When to start stropping a new knife

[greyrider]

I did purchase a flexcut knife to start with, and the
info stated it was "pre-sharpened" and ready to go.
My question is this..........When do you start to strope
a new knife? Is there any set rule, or do you go by
the way it's cutting. Being a new carver, I guess I
would not know when it starts to cut "bad". Do you
strope once an hour, once a week, every other day,
etc??

[jwd]

Best advice I can give is when in doubt Strop. It never hurts to make sure or take the extra precaution.

[Claude]

I'd suggest about 30 minutes after you start carving with it, and every 30 minutes thereafter... Like almost anything else, a little bit of frequent maintenance will prevent major overhauls later.

I give mine 5 strokes on one side, then 5 on the other side, then 4 on the first side, 4 on the second, etc., until I get to the 1 and 1 - then I set the strop down and continue carving. Takes little time.

Claude

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

I strop about every 20 minutes, 10 - 20 strokes per side. I would do the same for a new knife, might even strop before first use.

Dave

[brent]

About the same for me.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Ditto!... The shinnier the blade the better it cuts!

[pallin]

Perhaps your question is best answered by this related thread:

How do you test your knives sharpness?

[bigEd_H]

I strop before I start carving and every 15 to 25 minutes there after. I will then do a quick strop before I put the knife away. Most knives will come sharp and ready to go, but to keep them that way, 10 to 20 strokes on each side (going away from the edge) regularly will keep you from having to touch it to a stone/ceramic/diamond sharpener for a long time.