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Keeping your knives sharp is important for performance and safety. A leather strop is an essential knife maintenance tool that can help you extend the life of your knife edge between sharpenings.
Here is a guide on how to use a leather strop to care for your knives.
Why Use a Leather Strop
A strop realigns and straightens out the edge of a blade by drawing or dragging the edge over the surface of the strop in a back-and-forth motion. This helps remove tiny folds or cracks known as burrs that form along the edge. It also polishes and refines the edge.
Stropping extends the life of your sharp edge by smoothing out rough spots before they develop into nicks and chips. It cleans up the edge and makes it slice better. Just a few passes over the strop can help restore sharpness.
Leather makes an ideal strop material. It has just enough softness and grip to refine a blade edge without wearing it out. Leather strops are easy to use and maintain.
Choosing a Good Leather Strop
There are a few things to look for when selecting a leather strop:
- Width – Wider strops between 2-3 inches give you more surface area to work with for larger blades. Kitchen knives will only require a 1-2 inch strop.
- Length – Length should be around 18-24 inches to allow full-length passes of typical knives.
- Leather quality – Top grain smooth leather like vegetable-tanned cowhide works best. Quality leather lasts longer.
- Hanging hole – A hanging hole to store the strop on a hook keeps it accessible but protected.
- No cuts or scratches – Avoid leather with imperfections that can damage the blade.
High-quality leather strops designed specifically for knives range anywhere from $10 for 12 inches up to $30 or more for a 24-inch. Or you can save money by repurposing an old leather belt into a great strop.
Before First Use
For a new leather strop, no special treatment is needed before the first use. However, there are a couple of steps you may want to take to ensure optimal results and longevity.
- Remove packaging – Take off any tags, stickers or clear plastic residue from packaging that could scratch knife edges.
- Inspect seam – Look for rough or raised stitching along the seam that should be tapped down with a hammer.
- Wipe down – Use a soft cotton cloth to gently wipe away any oils or dust from the surface.
- Apply strop conditioner (optional) – Treating with a leather conditioner fills pores to create an extra smooth surface.
Your new strop is ready for breaking in once any packaging is removed and seam and surface issues are addressed.
Breaking In Your Leather Strop
Before relying on a new leather strop to polish expensive kitchen knives, it helps to gently break it in. This wears down any slightly raised grain and creates a smooth surface.
- Strop a butter knife – Draw the knife across the surface in a leading stroke motion going away from the edge 10-20 times on each side.
- Rub down the surface – Use your fingers or a cotton cloth to gently rub the surface of the leather lengthwise.
- Repeat stroping and rubbing for 2-3 rounds, then buff down the surface with a clean section of cotton T-shirt material.
- Apply strop conditioner again if desired for extra smoothing and protection.
The surface is ready for kitchen blades once it has a consistent, smooth appearance and fine grain.
How to Use a Leather Strop
Stropping uses a back-and-forth motion along the length of the leather to smooth, polish and straighten knife edges. Here are the basic steps:
- Hang the strop safely or place it on a steady surface.
- Grip the knife handle firmly with one hand, keeping the blade away from the fingers.
- Press the blade edge against the surface of the strop at a 15-20 degree angle.
- Apply light pressure and swipe the knife outward along the strop in a leading stroke. Use the whole blade edge.
- Lift away, flip the knife and repeat for the other side of the blade.
- Alternate sides for 10-15 full-length passes per side.
Maintain a consistent angle. Use long straight strokes and moderate pressure so you can feel the blade make contact. Take care not to lift or rotate the blade tip off the strop.
Strop Maintenance and Care
A quality leather strop can last for years with proper handling, storage and maintenance. Here are some tips:
- Wipe the surface clean after each use with a soft dry cloth to prevent blade rust residue from building up.
- Apply strop conditioner regularly to keep the leather surface flexible, prevent cracking and close up pores.
- Store hanging up or lying flat in a dry, room temperature location out of direct sunlight or heat.
- Check for any cuts and physical damage before the next use. Avoid using a damaged strop which can wear down the edge.
- Remove accumulated compound residue buildup as needed by rubbing down thoroughly with a clean eraser.
- Rounded strop edges from long-term use can be restored by fine sanding and conditioning to revive grip.
Proper care of a leather strop with routine cleaning, inspection for damage and conditioning will ensure it lasts for years of dependable knife maintenance.
Using Compounds and Sprays
While plain stropping suffices for occasional touch-ups, you can enhance performance by using specialized compounds added to the strop’s surface. These small abrasive particles help refine edges down to a microscopic level of sharpness.
Popular options are:
- Polishing compounds – Formulated wheel buffing products made of fine microscopic grit in a waxy grease base. Apply a small amount evenly across the surface.
- Diamond sprays – Liquid emulsions containing micron-sized diamond particles. Spritzed on and spread out in a thin coating with light wiping.
- Chromium oxide paste – The original green honing compound sprinkled directly on the dry leather and rubbed thoroughly over the surface.
By breaking down any remaining burrs or misalignments with precision abrasion, stropping compounds can achieve hair-popping levels of sharpness. Always wipe the surface completely clean of any residue before the next plain stropping or storage.
So grab a quality leather strop and keep your knives factory fresh between sharpening sessions! Use proper stropping technique coupled with occasional compound charging to maintain razor edges effortlessly at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I strop my kitchen knives?
Quick touch-up stropping helps prolong sharpness between full sharpening sessions. For home cooks, plan on stropping knives an average of every 3 or 4 each used for a minute or two to prevent noticeable dulling before the edge degrades.
Does stropping remove metal?
Plain leather stropping without compounds does not significantly remove material since leather lacks abrasives. The purpose is to realign the edge rather than grinding the steel off. When using specialized stropping compounds, microscopic amounts of steel are slowly eroded to polish and refine the edge.
Should you strop before or after sharpening?
It’s best to strop both before and after sharpening. Quick pre-sharpening strops smooth out any rolled or folded metal burrs so stones cut clean without drag. Post-sharpening stropping further polishes and straightens the fresh edge. Integrating stropping into a sharpening regimen helps prolong the results.
