A leather strop, in this instance at least, isn’t slang for a cow’s tantrum. Instead, you might recognise one in the traditional depiction of a barber, running their cut-throat razor along a length of material before shaving a trusting patron’s face. This image – made popular by the infamous Sweeney Todd, demon barber of Fleet Street – has perhaps given stropping a sinister undertone. Read on for a more wholesome understanding of the leather strop, and discover its essential role in keeping kitchen knives razor sharp.
What does a leather strop do?
A leather strop polishes the edge of a blade. It’s used last in the sharpening process as the crowning touch, removing the smallest of impurities that remain along the cutting edge. It’s like fining at the end of the wine making process: it isn’t essential, but can take a cuvée from being good to exceptional.
Strops typically come as paddles, either single or double sided, or as loose strips of material, accompanied by a honing compound – a crayon-like object of abrasive powder which is drawn across the strop before sharpening to intensify the process.
Honestly, any piece of leather can be used as a strop, but a dual-sided paddle enables a more precise angle and awards the user with both a coarser and smoother texture for an ultra-refined finish.
How is leather stropping different to sharpening and honing?
Technically, you don’t use a leather strop for sharpening knives, but for 'stropping' them. The act of sharpening is to grind a blade’s edge against a coarse material to remove the soft metal at its point – we have a fantastic article on the ins and outs of whetstone knife sharpening here.
Honing, rather than removing metal, works to realign the cutting edge to an even and consistent point, after being warped from going through food and regularly meeting the chopping board. At the end of both processes, on a microscopic level, debris is left behind from sharpening and slight inconsistencies remain after honing. Stropping clears up these nano-sized imperfections.
So, stropping isn’t better than honing or sharpening, and is best used alongside a whetstone and honing rod. Think of it as an extra tool in your blade-care arsenal.
How to use a leather strop
First, find the best angle for stropping – it’s the one that your knife has been set to by the manufacturer. For most Japanese and Japanese-style knives, that’s around 15º. For Western knives it’ll be in the region of 20º. Set your angle with the cutting edge facing towards you, keeping your wrist locked in place, and pass the knife from the base to the end of the strop in smooth, continuous movements as you gradually work your way up from the blade’s heel to its point.
To strop the other side, flip your knife over and at the same angle, and similarly leading with the knife’s spine, draw the blade from the tip of the strop towards you in smooth, consistent passes. If you have a double sided strop, use the coarser side first before finishing with the smoother strop leather - like you would a whetstone. Make sure to do an equal number of strokes on either side of the blade – we find that between 10-20 usually suffices.
If you have a honing compound, coat your leather with a light layer before stropping. The compound – which is known under the other aliases of chromium oxide or diamond paste – slightly increases the abrasiveness of the strop. Although it isn’t necessary, it does help to add incremental abrasion to the process. This is perfect if you’re using a knife that needs to be kept especially sharp for tasks such as cutting sashimi or other delicate proteins.
If you’re the designated (self or otherwise) head chef of your household and use your knives regularly, strop twice weekly. If you work in a restaurant, strop before every service.
To conclude
With all of this in mind, we wholeheartedly encourage you to go forth and be stroppy. With our double-sided leather strop in hand, you’ll achieve razor-sharp edges with ease, making every cut in the kitchen effortless - no barber’s chair required.