Everything you NEED to know about Knife Stropping (Razor Sharp)

[@MatthewHartsuch]

7years later and these are still the best sharpening videos on the internet

[@Keith1983_]

this video deserves gold stars . thank you for the information and not promoting crap, best most honest video i have seen like ave . this is gold .thank you

[@PaulK390S90V]

Your video inspired me to make my own strop. i got a nice piece of leather 3"x9" and a 2x4 ripped and some rubber feet with screws. i also got some 3.5 m paste. SMOOTH side up! Im making it tomorrow. Also some sandpaper to finish the wood a bit. Im excited. I bought a handheld strop for 20$ recently and the leather was 1.5"x5.5" and crappy leather that got all cut up. Came with some fine compound. Did OK but i know i can make better. Building it tomorrow wish me luck! Just started a knife collection too. Got a spyderco raven 2 cts bd1 and a böker h6 blue sheep. And a crkt and kershaw and colt cts bd1. I can't stop. Gonna get some better ones too. Good video def has helped me out

[@wayneg.2342]

Awesome video. Lots of great tips. Very helpful.

[@misscasualty]

"I just did a 30 minute video on my knees." That's what she said! I'll show myself out...

[@Old_Sailor85]

I'm in my 50s and just started using a strop last year.I was amazed how much of a difference it makes. Takes it from sharp to hair wittlin'.I use a different technique. I use a piece of an old belt glued to a block of wood, rough side up. I buff metal for other hobbies, so I just use rouge and white compound (two different strops) and I load the strop dry. Whatever works, I guess there's no prison term for using different methods. If you haven't used one, try it. You may be surprised.

[@NeilTheKnifeGuy]

I like sharpening to a toothy edge and then going straight to a strop also. It seems to be the best of bolth world's. Very high cutting aggression and very easy to keep that way. Great points in this video. Thanks for doing it.

[@BennyCFD]

Brilliant, I agree 100% a little bit of tooth is a better cuttung edge.

[@kaibidell6605]

Thanks man. Really appreciate the thorough info! Just subscribed to the channel.

[@VincenzoNero94]

Definitely still my favorite KZbin person.

[@imperialbluess]

Thanks my man. Getting caught up on everything. Love the vids!

[@mo_viking7075]

Both vids were solid and on point, thx for posting them.

[@jamesaritchie2]

One thing about strops. I agree with putting the compound on the smooth side, but I have very good luck putting leather on the opposite side of the board, putting the rough side up, and using it as a final buff with no compound at all. On this side, I greatly prefer suede, so the "rough" side is still very soft, and almost fluffy. I guess I must have some Japanese in my blood somewhere. I don't care if it takes six hours to get a knife where I want it, and an hour a day to keep it that way. I enjoy sharpening, and find it gives my quiet time to think.

[@BOOSTEDLASER]

Can you make a vid on how to properly strop a Convex with a a huge sweep.Actually the new Bark River CPM 154 Bushbat.JX4 Not sure how to twist it as I rub.Hate to mess it up. Semper Fi

[@joep5337]

I thank you for your informative videos. They are always worth the while. I wonder if you could sometime discuss Cliff Stamp's views on stropping. He and his devoted followers contend that stropping is basically a bad idea as trailing edge honing inevitably weakens the edge. They advocate that you should simply use very fine stones if you want a very fine edge and always use leading edge strokes on the stones. I think Cliff is an engineer of some sort, but it is strange to me that few in the knife world seem to share his point of view. Thanks again for all you share with the knife collecting world.

[@ronaldeaton9898]

Cool.whats in the tanks?

[@blanebiondolillo430]

randy your the man! as it took me forever to change to the DMT past from green compound,but the stuff is truly amazing at getting a supper sharp polished edge in alot shorter time!it takes us old farts a little longer to change are habits/ways,thanks for taking time to post this video,hopefully this will change peoples minds with what to strop with.

[@BennyCFD]

DMT diamond pastes and other diamond emulsions are way, way, way, way over priced. You can get 20 grams of .25 micron polishing compound on eBay for like $9.00 dollars.

[@blanebiondolillo430]

agreed,thank you.

[@LCVBladesEdge]

Nice thank you for the info. I’m always learning. It’s the beauty of this hobbie

[@josephgkrestan4254]

Great info. Thanks!

[@bumstudios8817]

"I just did a 30 minute video on my knee's" # that's what she said

[@justinp0225]

can you do a video on like a ZT0350TS with the stone and strop where the blade is so round

[@mikemcgrath7280]

okay I noticed that on your stropping back and forth your angle was not always the same wouldn't it be better if you put your knife on the stone at 15 degrees and strop it at 15 degrees.... I've been thinking of purchasing the Arkansas Stone. what do you think.. I'm just starting to get into all this stropping

[@ElPashmino]

Is just a question for knives... How can i take out the edge from knives? making the edge side flat. I want to buy a balisong and for practicing with it without any cuts on my hand i would like to take out the edge

[@Olumin37]

There are tons of practice balisongs available without a sharp blade. Why would you ever ruin your blade like that?

[@ElPashmino]

most practice ones are really cheap and they easily breake, i already had one

[@Olumin37]

Arath Valle Even Benchmade makes some themselves. There are high enough quality ones out there, even for cheap.

[@westsenkovec]

You can get a real one and tape the edge. That way you can reverse it if you plan to use it or sale it.

[@specopsbrat5130]

I use painters tape when using stone and strop. That way I don't have to be worried so much about scratches. Jewelers Rouge works just as well as those expensive micron diamond pastes also.

[@BennyCFD]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, it's a knife and knives get scratched in everyday use.

[@specopsbrat5130]

+BennyCFD for the expensive collector knives that don't get used. Won't be doing any bushcraft work with my Anthony Marfiones or vintage Randall Mades. I have knives worth more than most people's cars.

[@specopsbrat5130]

+specopsbrat the Apostle P did a video on sharpening an old beater Benchmade 940 Osborne for Wranglerstar on his Edgepro and he put painters tape on that old worn out POS. You laughing at him too??

[@frenchieedc7602]

DLT Trading strop with Bark River black and white compound > DONE! I can easily strop and maintain the edge of a knife with a S30V steel blade (i never try harder steel). People should watch stropping videos from VirtuoVice,this guy know what he is talking about!

[@jiritichy6855]

Hey. I am 64 years old. When I was a little boy(3,4,5,6) I remember my father shaving with razor blade. He had s trop(might have been impregnated with some either diamond or ruby rouge). But the strop itself was a free piece of leather(like piece of wider belt). He hooked it up to top of door and then, with one hand, he pulled the other end down towards himself and with the other hand was touching up the razor edge by movements similar to what you show here. There was not support under the leather. Here is a link to something what looks very similar: search for "Razor emporium: Straight Stropping FAQ's"

[@Peregrino.51]

Hi Jiri. I sharpen kitchen knives and sushi knives. I do a tiny bit of stropping at the end to remove any stray bits of metal and leave a mildy shiny edge. I focus more on the edge than the "cosmetics" of it. I've seen that video too, and sharpening a straight razor means a super small angle, much different from sharpening a knife. Those end in a very fragile, sharp apex. pocket knives don't. SK

[@kentfisher439]

awesome videos keep it up I am getting it thanks

[@Traderjoe]

Great video series! I like that strop.

[@kaibidell6605]

How much diamond paste should you put on?

[@ericcartman8354]

is there a place I can buy a strop like this?

[@smokingunclefrank6037]

Great Video thanks

[@trubadyr99]

Appreciate the video! Great, useful tips! And I am not a complete newbie. I am new to your channel, so I wondered: do you use sharpening systems of any kind at all? I wondered if there are the economical ways to strop with films, or tapes that are easily replaced, when needed? Leather is getting clogged, you see. Aside from the obvious: what cam did you use? What tripod? What mic for this vid? I liked it's quality! Was the room fairly lighted with extra lighting added, or not? I am sure all that it's interesting to many watchers of your videos, not just me. Liked your cheerful attitude! Thanks for all you do!

[@hovan2yourjunk]

Hey man...can you please tell me how to clean or recondition the leather? I've been searching all over to find some advice with no luck. I'm using the DMT paste (3 separate blocks - 6, 3 & 1 micron) and they look super dirty after running about 25 blades on them...not sure if it's even necessary.

[@garethbaus5471]

It isn't generally necessary.

[@mmejia657]

great vids... thanks

[@ianbrown_777]

I just got a white strop compound in the post but it seems too hard - cant rub on to leather. What can I do?

[@drycomplexity]

I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but heat it up with a lighter. Heat your strop up too after you spread it around so it'll absorb it into it's pores.

[@ianbrown_777]

No I had actually lost interest and put it aside for the time. So thank you... I will try that.

[@laloguillen6109]

sup with ur fish tank what u got in it

[@genxkevin]

did you make the strop or buy... if u bought it can u post a link?

[@PkwyDrive13]

Stropman makes nice strops

[@kawi4ev]

What knife is that?

[@PkwyDrive13]

Spyderco slysz Bowie

[@PandaKnivesRo]

Good video! Thanks for sharing. :)

[@FindersKeepers88]

Thx, that helped

[@alex5667]

Take the white Bark River Compound that is much cheaper than the diamond paste, and the results are similar.

[@BennyCFD]

Bark River is also expensive. You can get 20 Grams of .25 micron polishing compound on eBay for like $9.00. Bark River might be good, but mostly you're paying for the name.

[@Oliver-us8zl]

AchillesKnivefriend you dont pay much for the name on bark river compound. i do really prefer it to strop my knives and i get awesome results!

[@BennyCFD]

You know Murray Carter from Carter cutlery sharpened a field knife then to show it was...."REALLY".... razor sharp he shaved with it. Lots of people say their knives are razor sharp but very few actually make a video of them shaving with a knife.

[@Player_Review]

Thank you... you're a knife God!

[@ryanmeagher4169]

every time I strop I end up dulling the blade and have to go back to the stone

[@garethbaus5471]

You might be using to much pressure or the wrong angle.

[@Fluoride556]

Randy, im so oilly, that i have to wipe off my thumb before using the fingerprint scanner on my phone.

[@zardiw]

9 Minutes in b4 he starts.....lol

[@citygreek165]

great video but I need to continue to use the wicked edge idiot proof system, hard to teach a old dog new tricks

[@nathanwoj2244]

I just use an old leather belt and metal polish. Lol

[@EgbertWilliams]

So, in conclusion... paper is Italian.

[@trijigon]

i have to disagree with one point you made. stropping can absolutely screw up everything you worked on to get a knife sharp. stropping incorrectly can easily round the edge to the point of bluntness. however, it is difficult for competent people to strop "incorrectly" unless you're going for perfection. Of course these are my opinions, but they are the same as some other guys who have a ton more experience than myself in these areas. i would like to hear your thoughts on this. great video nonetheless!

[@SolosKnifeReviews]

Thanks for commenting, I believe I did say that. If you press too hard it can wrap the leather/strop around and you would need to start ALL over again. I'd much rather recommend people start of too light of pressure then too much. Thanks again for watching and adding to the conversation. It's why I do it :)

[@trijigon]

SolosKnifeReviews After watching the rest of the video i heard you say exactly what i said. i wrote the comment while watching and heard you make those points. i didn't think i hit post cause i was waiting to finish the vid but i guess i did. keep it up!

[@18S12]

What's your Instagram account name?

[@nuthn2do]

Really ??

[@everythingknife8763]

A real bummer that you spent 20 minutes stropping a knife just to perform the paper demo with a different blade. I was curious to see how the stropped blade performed. "Earth quake simulator!" *straight face* "that's really not funny" *laughs at that*

[@jamesaritchie2]

Diamonds will get any knife razor sharp, but they will also shorten the lifetime of the knife dramatically, if you use knife often. Diamonds sharpen by cutting, rather than polishing, as stones, and many strop compounds do. The difference between how diamonds and stones sharpen has to be seen under a microscope to be believed. One cuts, the other polices. I wouldn't let a diamond anywhere near a knife I cared about.

[@jojojaykay]

James Ritchie polishing removes material too. Diamond itself isn't the problem.

[@ImprovisedSurvival]

I hate digs, grrr.

[@IceMan-qt2tj]

nice vid but dude u talk too much, just be precise on instructions thats it dont ruin ur nice video by talking too much

[@eliassaab1850]

first 5 minutes are useless

[@Ray-gu5kp]

Please, you don't need 2 fingers buddy, you must be new

[@drycomplexity]

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