Can You Strop A Knife Too Much?

Stropping is a great way to keep your knives sharp without having to resort to more abrasive options like whetstones. Strops are quick and easy to use but they do have a downside. Good strops tend to be made of a compressible material like leather. This allow the material to wrap around the edge of the knife when you pull it along the strop. This can lead to your edge getting rounded over and the effective bevel angle changes. Once this happens, you’ll have to go back to stones to reestablish a proper bevel. There are a couple of ways to strop that will help prevent this from happening. The first is to use light pressure. The harder you push your knife into the strop, the more the leather will conform around the edge. Light pressure reduces this effect. The second thing you can do is to strop at a slightly lower angle than what you sharpened at. Just a degree or two will help prevent your edge from being rounded over.