to hone it by an old barber. A few strops got dedicated to specific grit compounds only.
One advantage I have over the old barbers is, stropping is rarely needed, as one rotates razors, allowing much to all of the burr to straighten itself out again. For stubborn burrs, one of my strops had a second canvas strop, but a few treatments with that and one would need to properly hone the razor again.
Someone once saw me honing a razor and thought I was polishing the sides. Not the sides, just honing the edge, but polishing and honing do use the same compound, for the same reasons. Most of the public don't realize, polish contains an abrasive, which is what makes it work. Whether it's metal or even headlight lenses on your car, the polish abrades away the oxidized and scratched layer to visual smoothness.
Hi Alex - another excellent video. Two quick questions. I have also experienced poor results with the “not recommended”compound. Can I put the recommended compound on top of it or does the leather require resurfacing? Second question; what are you using to achieve the magnification depicted in the video. I have seen a previous description of your camera and lens set-up but wondering if you use additional equipment.
That diamond emulsion is a 0.5 micron size. It's, probably, best used to put a high polish on something, and may not be abrasive enough to remove a burr.
It's really the best video around knife edges 👍
Perfect micro pictures
Tipp: try to use plywood plates (300x80x21mm) coated with diamond emulsion instead leather. You'll minimise the risk of dulling the edge.
Cheers from 🇦🇹
What I've learned is you can buy whatever sharpening kit, whatever strop, and it will all do realitivly the same as long as you know what you are doing. I've spent a lot of money on sharpening tools, and I just can not get angles correctly. no matter how long I spend on a knife it comes out dull and with real big bur. I am currently practicing on a worksharp ken onion and using low - mid grade steels to practice.
Great video. Two points I would add for adhesive I use spray 3M 77 It is a contact adhesive but one with the advantage of being removable so you can remove damaged leather and put a new strop on the same wood. Secondly instead of leather with any compound if you know a knifemaker ask him for any wore out 2000 to 3000 grit 2X72 belts he may have you can section them into pieces to fit your wood. Glue them on with the 3M 77 and then clean them with Windex or any glass cleaner and as soon as they dry they are ready. They will give you a shaving edge quickly providing you did your sharpening correctly and when they seem to stop working clean them again with your glass cleaner and they will come right back. They last a very long time and when they do finally wear our just remove the belt and mount a fresh section of belt. What is wore out to the knife maker is just right for you or you can just order one belt online it will last for years before you use it all up.
Man, your videos, the depth of knowledge I'm getting here, awesome. And you're helping me make and buy the stuff all the way to having links. Dude, Thank you, a bunch!
As a novice I bought the Ken Onion work sharp, a great tool, but still couldn't get the edge I "wanted", then found this video and can say using a strop made the difference I was looking for! so thanks man I appreciate the education !!!
It was the barbers in the old western movies that got me to notice one
Tried it on my old little K-bar and it workjed great
I never strop, probably never will. But the video quality on the close ups and a clear definition of your own process and opinion is tremendous!
Does that bring back memories? You have my respect, love the videos keep rocking my brother!
Sadly, yes.... it triggered shit
What do you think of just taking wood with compound on it ? Like taking Stroppy Stuff on Balso etc.
Stropping is critical in so many cutting tasks. I built a series of strops for my hand tools a long while back to keep my blades, gouges, swivel knives, and edge bevelers sharp as I work with leather a lot. I even strop my utility blades before use to get cleaner cuts on my veg tan and you can definitely feel the difference! I can get a lot more life out of a disposable utility blade just by doing a few passes every few cuts and I don't have to fight the material. The compound I use is a hard white rouge that Tandy Leather used to sell, and while it's hard to load onto a strop at first, it cuts with incredible results. I'm talking mirror finished edges! I don't know if they still offer it online, but it was certainly worth the $8 I paid for it!
Lots of great info. Big fan of your videos. Myself, I use hide glue to adhere the leather to the wood. I find it to be even more reliable than contact cement. Drawback is it takes overnight to dry, and you have to be careful to not get it on the working surface of the leather.
I know from that in machining using diamond tools on steel almost immidiatelly makes the diamond dissolve into the steel hence why CBN is used. How come this doesn't happen in stones or stropping compounds, is it just the difference in temperature or is it something else?
Because there no heat generated at slow speeds. Heat and pressure is what causes that
Maybe it's temperature. I don't know. However, diamond abrasives are ubiquitous in the steel sharpening world. HOWEVER, CBN wheels are the preferred abrasive for sharpening knives on wheels. (Bench grinder style wheels for sharpening.) Diamond wheels "load up," CBN wheels don't.
I use rubber cement to hold a thin sheet of balsa wood to a 3" x 8" piece of wood. It holds solidly but peels right off when it's time to change it.
Excellent advice.
There are two glues I have found that work in most cases where contact cement is often recommended. One is E6000 hobby glue that you can find everywhere glue is sold. The other is original Gorilla Glue. Spread the glue on the leather side and moisten the wood before gluing, and that bond will outlive both the leather and the wood.
Hi Alex, a video (or several videos) would be interesting where you show how to freehand sharpen the different types of bevels such as convex, concave, etc. Thank you for your explanations, always welcome, warm greetings from Italy.
I started right off the bat with making my own strops because it just seemed to make the most sense. In doing so I’ve experimented with so many different leathers and same with compounds and “emulsions”. After years and years I decided I didn’t like the inconsistency, variability and overall density of leather, so I moved to bass/balsa wood and for the diamond “emulsions”, I started making my own.
With the wood I always sand it down and get it perfect flat with a final grit somewhere from 400-800 depending on what micron diamond will be used. As far as the “emulsion” which is really a suspension because i never liked the result of using anything other than distilled water in my mix simply because it drys completely leaving behind just the diamonds. My favorite thing I like about making my own is the ability to control the concentration of diamond.
When I was first looking into premade “emulsions” (shake well before use lol) I found that when you did the math most of them only have a concentration of around 2-4% and these are the expensive ones you see a lot of people pushing. So by buying the diamond powder in whatever micron I want and mixing my own, I can make them anywhere from 8% to upwards of 20% for half the cost and end up with either twice the volume or a much much higher concentration. Pair that with my wooden strops and no burr stands a chance. Plus it only takes a couple passes to bring an edge back to shaving sharp. The one thing I will say about the wood is that since it has much less give to it, you have to be very good about keeping the bevel flat, that said it’s also more responsive so you know immediately if your angle is too steep or shallow. The way I kinda look at it now is they are my “soft stones”. On a final note, I do still use my leather strops on knives that have a convex edge as well as axes and other tools of that nature since it has more give.
Thank you so much for the in depth dive into leather strope, the technicality and the quality of the knowledge you shared is amazing! The perfect strope is rought leather, a bit sanded, enought surface and quality diamond conpound (i have a too small leather strope, smooth leather, with low cost green polish; exactly the opposite...). I have seen people "removing the burr" only by slicing throught soft wood (pine) and a few "strope" on their pants, standard quality jeans. Is it bullshit or better than nothing ? I ❤🐵and you ! 😘
Thank you. So many videos show how to sharpen butt don't mention getting a burr whatsoever even though its ome of the most important parts. Well done
I really look forward to your videos no matter how long. Everything you recommend seems to get sold out very quickly. I have bought almost everything you recommend and everything was great. Thank you for another excellent video.
I swear, almost every one of your links to recommended products I've opened has been out of stock...other than the diamond plate, it's the one thing I've been able to get so far, hopefully I can find some of the others soon
Now you know why they are out of stock.
I know my question is odd. But I always wonder what grit/grit equivalent is a brand new strop like what you showed in this video without applying any compound.
Thanks for all effort you do to determine myths and reality.
Its extremely small. It wont scratch a polished edge unless it get contaminated with something else.
@@OUTDOORS55 thxxx
I made a bunch of strops a few years ago. I tried different methods, leathers, and adhesives. I was eventually quite pleased with a couple of them. But even the worst of them worked great.
SO IMPRESSED with your skills as a communicator and teacher. You clearly have tremendous expertise and put information across in an entertaining and informative manner -- NOT easily accomplished! I wonder if you have any experience with kangaroo tail as a strop material -- and if so, how do you think it compares to the leather you recommend in this video? It's way more expensive - any chance it's worth the premium?
12:27 Wood glue absolutely does reliably work, but you have to prepare the surfaces appropriately.
Interesting, I've never had it reliably hold over time. 👍
@@OUTDOORS55 Here are the steps I use:
Lightly abrade the two mating surfaces with some coarse sand paper, clean well-tack cloth/vacuum/acetone/mineral spirits/alcohol (generally your preference, just do a decent job).
Let dry.
Before applying the glue wet both abraded surfaces with water (this is not for foaming glue), you can generally add ~20% water to glue without affecting glue strength and many glue joint failures occur because the standard preparations of glue are to thick/concentrated.
Apply the glue to the wetted surfaces and spread evenly. There should be sufficient water on the surface that when the glue is applied it starts to obviously self-level at the edges of the bead and spread very easily with your finger but not so thin that when left for a moment that the glue draws together leaving the appearance of holes/voids in the glue.
Mate the two glued surfaces and slide back and forth to tack the glue a little and ensure good contact.
Clamp the leather to the strop-I use a piece of MDF for a flat surface and clamp it in a vise. Glue should be visible around all the edges. Wipe off excess.
Let cure for at least an hour.
Trim leather/plane the wood as desired.
I tried with a loose belt that I attached with the buckle to a gard. Put some diamond 6u stuff on it and I get "shaving" result. But maybe my angle is horrible.