Dangerous Territory!

 For many years, my 'shop door has sported a very usual sign, bought in the Falklands when I visited in 2008.  Not for me the very boring 'Man Cave', or even 'Bloke Cave' nor the very twee 'Dad's Workshop' but one that simply says....

...which somehow implies that dangerous territory lies within and the wary enter at their peril. Not so, but the subject of this blog is one that arouses the hackles on most woodmangerler's necks; sharpening or more specifically, stropping! The Schwarz mentions that 'sharp fixes most things' and he's correct...mostly.
 

I've been doing this woodwork lark since the early 70's and like most people who indulge, I've been chasing that elusive 'perfect' edge for most of the last fifty odd years.  We can never hope to achieve the perfect edge or even as so many pundits say, an edge 'like a razor' because it don't happen.

However, for woodwork and cabinet making purposes, you or I can get pretty damned close!

We all have our preferred methods of obtaining a respectable edge on our hand tools.  Over the decades, I've used most of them and am currently using Shapton Pro ceramic stones (2000 and 8000g) as well as a Veritas honing guide which results in a pretty good, workable edge.

Here's the thing though....believe it or not, you can get it much sharper with a strop!

 For years, I've played around with various strops and have had mixed results; perceived wisdom recommends adding some sort of gloopy, abrasive paste to the leather which is mostly green Chromium Dioxide and up to a point, this works quite well, but it soon breaks down, forming a disgusting, slimy, ineffective mess in and on the leather which doesn't work...so you have to keep on adding yet more gloop!

 A while back, I was perusing the Axminster web site, which as many know can make a severe dent on the wallet, when I came across their 'Rider' strop system:

...so I thought, as you do, 'in for a penny etc' and hit the 'submit' button on the 'puter. The whole system is eye wateringly expensive (it could be made in the 'shop much more economically) but it actually works superbly.

Surprisingly, the rather good info sheet that comes with it mentions that a gloopy abrasive paste is NOT REQUIRED although if applied, it does speed up the process.

Only light pressure is needed, both on the back and bevel; I give each around half a dozen passes on each of the three grades of strop, the last being English Bridal leather.  Cleaning is achieved by simply using a decent suede brush on the napped strop and a really good, proprietary leather cream on the other ones:

The edge achieved is perceptibly far sharper and if you wisely invest in the system, you're ill advised to test it in the time honoured way by shaving a few hairs of your arm!