A razor strop or simply a strop (sometimes called a razor strap or strap) is a flexible strip of
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
,
canvas, denim fabric, balsa wood, or other soft material, used to straighten and
polish the blade of a
straight razor, a
knife
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...
, or a woodworking tool such as a
chisel. In many cases stropping re-aligns parts of the blade edge that have been bent out of alignment. In other cases, especially when abrasive polishing compound is used, stropping may remove a small amount of metal (functionally equivalent to
lapping). Stropping can also
burnish (i.e. push metal around on) the blade.
The strop may be a hanging strop or a hand-held paddle. Various abrasive compounds may be applied to the strop to aid in polishing the blade while stropping to obtain a mirror-like finish. Common abrasive compounds include half-micron
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
s, green
chromium(III) oxide
Chromium(III) oxide (or chromia) is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of chromium and is used as a pigment. In nature, it occurs as the rare mineral eskolaite.
Structure and properties
has the corundum ...
, white rouge (
aluminum oxide), and jeweller's rouge (
iron(III) oxide).
Use
Stropping is traditionally associated with
straight razors used for
shaving
Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down—to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove th ...
, as these are the thinnest blades in everyday use, and therefore require frequent stropping. Kitchen knives may be straightened on a
honing steel
A honing steel, sometimes referred to as sharpening steel, whet steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher's steel, and chef's steel, is a rod of steel, ceramic or diamond-coated steel used to restore keenness to dulled blade edges. They ...
if less sharpness is acceptable. In principle, any blade may be polished by stropping. Custom strops are made to hone irregularly-shaped tools, such as
chisels or gouges, and nearly any piece of smooth leather or heavy fabric infused with abrasive compound may be used for stropping.
See also
*
Knife sharpening
Knife sharpening is the process of making a knife or similar tool sharp by grinding against a hard, rough surface, typically a stone, or a flexible surface with hard particles, such as sandpaper. Additionally, a leather razor strop, or strop, ...
*
Honing steel
A honing steel, sometimes referred to as sharpening steel, whet steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher's steel, and chef's steel, is a rod of steel, ceramic or diamond-coated steel used to restore keenness to dulled blade edges. They ...
*
Lapping
*
Sharpening
Sharpening is the process of creating or refining the edge joining two non-coplanar faces into a converging apex, thereby creating an edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by removing material ...
*
Sharpening stone
Sharpening stones, or whetstones, are used to sharpen the edges of steel tools such as knives through grinding and honing.
Such stones come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and material compositions. They may be flat, for working flat edg ...
References
External links
Scienceofsharp effects of various blade sharpening and stropping techniques, mostly on straight razors, shown by electron microscope.
Electron microscope analysis of various sharpening techniquesby John D. Verhoeven
Shaving
Grinding and lapping
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