Knife Sharpening Stone & Strop Package

We've been using this combination of tools to finish knife sharpening jobs for many years.

This package was assembled for maintenance sharpening between visits to a professional and currently includes:

One (1) 4000 grit professional grade synthetic Japanese sharpening stone with plastic base and rubber feet for elevation and stability.

One (1) Tojiro Leather Strop (wood-backed).

Here are our thoughts on maintaining the sharpness of a new knife or one that has been properly resharpened:

Prolong the life of your edges with a combination of a leather strop and a high-grit Japanese water-stone. Keeping your knives sharp is easy with a little practice. The key to maintaining sharp knives is gaining an understanding of how the blade should feel. Use your fingers to feel the entire edge and you will be able to feel dull spots. Strop the edge on leather a few times and touch the edge again. Any improvement? Yes or no, strop a few more times on the leather and touch the entire edge again with your finger tips.

If you are using leather regularly, you might be able to go weeks or even months without using the whetstone. Once the leather ceases to be effective, strop the knife on the the waterstone 1-2 times on each side of the blade. Use your finger tips to feel that the dull spots have gone away. If they have, finish with a few more strokes on the leather and then feel your edge one last time to ensure it is as sharp as you need it to be.

If those last actions were not effective, try them again. But if you're still not getting the results you expect, a number of factors could be at play. If you choose to use a lower grit stone, you risk over-grinding and upsetting the geometry of the blade.

If this process did not help you, we recommend taking your knife to a professional sharpener. Proper blade geometry is the most important aspect of knife sharpness, and a well-trained sharpener will understand how to correct these issues.