Stabbing in the belt is not an issue. What I have in mind is stropping the edge of your knife like barbers do with their razors and as Ray Mears does in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a2Jm3pkXqk

What kind of leather belt is ideal? He's doing it on the inside of his belt, is it on the rough side of the leather? (There is the grain layer, the corium and the rough)

Hi,

I have been wearing Safariland leather Belts for about 10 years. The first one I had was the Model 820 with the Safari-laminate inner liner. After about 5 years this inner liner split at the buckle and the sharp plastic edge started to cut the leather. I sent an e-mail to the Customer Service Dept. of Safariland and 3 days later a new belt (Model 830 without the inner liner) arrived at my office free of charge, terrific service.

The 820 can be seen here http://www.safariland.com/product.aspx?pid=L820

The 830 can be seen here http://www.safariland.com/product.aspx?pid=L830

I wear the Model 830 daily with many heavy items on it and it has served me well.

The only trouble is that after 10 years (and a few pounds) I am now on the last notch of the belt, could it be that the leather is shrinking?

Mike

Hi Frankie,

I often strop my knives on an old plain leather belt that I wear when hunting. I use the inside "rough" side of the leather and it works well.

I have heard of people "loading" a belt with fine abrasive to do a better job of stropping but I have not tried it yet. I think I read about it in the articles section in Outdoor Magazine http://outdoors-magazine.com/spip.php?page=article

Mike

I found this:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2156678_sharpen-knives-old-belt.html

So ideally the belt should have a smooth side (grain) and rough side and you would start with the rough and "polish" on the grain side.

I second the recomendation for thebeltman belts. They are good looking, but VERY sturdy.

Jim

I gave up on belts from anywhere except a leather shop. My current belt is a money belt style from a local craftsman that has the rough inside. For field expedient stropping it should have no problems. For dedicated stropping, I use an old single layer belt similar to the Filson w/ a rough back that I used for years until it started to roll. I use the section where the sheathes for Maglite & knife rubbed the back smoother & looks like it's been "loaded" with buffing compound.

Honing strop

Kramer Leather

http://www.kramerleather.com/productDetail.cfm?productID=26&categoryID=30