OldTools Archive
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113291 | Christopher Swingley <cswingle@i...> | 2003‑01‑16 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
Chris Freemesser asked, > > Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge > > appreciably sharper Then Ken replied, > As to specifics, yes you charge the strop with very fine compound. If > you buy a strop from galoot Keith De'Grau, it comes with a jar of > compound, something like 10000 grit as I recall. It's amazing stuff. I haven't tried Keith's stuff yet, mostly because I already have one of those green crayon things. It works great, and I've been convinced through experience, that it does improve the sharpness and durability of an edge. I do think, however, that it does dub the edge enough that the next sharpening requires a slightly more aggressive grit than I used to use, in order to bring the edge sharp to the back of the iron (could be bad stropping technique, I suppose). (I'm **not** trolling for a strop / no-strop | dub / no dub debate here, honest!) One thing I've noticed with the green crayon is that it's really too hard to apply directly to my leather strop (or the piece of hard maple I sometimes use). I wind up wetting a scrap of cloth with some turpentine, rubbing this on the crayon to soften it, and then rub the crayon onto the leather / wood. I get a lighter, more even coating of the compound this way. It could be because I keep my shop pretty cold (60 F / 15 C). Chris -- Christopher S. Swingley University of Alaska Fairbanks cswingle@i... http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle OldTools Searchable Archive: http://nika.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive http://archive.oldtools.org |
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113289 | "Ken Greenberg" <ken@c...> | 2003‑01‑16 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
On 16 Jan 2003 at 12:34, Chris Freemesser wrote: > Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge > appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to > justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). > If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green > charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather > as-is? Many of us like to use the strops after scary-sharp. Of course, sharpening techniques are sort of like religions. Each method has its advocates, everybody does things a bit differently, and over the years you just get to a point where you figure out what's best for you after trying lots of different approaches. As to specifics, yes you charge the strop with very fine compound. If you buy a strop from galoot Keith De'Grau, it comes with a jar of compound, something like 10000 grit as I recall. It's amazing stuff. http://www.handamerican.com/ is Keith's web site. -Ken, just a happy user Ken Greenberg (ken@c...) 400 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95032 woodworking page: http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/wood.htm books page: http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/booksfor.htm |
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113296 | Roger Nixon <oreoblues@y...> | 2003‑01‑16 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
--- Chris Freemesser |
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113288 | Chris Freemesser <chris2@c...> | 2003‑01‑16 | Sharpening question & Bio |
Hi all. A quick question regarding tool sharpening from a relative newbie: I use the "Scary Sharp" system of sandpapers to sharpen my plane blades and chisels. With this, I can get the tools sharp enough to shave hair off of my forearm. The highest grit sandpaper I use for this is 2000 grit. Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather as-is? That being said, I've now posted a few questions here (thanks for all the answers, guys!), but haven't officially posted a bio. Here's the short-n-sweet version: Name: Chris Freemesser Age: 33 Location: Upstate NY Profession: Computer systems administrator Status: Married, one son (19 mos. old) Woodworking info: I've been doing it for about 2.5 years now, mostly building stuff for our house (both outdoor items and interior furniture we need). Started out like most newbies...watched N*rm on TV and loaded up on power tools. As my skills developed, I picked up a few hand tools to play with, educated myself regarding how to properly use them, and discovered that I *really* liked doing stuff by hand. No noise, no dust all over the place, and no worries about losing a finger or two....it's a beautiful thing. I now have a variety of hand tools which all see appreciable amounts of use, as well as a large list of handtools I, uh, "need" to get. :^) Thanks much, Chris -- _____________________________________________ Chris Freemesser chris2@c... _____________________________________________ |
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113293 | "Jim Foster" <james.foster@e...> | 2003‑01‑16 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
> -----Original Message----- > From: Christopher Swingley [mailto:cswingle@i...] > Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 12:33 PM > To: oldtools > Subject: [oldtools] Re: Sharpening question & Bio > < |
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113299 | Ken Pendergrass <kenp794@c...> | 2003‑01‑16 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
Stropping with a leather strop charged with some kind of buffing compound will make an edge appreciably sharper even after a 9000 water stone. You don't need the green crayon any number of buffing compounds will work. Whatever you can get locally or order the green when you happen to be ordering something else. I use yellow rouge because I happen to have some and it doesn't have much wax in it so it isn't messy it just makes dust. Just glue a piece of leather to a nicely flattened hardwood. I like veg. tanned leather because it is harder than oil tanned and won't compress quite as much. With stropping a little goes a long way. It is amazing how fast a strop will cut tool steel. Since the leather tends to compress and wrap around the edge it will round off the edge destroying the edge if over done. I go no more than 2 strokes on the bevel and 3 or 4 on the back. I also use a pine board as a strop. Being hard it allows me to swirl the plane blade around in a circular fashion that I use when honing the back of the blade on my water stones yet woun't destroy the edge so fast. If one is very sensitive to how the plane is (or chisel) is working and can sense dulling fast enough, before too much damage is done, one can strop a blade back to life without having to hone. Ken in Ypsilanti > > >>Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge >>appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to >>justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). >>If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green >>charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather >>as-is? >> >> > > > > |
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113303 | "Robert Brown" <robnmargo@h...> | 2003‑01‑17 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
Welcome to the porch, Chris! Paul Womack (Bugbear) says he uses cereal box cardboard charged with abrasive compound for stropping. (He told me this after I bought a leather strop.) I haven't tried it myself, but cardboard may dub the edge a little less than soft leather. I use Simichrome Polish on a leather strop. The polish comes in a toothpaste tube and it works very well for me. Stropping definitely gave me a better edge than Scary Sharpening up to 1000 grit emery paper. I was unable to find 2000 grit, so can't say whether stropping will improve your edge over the 2000 grit treatment. Hope this helps. Rob in Winnipeg Galoot Canuck _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail |
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113367 | "Charles Driggs" <cdinde@m...> | 2003‑01‑19 | Re: Sharpening question & Bio |
> Would using a leather strop after the 2000 grit paper make the edge > appreciably sharper, or would the difference really not be enough to > justify the cost of a strop (it would be a birthday gift, actually). > If the strop WOULD be a good idea, do I need to use the green > charging compound commonly available, or do I just use the leather > as-is? welcome to the Porch, Chris ... You've had a variety of good answers to your questions. I'm a little behind the rest, but I say use a strop. I use two types ... one of several leather strops charged with Herb's Yellowstone compound, or a length of flat hard rock maple charged with green crayon. The wood & crayon is for those instances when I really want a sharp edge and minimal dubbing. Of the leather strops, only one was bought (a Butz carver's strop); made the rest myself as it is very easy to do. If you make your own leather strop, opinions are mixed as to whether you put the smooth side out or use it for gluing, but I glue the smooth side and use the rough side out like nearly all strops I've ever used or seen. Hadn't heard of Ken's suggestion of veggie tanned vs. oil tanned leather, so that's an interesting twist I'll consider with future strops. Whatever style you use, swipe the edge across your strop with very light pressure. The more pressure, the more you dub the edges. Charlie Driggs Newark, DE |
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