Stropping on skin

[jimmyh]

Has anyone else noticed that stropping on their inner forearm can easily bring an edge from barely catching arm hair above the skin to easily tree topping?

Is this an abrasive thing (bits of dirt?) or just an edge alignment thing?

[JD Spydo]

Has anyone else noticed that stropping on their inner forearm can easily bring an edge from barely catching arm hair above the skin to easily tree topping?

Is this an abrasive thing (bits of dirt?) or just an edge alignment thing?

Hey welcome to the Spyderco Forum "jimmyh" :) I'm not sure completely what you're referring to but I will say that I am a firm believer in Stropping.

I've got 3 different Strops I use here constantly. I now have a small one I can take with me traveling. I also have one that I keep loaded with green chromium oxide for when I think I have a minor burr left on the edge.

You might want to check some past thread because it hasn't been that long ago we discussed stropping at length.

Hey tell us more about your stropping methods. We're here to learn. :)

[vampyrewolf]

Have a large strop hanging by my stairs loaded with veritas green (0.5 micron) on the smooth side... and load my 303MF case with 0.5 micron and 2.0 micron on the edges.

Always make stropping part of my sharpening, but never the end.
sharpen as far as each grit will polish the edge, so by the time you go through 500 AO to the spydie whites you have a mirror finish... strop that... then LIGHTLY use the spydie medium to rough up the micro bevel and give it some bite.

When I'm at the stropping stage there's no way I'm putting sharp steel on my arm... if I'm off on my angle I'm getting skin :eek: :o

[Murdoc]

Has anyone else noticed that stropping on their inner forearm can easily bring an edge from barely catching arm hair above the skin to easily tree topping?

Is this an abrasive thing (bits of dirt?) or just an edge alignment thing?

I'd think that this could only work if your knife had a bad wire edge to begin with :) since the skin and flesh is so soft...

That said, I believe that stropping on my leg with jeans on really does have a small effect on my edges after sharpening. If not careful, this may lead to holes in your jeans though... :rolleyes:

Dennis

[FLYBYU44]

Well stropping in essence polishes and aligns the blade, that is the concept behind it. For my straight razor I have an old stop I use that has two pieces. One piece is old and mangled up, obviously used a lot, the other is in like new condition. I use the nice side for my razor and then I use the old mangled up side to strop my plain edge knives on, works well.

[jimmyh]

I'm familiar with stropping straight razors and knives with buffing compounds and stuff.

I've never heard of someone doing it on their arm though. I don't see how this effect could be do to a wire edge, since the edge started out sharp enough to easily whittle hairs.

[steve andrews]

After using the flats of the standard white Sharpmaker stones, I finish off the edge by stropping it in the palm of my hand.

It works well - a strop with feeling!

[picobrain]

Back in the 80's when i walked barefoot enough for
the soles of my feet to be leathery, i used to strop
exacto blades on them. It was effective.


peace