SHARPAL 205H Double-sided Leather Strop Genuine Cowhide 13 2 x 2 4 Kit with 2 Oz Polishing Compound

This strop is a good size for just about any knife including large kitchen knives. The leather seems to be decent though the coarse side does seem like it will wear down easier than the smooth side and not last as long. I did not like the included polishing compound so cleaned that off and instead got some 3-6 micron diamond paste which works much better and is less messy. Using this after sharpening with a KME sharpening system gets a super bright mirror finish on my knives and gets them to be sharper than I ever got them before. Regularly using this strop on them to "top them off" allows me to go longer between sharpening sessions. I hope this strop lasts a long time. It works well and seems to be a good value. Read more

This flat base leather strop is an excellent finishing tool and easily one of the most useful additions to my sharpening setup. The included polishing compound is simple to apply and absorbs well into the leather. Once worked in, it makes a noticeable difference in honing the edge. After sharpening, the strop takes the blade from sharp to truly razor sharp. You can feel the refinement immediately. It cleans up the edge, removes any remaining burr, and leaves a smooth, precise finish that cuts effortlessly. The flat base design is a major advantage over a traditional belt strop. The added stability keeps everything controlled and consistent, which makes a big difference when working with very sharp blades. There is no flexing, slipping, or awkward angles to manage. Overall, this strop is well made, effective, and easy to use. It produces real results and feels safer and more reliable than hanging strops. Highly recommended for anyone serious about maintaining a razor sharp edge. Read more

Quick arrival, decent quality, as described and gets the job done! Read more

This made the difference in my knives being sharp to the touch and shaving hair. The trick is to spend some time on a quality stone resetting your edge on an angle guide that suits your needs (example: 25, 20, 17, 15 degree angles). Then, you gotta lock in that form and grind. Once you’ve gotten to the finer grits, use this strop with the compound and maintain that angle until you polish your bevel is shiny. Even the best knives require sharpening and this quality strop will perform that job. It seems to hold up well, but to minimize the abrasions to your strop and maximize you should consider moving the knife away from the cutting edge towards to spine. Read more

I have been using a leather strop that I acquired from an old barber shop several years ago. It recently became less than effective and I decided to upgrade to this two sided strop. The effect was immediate, and produced a very fine edge! Something about a good stopping session is quite comforting to me, and this one is especially nice!! Read more

This is an excellent bargain, a great free-hand strop! The angle guide may be helpful for some, but learning to stope without it is not difficult since the green compound is very forgiving! The included compound could use a bit of an upgrade. It has nice soft leather and is designed well, it’s ergonomic and easy to use. and has a great price, This is highly recommended for your sharpening tool kit!!! I recommend getting two of them, even though they’re double sided having one for green compound, and one for white compound is very convenient. This leaves clean leather on the opposite side of each stope, and will avoid cross contamination of your compounds. Read more

Well worth the money and very high quality. Everything I have bought from Sharpal has been on point. After sharpening a knife or two, I can also use it as a paddle to spank my kids. Just kidding, I dont have any kids. The grip fits firmly in your hand and I really don't need the Angle guide. This design allowes you to out an edge on any knife with great speed. You should buy two of them and give one as a gift! Read more

I sharpen knives and tools professionally, and I wanted a new strop for that final finishing polish. My other strop already has green honing compound on it, and so I plan to use the green compound that came with this Sharpal paddle strop on my other strop. The Sharpal strop is mounted on a wood paddle with a good handle and 8 inches of leather on each side. One side has high quality smooth leather, and the other side has a suede side, also high quality and thicker leather than I usually see on other strops. I needed several uses on the suede side to get a uniform surface feel. The smooth side is very uniform leather with no irregularities in the fine grain. The strop handle has a hole in it so that the strop can be hung in the workshop. Because I travel to sharpen, I store my strop in the sturdy cardboard box that it came in. The strop comes with an angle guide, although this has to be used with care to avoid cutting the leather. Place the angle guide at the end of the strop, with the appropriate angle facing away from the leather. Place your knife flat against the desired angle and carefully observe how the knife appears. Then remove the angle guide, set the knife at the memorized angle, and pull the knife so that it drags across the leather, with the edge trailing behind the blade. (Stropping methods are easier to watch on YouTube than explain in words.) After you have stropped a few times, you probably won't need the angle guide except as an occasional reminder. The green compound that comes with the paddle strop appears to be of good quality. Not too hard, not too soft. One of the photos shows the smooth side of the paddle. A ruler shows the length of the leather. The angle guide also appears, along with a Puma skinner knife made in 1971. The other photo shows the suede side, and also a tall petty knife made from pipeline steel by Dao Vua, a Vietnamese forger. I am very happy with this Sharpal 205H double-sided leather strop and expect to get years of use from it. Read more