FAQs
Here are a few of the frequently asked questions we receive. There are of course more and we will add questions as we encounter them.
Q. Does a leather strop need to be stretched or treated with anything?
A. The only stretching you need to do with a new leather super strop is a small amount of stretching by hand. The super strop should easily fit onto your machine. You may also need to adjust the tensioner on your machine. No need to soak the belt with water or oil. Once you place the super strop on your machine and start running it, you can apply a few passes of the included compound to the belt. The movement of the belt while running will melt the compound to the belt.
Q. Why is the honing compound solid? How do you remove it from its tube?
A. Our honing compound is a solid. The movement of the belt while running on a machine will melt the compound when applying it. To get the compound out of the tube, you can use pliers to pull off the metal bottom. If your compound does not have a metal bottom, you can cut off the cardboard bottom. Then you can push the compound up through the tube to reveal enough to apply to your strop. You can also cut a line down the side of the tube and fully remove the entire compound.
Q. When to use green compound or white compound?
A. Green compound is less abrasive than the white compound. The green compound is useful for honing in between sharpening and for polishing that doesn’t require much (if any) burr removal. The white compound is a staple for stropping at the end of a normal sharpening process.
Q. Do you have an assortment of abrasives with a leather strop included?
A. We offer abrasive and leather super strop packs in sizes 1/2X12, 3/4X12, 1X18, 1X30, and 1X42. For our most popular size, the 1X30, we offer a few varieties of abrasive combinations including beginner packs.
Q. Do you carry 2X72 abrasive belts?
A. Yes, we carry several different abrasives in the 2X72 size, as well as a 2X72 leather Super Strop. Find the right abrasive for your project here.