Stropping turning tools?

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Woodchipper

Woodchipper

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Been reading about stropping a skew on a couple of YouTube videos. Skew guru Alan Lacer is an advocate of this as being a necessity for a keen edge. I don't have a sharpening system that would include stropping attachments. What do the members here use? Do you strop the skew? Inquiring mind wants to know.
 
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I recently grabbed a Sharpal dual grit diamond sharpening stone (325 and 1200 grit) from Amazon that comes with a leather cover, one side of which is a strop. I don't have much else to compare it to for lathe tools, though I do have all sorts of sharpening gear for knives, and these do a nice job touching up my gouge and skew. At least they sure feel sharp when I'm done.
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I took Alan Lacer's class at the Mid-Atlantic Turners Symposium a year or so ago and got an interesting lesson on his why's and why not's for stropping/polishing the edge. His tools are scary sharp and using his techniques, I've been able to get close to his results. I use a hunk of leather and some polishing paste to give an extra bit of clean sharp edge when I am pulling a cut where leaving a fine finish is helpful. I also bought his diamond slip stone which I use frequently as a quick cleanup on tools as I am turning (hard to find these days). He also has a good technique for pulling a burr on tools that he advocates. I assume you have watched his videos?

Another good person to watch on this is Eric Lofstrum YouTube . He is really fun to watch, as he has a 'full body' motion that he talks about to help him develop a consistent cut - and seeing it live was really entertaining as well as informative. He sells some skews based on D-WAY tools metal, which I can also recommend.

Both gents are great people to learn some good sharpening techniques for classic tools that will make you rethink a full conversion to carbide.

Kevin
 
I have a vintage barbers strop that is leather on one side and canvas on the other. I lay it flat on the edge of the bench and run my knives over it after sharpening and sometimes in between. I also use it on chisels. I have not tried it on turning tools.

Mike
 
When I first got into turning I used my Tormek wet system and it has a strop wheel I used it for planer blades and any straight blades. I bought the attachments for turning tools but used maybe a handful of time. I use my skew so much that I just take to white wheel and right back to the project. being I keep that thing sharp it does wear down. I use to and still do at times if I want that real real real sharp edge I use my diamond card and sharpining oil. No stropping. Works for me. I have several spare skews.
 
Stropping stand the cutting edge back up for during use it get rolled over, make the cutting edge dull. Many feel the tool needs to be sharpened when it doesn't. Sharpening removes material so unless the edge has been damaged, strop it. Many ways to do this; wheels for sharpening systems, flat strops (leather mounted to a board), Sling strops like the ones that used to hang on the sides of barber chairs, or a combination of any of these. Even a piece of brown cardboard box will work in a pinch. You can use a polishing compound if you wish, and they do help. It doesn't take much to get the hang of stropping on a strap or block, simply remembering the direction of travel is away from the edge. No real pressure is needed, and just a few swipes on each side of the edge should get you cutting again. I strop my HSS tools but haven't noticed any difference with carbides. When stropping no longer yields a sharp, keen edge, it is time to sharpen again, but do it lightly. You want to remove the least amount of material to give you that edge again. If you have a nearby leather shop of any kind, stop in and let them know what you are wanting to do. Most places will gladly hook you up. You will want a vegetable tanned cowhide, somewhere in the 7-10 weight range. If they happen to have kangaroo hide, get some of that too as it is super smooth and great for polishing that edge.
 
Kevin, John T and Greg (Cozee) gave good insights.

I learned extremely fine sharpening from a Japanese neighbor in the early 2000's. After moving into his neighborhood, He heard me doing some woodwork in my garage and knocked on my garage door. We became instant friends and one day he invited me to his house several blocks away. We went into his basement and I saw an approximate 2 1/2" thick board about 3 feet long that he had been hand planing to a specific width. The shavings were perfect and so thin that I would read a newspaper through them with ease (a Japanese newspaper at that). Remember - Japanese planes do not have adjustment screws - the blades are wedged in and they use a hammer to tap the sides and ends to get the blade to its correct position.

He showed me his method and it involved some of the process that Greg explained above. Woodworking was his hobby but he was an art professor at a university in Osaka. He spent some time in the US once and came back with a book he wanted me to see - a woodworking book he was given while in the States by Sam Maloof. It was hand signed and a letter written to him on the back page from Sam.

He knew how to sharpen beyond anything that I knew, but he taught me some of his process. There are a few ways to get there (as in Gregs post) but the main thing is patience, listening to masters of sharpening, and seeing what works best for your situation, then practice, practice practice AND not settling for just fair enough.

NOTE: There is a subtle difference between Honing or Stropping. (To some it is basically the same.) Technically Honing is straightening (fine tuning) the edge of the blade, while stropping does the same as an extremely fine abrasive compound to get rid of any burrs or fine scratches.

My Japanese friend used smooth flat soft wood that he rubbed fine compound over it. Then he swiped his blade over that two or three times, and that was his "stropping" method. I still have the stropping board he gave me over 20 years ago.
 
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@leehljp - I can't imagine the time you had learning from your friend - the skills of Japanese craftsman are always amazing to me - be they pen makers or woodworkers. Sadly, I believe YouTube has twisted most people's belief system - if I watch it on YouTube, then I am skilled. Nope. Don't get me wrong, YouTube is a great source for knowledge, but true skills take a while through practice and continued education - with the best being someone skilled standing next to you and showing you the way.

Kevin
 
I'm gonna go against the grain here.
IMO, stropping is ideal for Plane knives and straight chisels. Turning tools get the best use from a fine diamond honing file. Turning tools get soo much surface footage of use in such a short period of time, stropping would need to be almost after every cut. Again, IMO, a fine diamond hone is better suited for keeping turning tools usefully sharp for a period of time. Back to the grinder with a known set up to touch up the edge when too much force is necessary for a fine cut on the wood.
 
Mortalis said:
I'm gonna go against the grain here.
IMO, stropping is ideal for Plane knives and straight chisels. Turning tools get the best use from a fine diamond honing file. Turning tools get soo much surface footage of use in such a short period of time, stropping would need to be almost after every cut. Again, IMO, a fine diamond hone is better suited for keeping turning tools usefully sharp for a period of time. Back to the grinder with a known set up to touch up the edge when too much force is necessary for a fine cut on the wood.
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This is exactly what I was talking about and found in my use of sharpening. With the Tormac system I am able to strop the longer flat blades easily. You get into the different shapes of turning tools it is not that easy so I do not do it and willuse a diamond card or round file to sharpen if need super sharp cutting edge. many times a trip to grinder wheel and quick touch up is all that is needed to cut again. Has worked or me using this method. I agree with your statement.
 
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