CStanford Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 I'll probably get around to lapping it one day but it's honestly hard to beat the powder on a hard rubber strop. Cheap, fast, easy, always cuts fresh, and easy to clean. The same can be said for the fine India really. I throw it in a mop bucket (water plus auto dishwasher powder) on Friday afternoon, fish it out Monday a.m., give it a quick rinse, squirt some WD-40 and a little 3 in 1 on it and she's rarin' to go. It's easier to keep clean than it is to get clean. At $15 to $20 new I'll probably never lap the India preferring, simply, to get a new one at whatever point in time that it seems necessary. I've had mine for about eight years or so and it's still flat or flat *enough* I figure lapping would be at least an hour's worth of work and my time is hopefully worth the cost of the new one making it an easy decision to just go new when the time comes. I have a No.1 washita as well (an 8x2x1). It cuts as it should but I've pretty much quit using it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 I would concur with you Carus. I'm an India man and quite honsetly this was considered "fine" sharpening. It's great that we have options today but to be quite honest there is not a limit I have found with the India 8 x 2 Fine/Coarse combo stone. If you let the stone dull a bit it gives a finer edge, revive it if you need faster. You want coarse, flip it over and you have coarse. Great value and the one you purchase will most likely outlast us all. I tried to use a 220>250 (the coarse side of an india) edge and it flat failed to work. It left a surface that looked as if it had been toothed for veneer work. I did give diamond plates a whirl and I think they do bed in, the "coarse" diamond plate soon slowed and gave a finer edge. Hence my agreement with you about the "accuracy" of grits. And also Dan's point about Paul's work, the thrust of which I agree with. If you take pleasure from tool prep then cool but you don't have to overthink it or chace the "perfect" edge if all you want to do is make high quality work. Another example of an India edge below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CStanford Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 It's true Graham, all one really needs is a two-sided fine/coarse India, a 6" grinder of no great shakes, and a strop and perhaps some strop dressing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted September 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 I have not been stropping my blades, but still getting reasonable results with my sandpaper. Perhaps that's an upgrade more worth doing than moving to stones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CStanford Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 If you use very fine sandpaper you do not need a strop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 After this thread I spent some time digging for documentation on the use of a strop. Most writing that I can find indicates that the benefit of the strop is the removal of oxidation. That said, I am taken in by the concept of edge consolidation with a burnisher on card scrapers. While I tend to agree with you Mr. Stanford that a strop may not be necessary, the fact that it is still considered necessary equipment for the barber with his razor has me curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Not sure what 'fine enough' means in terms of sandpaper. The highest grit commonly available to me from local sources is 3M 2000 grit. It does give a decent polish on my edged tools, but a little work on the strop makes them glow, and leaves the cutting edge extremely smooth, whereas even 2000 grit paper leaves enough jaggedness to me felt by running the edge (lightly!) over my thumbnail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Perhaps that's an upgrade more worth doing than moving to stones. The main benefit of stones is long term cost, over time scary sharp can get pretty expensive. Stones can also be faster, depending on what they are used for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CStanford Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 How to hone: http://antiquetools.com/sharp/index.html Norton also has a DVD featuring Maurice Fraser, the author of the above article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CStanford Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Not sure what 'fine enough' means in terms of sandpaper. The highest grit commonly available to me from local sources is 3M 2000 grit. It does give a decent polish on my edged tools, but a little work on the strop makes them glow, and leaves the cutting edge extremely smooth, whereas even 2000 grit paper leaves enough jaggedness to me felt by running the edge (lightly!) over my thumbnail You have remarkable sensitivity in your digits. 2,000 grit won't leave any rag. Stropping isn't necessary. I've honed on 2,000 grit and stropped on hard rubber with AlOx powder way finer than the sandpaper and I couldn't tell any difference at all when tool was put to wood (vs. no stropping). None. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 I agree that the cutting edge doesn't really cut better after stropping, but the higher polish seems to stay sharp longer. And it is quicker to refresh on the strop than setting up the sandpaper again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CStanford Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Why is a strop faster? There's no appreciable difference in the movements at all. That's part of the beauty of a scary sharp set up -- touchups on the finest grit are super quick, easy, and dry -- no oil or water. This is the chief advantage of a sandpaper honing set up, it cuts fast, it's dry, and the medium never goes out of flat. Just walk over and do the touch up front and back. Can't possibly be slower than stropping since it is in essence the same thing. If you don't feel you're getting what you need from 2,000 grit then move up to 5,000 grit: http://3mauto.com/carcareold/products/body-repair-system/rust-repair/rust-repair-stage-four/3m-trizact-performance-sandpaper-5000-grit-03056.html 3,000 grit is available in between... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponderingturtle Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 After this thread I spent some time digging for documentation on the use of a strop. Most writing that I can find indicates that the benefit of the strop is the removal of oxidation. That said, I am taken in by the concept of edge consolidation with a burnisher on card scrapers. While I tend to agree with you Mr. Stanford that a strop may not be necessary, the fact that it is still considered necessary equipment for the barber with his razor has me curious. There the strop is used not to sharpen but to true the edge. Straight razors are honed to pretty acute angles and the edge rolls over on them, so the strop is used to straighten out the edge again, like a butcher steel. So while pasted strops are used for finish polishing and touch ups it the basic strop isn't there to remove metal just shape it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Strop is quicker to access (not faster honing) because it is always hanging at the ready. Unless you have a nice dedicated sharpening station like Kiki, the sandpaper, substrate and water take time to set up, even if you leave the paper glued or taped to the substrate, which I do not. I just use the water's surface tension hold the paper in place. I do it this way so I can easily rinse and dry my paper between uses. It also is faster to replace a sheet if it tears. I'm not saying my way is better than anything else, it just works well for me in my situation. If I were in a dedicated shop with ample room, I would set up some sort of dedicated sharpening station. Just don't have the space for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CStanford Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Use whatever works and minimizes steps, unnecessary tediousness, frou-frou, and overhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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