Sharpening Question - strop leather

[Chippie]

[Q)UOTE=Jim Ledger;6460516]Stropping with compound does remove metal, however, you don't need compound on the leather 5t remove the wire edge. The action of bending the wire edge back and forth will break it off.

There is a fundamental difference between straight razors and chisels, and that is their thickness. You can just about lay a raz for flat to strop it, and do so with very little pressure. A chisel, in comparison, because of its thickness has to be elevated, say, twenty-five degrees to strop the bevel side. The thick blade depresses the leather to an extent and the rebounding leather, loaded with abrasive, will round off the edge rather than polish it.[/QUOTE]


"There is a fundamental difference between straight razors and chisels, and that is their thickness. You can just about lay a razor for flat to strop it, and do so with very little pressure."

Again, Jim is right.

I often lay my "dulled" safety razor blade flat against the curved section of the bathroom bowl to sharpen it.
Slight pressure of your finger on the centre ensures that the edges only are in contact with the curved surface and ""Hey Presto" you're ready to go.

[Chippie]

The "science" behind the strap is exactly what I am utilising, as the principle of the strap was to ensure that the open razor blade cutting edge was presented to the strap surface by the "thick" back and the slight curve imparted to the strap when pressure is put on whilst sharpening.

[Jim Mahan]

I've been using a straight razor since nineteen-seventy-eight, off and on. I've never used an electric, except to see that it wasn't what I wanted. I've used the plastic disposables, and they're okay but only for the first few shaves before they're too dull.

For all of that time, I've used the standard leather strop, in the traditional manner, hooked on one end and held with the funky handle end. What I know, is that when my blade feels a little dull, and leaves whiskers, a few strokes on the strop will bring it back enough to get a decent shave. And then when that doesn't seem to be getting it done, I use the hard arkansas, and I'm back in business. Some few years ago, I decided to try putting the chromium oxide on the leather. I honestly can't tell any difference, and I haven't bothered to redo the green stuff since then.

When She got part way into the bathroom redo, and the usual place to hook the strop, got taken down for the painting, I used the strop by laying it flat on the counter top next to the sink. Works just as well, as far as I can tell.

A weirdness, now that I have whiskers of varying color, from dark to light, due to graying, the razor wants to skip over the white whiskers.

You don't want to put the straight razor up against the spinning felt wheel with the green compound. The edge is too fragile and the result is worse rather than better. You won't feel a wire edge honing a straight razor, either. Also, there's zero point in trying to use a straight razor with it's delicate hollow ground blade in wood working, because the edge is way too fragile. I did try it once just to see.