Ask a group of woodworkers about the best way to sharpen a tool and you're likely to get several different answers. The debate often comes down to one question: How sharp does a woodworking tool really need to be?
For many tools, normal grinding and honing produce an edge that's more than sharp enough for woodworking. But when you want to take an already-sharp cutting edge a step further, there's another technique worth considering — stropping.
Stropping is typically the final step after sharpening and honing. It's particularly useful for tools such as paring chisels, carving knives, and carving gouges, where an extremely keen, polished cutting edge can make a noticeable difference.
What Is Stropping?
Traditional stropping involves pulling the cutting edge backward across a firm piece of leather.
The important word here is pulling. Unlike sharpening on a stone, you don't push the cutting edge into the leather. Doing so can cause the blade to dig into and cut the strop.
Instead, the blade trails the cutting edge as it moves across the surface.
Stropping helps refine and polish the very edge of a blade after normal sharpening and honing. It can also help remove remnants of the fine wire edge, or burr, created during sharpening.
RELATED ARTICLE: All About Chisels, Stones, & Stropping!
Should You Use Honing Compound on a Leather Strop?
A leather strop can be used by itself, but many woodworkers charge the leather with a fine abrasive honing compound.
The compound gives the strop a mild abrasive action that helps polish and refine the cutting edge.
There's long been some discussion among woodworkers about exactly what's happening during stropping — whether its primary role is abrasion or burnishing the remaining microscopic metal at the cutting edge.
From a practical woodworking standpoint, the result is what matters most: A properly used strop can produce a highly polished, keen cutting edge.
How to Strop a Chisel
Stropping isn't intended to replace sharpening. Start with a chisel that has already been properly ground and honed.
Then place the bevel against the strop.
Maintain the existing bevel angle and draw the chisel backward, away from the cutting edge. The goal is to keep the bevel in consistent contact with the strop without rolling the blade onto the cutting edge.
Use light, controlled strokes.
The back of the chisel can also be stropped flat to help refine the cutting edge.
Woodsmith Tip: Don't lift the handle excessively as you strop the bevel. Rounding over the very tip of the cutting edge can work against the flat, consistent bevel you established while sharpening.
Do All Woodworking Tools Need to Be Stropping-Sharp?
Not necessarily.
For most everyday woodworking, a properly sharpened edge from waterstones, oilstones, or abrasive paper on a flat surface can provide all the sharpness you need.
A bench chisel used for routine joinery, for example, doesn't necessarily need an extensively polished edge every time you sharpen it.
But some tools benefit more from stropping than others.
Stropping Carving Tools & Gouges
Carving is one situation where maintaining an extremely keen edge can make a significant difference.
Rather than waiting for a carving tool to become noticeably dull and then going through the entire sharpening process again, stropping can help maintain an already-sharp edge.
For carving gouges, a shaped or powered stropping surface can conform more readily to the curved cutting edge.
A drill press-mounted wheel charged with an appropriate abrasive compound is one method for polishing the edge of a gouge.
With any powered sharpening or polishing setup, follow the tool and accessory manufacturer's instructions and make sure the setup is appropriate for the speed and tool being used.
Using a Profiled Strop for Carving Tools
Another option for carving tools is a profiled strop.
Its shaped surfaces accommodate cutting edges that don't sit conveniently on a flat leather strop. Charged with honing compound, it can be used to polish paring chisels, carving knives, and other specialized cutting edges.
The advantage is that you can maintain the shape of the cutting edge while still getting the polishing action of a strop.
When Should You Strop a Woodworking Tool?
Think of stropping as edge maintenance and refinement rather than major sharpening.
If a blade is dull, damaged, or has lost its bevel geometry, stropping isn't going to restore it. Start with the appropriate sharpening stones or abrasives.
But if the blade is already sharp and you want to refine the edge — or keep a carving tool sharp while you're working — a few controlled passes on a strop may be all that's necessary.
That distinction can also save time. There's little reason to return to coarse sharpening abrasives when an edge simply needs a light touch-up.
Stropping Is the Final Step, Not the First
Stropping won't turn a dull chisel into a sharp one. The basic sharpening sequence still matters:
Grind the bevel → Hone the edge → Remove the burr → Strop for final refinement
For many woodworking tools, you may decide to stop after honing. That's perfectly reasonable.
But for a paring chisel, carving knife, gouge, or another tool where you want an exceptionally keen and polished cutting edge, stropping is an easy final step to add to your sharpening routine.
Ultimately, “sharp enough” depends on the tool and the work you're asking it to do. If your current sharpening process isn't giving you the edge quality you want, stropping is worth trying.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to Sharpen Chisels: Stones, Honing & Stropping
