Hey everyone! I'm really curious about the best practices for stropping my knife blades. How often should I be doing it? Is it better to strop before every project, periodically during a project, or just whenever I feel like the blade could use a touch-up? I want to make sure I'm keeping my knives in great shape!
3 Answers
I recommend stropping before every carving session. Personally, I also try to strop right after I'm done with one session so my knife is ready for next time. If I'm carving harder wood, I'll strop more often, usually around every 20 minutes—just a few passes on the strop should do. Over time, you'll get a feel for when your blade needs a little touch-up. Happy carving!
Your edges will usually tell you when they're not cutting as well. It's good to strop before you start carving and during your sessions. Just keep an eye on how the blade feels while you work—if it starts to lose its edge, that's your cue to strop! The intervals can depend on the quality of the knife and the wood type.
Whenever you feel like you need to strop is the latest you should do it—ideally, do it before that moment! Keeping the edge sharp with regular stropping is really all you need. If you let it go too dull, then you'll have to break out the stones to fix it.
Exactly! There's really no harm in stropping too much, but not doing it enough can be an issue. When in doubt, just give it a few strokes on the strop.