So, after a rigorous sharpening session, you want the perfect finish?

Stroping your knife is the most effective way to accomplish this.

However, each knife has its own set of circumstances.

What kind of strop type actually should we buy to use?

What’s the best strop type can we use?

Let’s check on what Marley said about his experience with knife strops!

My mother is a butcher, so she knows that…

…knives do need a strop and some also need a compound…

…to be sharpen. She raised me alone as my father went away..

…with another woman. My mother refused to give up even though…

…she has to work so hard to feed and educate me well.

I grow up love cooking and I dream to be like Gordon Ramsay..

…and own a lot of restaurant. When I’m going to college far away from…

…my hometown, my mother give me her favorite knife strop.

It’s so shiny and beautiful, yet I don’t know what kind of…

…strop type it is. One day I have a Meat Slicer Competition.

I’m very excited and dying to win. I can use the prize to..

…take my mother for a vacation. Suddenly…

…something strange happen. When the competition about to start…

…my knife strop is gone! I can’t believe it!

It gives me such a heart attack and blurred my vision.

However, glimpse of my mother’s face has enlightened me…

..and calm me down. Thankfully I win the competition!

…I went back home in tears and bring my mother a new knife strop for her.

Frim the story we know that for those who loves cooking,

would also love to strop on their knives. So what strop type should you have?

Choosing The Right Strop Type For Your Knife

A straight razor must be treated differently than an outdoor knife.

When should you use a stropping belt and when should you use a paddle?

First and foremost, let’s see if your knife is genuinely appropriate…

…for stropping. Serrated? There will be no stropping.

You’ll end up destroying the entire strop,

….wasting both your time and your strop.

A recurve knife one with a curved blade, like a peeling knife?

On a razor strap only, not a paddle. Before you begin,

…make sure your knife is sharp. Otherwise, you’ll be occupied…

…for hours with no end result.

Then you can choose the appropriate strop type,

…or see here for more information about leather strops.

Knife Stroping Benefits

Sharpening is a skill that many people fear,

…but it doesn’t have to be. Stropping a knife is both a component…

…of the sharpening process and a part of routine knife…

…maintenance in and of itself. You’re not alone if you’re curious…

…about what stropping a knife does to the blade.

Because stropping occurs at such a tiny scale,

…it might be difficult to visualize what it does.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of what stropping does to a knife.

A stop is utilized in a number of situations…

…to keep the knife edge sharp. The objective of utilizing…

…the strop will be determined by the task…

…you need to complete on the knife while stropping.

The following are the most common applications…

…for a strop on a knife, which are used to sharpen…

….the knife’s cutting edge in specific situations :

• The sharp edge is being re-aligned.
• After sharpening, remove the burr or wire.
• Minor blemishes on the sharp edge are removed.
• The knife’s cutting edge is being polished.

Other Materials To Use Strop

Leather is the most common material for a strop.

Russian leather or even kangaroo leather are popular choices…

…for true stropping enthusiasts. However, other materials,

…in addition to various types of leather, can be used as a strop.

This is frequently done in combination with diamond spray…

…or emulsion, such as DMTs. Simple newsprint, denim fabric,

…balsa wood and maple wood are also popular choices.

While spraying with a diamond emulsion,

…you place newsprint on a level and hard surface.

After that, strop your knife lightly with small motions.

You want a very flat piece of maple or balsa wood…

…with no defects such as knots or other damage…

…for maple or balsa wood. The diamond emulsion…

…is also sprayed on the wood. After that,

….you can begin lightly stropping your knife.

You can obtain a terrific result depending….

…on the grain size of the emulsion.

It’s vital to remember that three mild strokes…

…are preferable to one strong stroke for any type of stropping.

Stropping With A Razor Strop

Between stropping with a stropping belt and stropping…

…with a stropping paddle, stropping with a razor strop…

…is a decent option. A razor strop is a thicker stropping belt…

…that is applied to the frame of a razor.

The tension on the belt can be adjusted by rotating the handle.

You won’t have to worry about keeping an eye on the tension…

…on the belt when stropping because the frame will do it for you.

It’s also handy that the leather is a little thicker.

If you make a mistake, you can always shave the cut-off to fix it.

If you cut a stropping belt’s leather by accident,

…you’ll most likely end up with two (half) belts. Furthermore,

the fact that you don’t need a hook to hang the belt…

…is obviously advantageous. Outdoor knives,

kitchen knives, and straight razors can all benefit from a razor strop.

Stropping With Paddle

A stropping paddle is simply a piece of leather applied…

…to a hard surface. Because the leather is applied to a hard surface,

…you can easily apply more pressure to the blade.

Especially when just starting with stropping,

people tend to start by applying more pressure…

…at the first few strokes than later on.

The hard surface ensures that the leather remains 100% flat…

…and constant. It also makes applying stropping compound easier.

For the stropping on the go, for example, when (wild)camping or hiking,

….a small strop on a hard surface is ideal.

Much more convenient than a stropping belt or razor strop.

A large stropping paddle is useful when sharpening larger knives.

You can think of outdoor knives, but also larger kitchen knives.

Japanese kitchen knives can be sharpened up to perfection…

…after a sharpening pass on Japanese whetstones.

This can be done with a razor strap, but also with a large stropping paddle.

Sum Up

The purpose of stropping is to eliminate any knicks…

…or flaws on the blade’s surface as well as sharpen it.

A stroThe purpose of stropping is to eliminate any knicks…

…or flaws on the blade’s surface as well as sharpen it.

A strop is generally made of a material such as leather…

….or canvas that has been attached to a base board…

…for stability.p is generally made of a material such…

…as leather or canvas that has been attached to a base board for stability.

Conclusion

What kind of strop type do you like?

Is it leather strop? or is it stropping blocks?

That’s all your choice! Do you want to change what you have?

Let us know by dropping a comment below!