| You’re sharpening your knife and have tested | | | | didn’t. The world of electric knife sharpening |
| it to confirm for sharpness. You know that | | | | has come a very long way. Some electric knife |
| you’ve achieved it because you’ve found | | | | sharpeners are quite amazing. Many of the high |
| a burr on the knife’s edge. This burr is how | | | | priced sharpeners are equipped with their own |
| we know that the edge has reached the point of | | | | stropping abrasives. How about that? It’s |
| absolute sharpness. It confirms it. Should you | | | | true. Spend anywhere form over $50 to a few |
| stop there? Oh, but you must. There’s | | | | hundred on an exceptional electric knife sharpener |
| only so much sharpening that can be done to an | | | | and it’ll both sharpen and strop your blades |
| edge. To continue after that only results in | | | | for you. Just like that. Yes, I know. It seems |
| unnecessary loss of metal on your blade edge. | | | | like an awful lot of money for just an electric |
| To continue gains nothing. Are you done then? | | | | knife sharpener. But if you’ve got the |
| You’ve got a burr on your blade edge and it | | | | means and don’t care to diddle with it, electric |
| should be removed. Once you’ve done that, | | | | knife stropping is surely possible now. It is |
| the edge will usually have tiny bits of metal still | | | | entirely up to you. |
| clinging to it. These bits feel like sand on the | | | | Let’s make one point very clear. Stropping |
| edge. But you’d like to get it as fine as it | | | | is not sharpening. It isn’t, really. But |
| can be, even slippery sharp at that. | | | | stropping with a polishing compound or an |
| Maybe you’ve got knives that are going on | | | | abrasive compound sure is. When you do this, |
| display. Maybe they’re going to be included | | | | when you add such a compound to the strap, the |
| in a ceremony of some sort. Or maybe | | | | stropping has now become its own form of |
| you’d just like to show off your fine knives | | | | sharpening. Because it can now remove metal |
| to your friends and family. I’m sure | | | | from the edge, it is a sharpener. All by itself, |
| you’d want your edges to shine, to make | | | | however, the strap can do no more than strop |
| them silky smooth. Well, then. It’s time to | | | | an edge. Therein lies the difference. |
| strop it. | | | | For fine knife sharpening, stropping is always the |
| Stropping is a technique used to clean off a | | | | last step. It is done after absolute sharpness has |
| blade’s edge after sharpening. It is meant to | | | | been achieved. It makes each knife edge as fine |
| bend and twist those clinging metal pieces until | | | | as it can be. They will shine and shine. Isn’t |
| they fall off. It’s also done to realign the | | | | that special? |
| microscopic teeth created on the edge while | | | | Len Q. is a master blade sharpener and an |
| sharpening. Stropping is done by swiping both | | | | adventurer who strives to protect the natural |
| sides of your blade’s edge over a leather | | | | world. If you would like to learn about |
| strap. When you can no longer feel clinging bits, | | | | - Knife Sharpening: How to |
| you have successfully stropped your blade edge. | | | | Sharpen Knives, Maintain and Store Them |
| It should be shining nice and bright at this point. | | | | - Sharpening Devices, Tests |
| This is how stropping was always done in the | | | | for Sharpness, Steeling and more |
| past, but times are changing. | | | | - Sharpening Other Edges |
| Did you ever think that you might one day be | | | | (i.e. |
| able to electrically strop an edge? I sure | | | | |