Many blades such as razors, chef's knives, chisels and carving tools are given the finishing touch by honing on a strop. During honing, the cutting edge is finely polished and the last burr is removed. Leather has the advantage that it nestles easily around the cutting edge and follows the burr as it bends away. For the leather to have an abrasive effect, it must be prepared with abrasive particles. A simple and inexpensive way to do this is to use hard polishing pastes, such as those usually used on bench strops.
What do I need for stropping on leather?
Depending on the intended use, there are different strops and strop blocks. Razors are usually honed on a hanging strop. Leather honing blocks are suitable for knives and tool edges. Smaller tools and knives, for example, can be easily honed on a double-sided paddle strop. And there are also suitable leather honing strops for abrasive-guided sharpening systems, for example by KME.
If you prefer to make your own honing device or prepare a piece of flexible leather for honing strongly shaped tool edges (e.g. carving tools), use vegetable-tanned leather (e.g. Swedish cowhide) for this purpose. You can glue thinner leather types onto a backing block using contact adhesive.
Prepare your honing leather with fine polishing paste and leather oil by means of a simple knife to spread the paste.
How do I prepare my honing leather?
The hard, waxy polishing paste is applied directly to the smooth side of the leather (also called grain side or hair side). Coat the entire surface evenly. Now add a few drops of leather oil and spread it with your fingers. Carefully rub or massage the resulting mixture of oil and paste into the leather surface and then leave it to soak into the leather, preferably overnight.
The polishing paste is applied directly to the leather
When the polishing paste has been well absorbed, take a simple kitchen knife and carefully massage the paste into the leather surface with a little pressure. You will notice that the polishing paste already has its abrasive effect.
The oil helps to spread the polishing paste and causes it to penetrate into the leather
The blade is guided over the leather with a dragging motion.
What do I have to consider when honing on leather?
Honing on leather is quite easy. Pull the bevels of the cutting edge alternately over the leather. Pay attention to the cutting angle. The blade is always pulled over the leather. If you push it in the direction of the cutting edge, you will easily cut into the leather and damage the strop.
How do I maintain a leather strop?
Over time, abraded metal particles are deposited on the leather and the effect of the abrasive particles wears off. To freshen the effect up, just rub the surface with a cloth and a few drops of leather oil, which will remove the metal particles. Sufficient abrasive particles from the polishing paste still remain in the leather. However, after cleaning two or three times, the honing effect gradually wears off. Then reapply fresh hard polishing paste and leather oil as previously described. This way you will enjoy your strop for a long time.
