This article provides a detailed guide on creating two types of denim strops. The first type is made using diamond spray, but it can also be made with white compound. The process involves cleaning the blade, gently squeezing the denim to smooth and flatten it, and trimming the ends flush. The glued strop is then turned upside down on glass with weights on top, over night.
The second type is made by recycling an old pair of jeans. The author suggests using a hanging denim strop loaded with compound and then moving on to a clean leather strop. The author also discusses making a stand-alone denim strop using basswood blocks from Michael’s and cutting a piece to about.5 to.75″ thick and using diamond compound on them.
The author then uses a block of balsa to cut the denim around the block and staple the fabric to the block on the underside with wood staples. The worn outside of used jeans is then glued to a flat board with Weldbond glue, allowing the newer looking inside to face out on the strop.
However, the issue with making a hanging strop is the fraying of the edges. To avoid this, the author stitched two pieces of large denim together and stitched them into a sleeve. They also suggest using paint sticks to cut up old worn-out jeans for a simpler and cheaper alternative.
📹 Sharpening W/ Jeans & Timber – Inexpensive DIY HomeMade Pine & Denim Strop
Want ludicrously sharp & clean knife edges without paying ludicrous money? ME TOO! Tune in to learn some hacks to make …
📹 DIY Hanging Denim Strop – Knife Sharpening for CHEAP – a Semi ASMR Tutorial
Want ludicrously sharp & clean knife edges without paying ludicrous money? ME TOO! This week we will focus on creating a …
Also technical question. You tell that free hanging denim strop would be better for ductile and/or stainless steels. I do get it, at least I imagine that steels like maxamet would rather than getting rid of burl actually chip well into the edge and make it like a saw on micro-level. But then again on ductile steels wouldn’t it also cause the edge become micro convex? That might actually be a good thing for edge retention but possibly could lower a micro-bit Besa score – just as convex grind on macro scale needs more force behind it than scandi grind at the same edge angle, wouldn’t it? 🤔
Very ghetto Gabe……I hate seeing hard material (steel turn buckles) near stropping surface, I just know I would end up touching the edge on it. Even though the sewing machine is my most feared power tool, think I would opt to run looped ends and hemmed sides on a machine and then sacrifice 10″ of rake or broom handle for strops. It is a shame you cant wash the polish off. Looking fwd to more sharpening, cheers
Hermano gabe, hola amigo Pikal’ brand metal polish from Japan. “”This is the finest grade metal polish to be found and often used on electron microscopes and is in fact shipped with all Japanese made EM. It is a slurry form ferrite-based polish with an average abrasive diameter of less than 1 micron.”” This metal polish will take zdp189 to HMMG sharp! Yep I love Flitx & white diamond polish on a strop, leather, cardboard, canvas, Love the content on stropping!! Bueno S-3 👍🙏
I’ve experimented with putting DOVO leather balm on denim first to prevent it from drying out. It also ‘increases the drag’. I’ve had pretty good success with this, and the strops definitely last for months if done right. The DOVO balm seems to work on a lot of substrates / compounds with the exception of diamond emulsions.
It’s too bad that you are using mother’s mag aluminum and not mother’s mag billet paste! Last I checked the billet paste was discontinued, but the billet paste always left a much toothier and sharper edge in every application. I actually stopped using billet paste and went with the aluminum polish on my straight razors because it was too aggressive of an edge and would cut into skin too easily while the aluminum polish would leave a “softer” feeling edge with much less aggression