Sharpening Strops and Compounds: Best Guide for You! (2021)

The tapping of a blade requires dragging it over a piece of leather…

…or a similar material, known as a ‘strop,’ to sharply polish the edge.

Some experienced users rely on stone…

…before using strops for the finishing polishing process…

…to perform the bulk of the “grinding.”

In recent years, however, cleverness of knives has become very popular…

…in bushcraft and knife circles…

…without the additional use of stones, rods or other splinters.

Look this reference about best reviews of leather strop if you are interested.

Experts at Knife believe that learning to strop is the best way…

…in emergency preparedness to sharpen and maintain a field knife…

…but it requires the right materials and some practice.

In addition to tips on building your own brick stroke…

…and basic beginner informations about the compound colours…

…and materials below the fold…

…we have selected the best of our products on the market.

This two-sided strop comes with one suede side…

…(where you load the abrasive compound)…

…and one smooth side (for finishing touches).

Typically you only load the suede side of a strop…

…because it’s the “rougher” side of the leather…

…but some enthusiasts do opt to put a fine compound like green…

…or white on the smooth side for finishing an edge.

In any case, once a surface has been loaded with a particular type of compound…

…you’ll only ever load that same compound type on that strip.

There’s no going back and forth…

…at least not easily enough to make it worthwhile.

For basic field knife maintenance, many people buy one paddle like this…

…load it with black compound, leave the smooth side bare, and they’re done.

No need for other strops with other levels of compound.

Before moving into next section let us hear Amy’s story…

When I was just learning to cook,

I didn’t know much about how to care for my knives.

One time, when I was about to cut the meat with my knife,

the meat wouldn’t cut.

It turns out the knife was dull.

I thought I should buy a new knife at that time.

The same thing happened again after some time.

The knife I had was dull, so I bought a new one.

My father came to the house one day, and I told him about it.

I was told by my father that I could sharpen my knife.

As I watched him sharpen the knife,

he gently taught me how to do it.

Now I don’t have to waste money often changing my knife,

thanks to my loving father who always takes care of me.

Let’s jump right in!

What Is A Strop?

The strop is used after the finest stone for the final stage of sharpening.

Strops are used to polish edges…

…and remove burrs left behind by sharpening stones.

“A strap; more specifically a piece of  leather or a substitute (notably canvas), or strip of wood covered with a suitable material, for honing a razor, in this sense also called razor strop.”

A definition of strop from Wiktionary.

Strops are most often made of leather…

…although other materials may also be used.

Suede and smooth leathers…

…technically known as flesh side and grain side, are both used.

Strops can be rigid, such as leather on wood paddle strops…

…or flexible, such as leather and linen razor strops.

How do I use a strop?

With honing compounds, abrasives of extremely fine grain…

…strops are frequently used to polish edges to a mirror finish.

Start by applying the compound to the surface of the strop.

There is no need to cake on too much compound; a little goes a long way.

Move the blade away from the cutting edge…

…as you press the bevel against the surface of the strop.

Flip over the blade and repeat the process on the other side as well.

With or without a honing compound…

…the process is the same on any stropping surface.

Avoid moving the blade toward the cutting edge as it will cut into the strop…

…dulling the edge and damaging the strop.

Usually, a few strokes are sufficient.

It is best to use a strop before you realize your edge is dull.

When used consistently, it is one of the keys to maintaining a razor-sharp edge.

Keep reading…

Check out our best recommendation for leather strops here!

Is A Compound Necessary?

Strops can be used without any compound.

Straight razor sharpeners, for example…

…often use a leather strop without any compound.

The leather polishes the metal and removes burrs from the edge…

…leaving it crisp and sharp.

Knife and tool users, however, often use a compound on their strops.

They find it quickly and easily gives them an excellent edge that meets their needs.

Using a compound is a matter of personal preference, based on our experience.

Both methods produce excellent results…

…although honing compounds with their abrasive particles…

…will show results more rapidly than plain.

As a matter of thoroughness, many of us use both…

…using one strop with compound applied, followed by a few strokes on a plain strop.

Here’s the real deal…

What You Need to Strop?

One thing you only have got to do is laying on a hard surface…

…and sweeping through your blades…

…with a perfect flat strip of suitable material (usually leather).

Most of the stroppings are made with a ‘loaded strope’ to accelerate things:

the stroke that is spread over the basic material…

…with an abrasive stropping compound.

Double-sided strokes are good…

…because you can either load two different compounds (typically black and green)…

…or have two compounds on one side and finally bare on the other side.

Because it is easier to use long, liquid bites to move the blade across the surface…

…bigger stems are always better.

That reason alone is why we recommend large strops for a beginner’s home kit…

…let alone the added benefit of easier maintenance on larger blades.

We also like strops and compound that have a handle (“paddle strops”)…

…and wrist/storage lanyard.

Go on…

Make Your Own DIY Strop

Because strops are simpler, you cannot hardly make yourselves of a leather strip…

…a flat piece of wood and some adhesive.

Home made strops and store-purchased strops can work as well as…

…provided that you have purchased goods…

…and are old enough to eat no more glue than what you apply.

Denim is also popular for home-made strokes…

…and even though these are not as durable as leather…

…when loaded with compounds you may be unable…

…to tell many performance differences.

Last, but not least…

Making Improvised Strop In Emergency

A field fitting stroke can be harvested from the back of a leather belt…

…or from certain layers of the felt, denim, heavy cardboard…

…or paper stapled or sticked onto a board.

Though your badass grandad doesn’t need compound…

…some of the ingredients used to bronzes made the leather decent for stropping…

…after all, when you strop his straight razor…

…he didn’t use a set of colored compounds.

(You never store your knife in a leather sheath for the same chemicals).

Bare leather works slowly and is mostly used to finish a fine edge…

…after a blade is run through a red grit…

…but you can just use the leather from the beginning to the end.

Cardboard, where there is no leather, is a surprisingly decent option.

It’s going to take a lot of time, but it works.

In addition, you can load your cardboard strop with a fine polishing compound…

….we experimented with toothpaste, baking soda and metal polishes.

Check out our best recommendation for knife sharpener here!

Sum Up!

 It is important to strop your knives regularly to maintain their sharpness.

It’s not something you need to worry about too much in terms of time…

…just make sure you do it at least once a few months.

Conclusion

Learn how to strop properly by getting some quality tools…

…figuring out what works best for you, and then practicing!

You can also let us know…

…if this article was useful to you in the comment section below!