Hello, it doesn’t take much at all, you’re not really trying to get a huge buildup, just more like a crayon or piece of chalk. You will eventually build up more and more on the leather, but it does take some time. Hope this helps!

@@clarkschwenke1 I think Flexcut’s SlipStrop video is misleading by recommending “liberally” applying the compound! It’s been my experience that it doesn’t take much!

@@tomt9543 my original slipstrop has a much finer grain leather (and a much larger piece) than the ones I’ve seen lately. They really only hold, as you stated, a rather small amount, and once you’ve “glazed” the leather with it a few times, even less. I really only look to dull the surface rather than go for a heavy buildup. After a few swipes it’s shiny again, and you can make the compound almost outlast the strop.

@@clarkschwenke1 Agreed! Do you ever perform any cleaning on your strops? I’ve always been of the opinion that a strop is used until it’s no longer effective, then trash it and get or make a new one.

@@tomt9543 I’m of the same opinion, leather is usually easy enough to find in a strop sized piece somewhere, and if I need the angles of the back side of the slip strop and I wear them out, I’ll just replace it.

Well, I guess I’d use my overwhelming charm and backwoods skills to trap and tame a beaver, and have him fell the tree for me, then I could use my flint knapping skills to fashion a rudimentary axe, at that point I could then use the CAD designed multi blade modern cutting tool to make a wooden spoon....lol.

@@clarkschwenke1 no no you are limited to only using the spoon carving knife 😁

Yes, that is what I use. You can also get a burnishing tool from most places that sell the scrapers commercially, but it’s pretty much the same thing.

@@clarkschwenke1 thank you!

I know they make a left handed hook knife, I have one for doing awkward angles, but I carve with both hands anyway, I’m just primarily right handed. I think it would be difficult to do a paring cut with the spoon carvin jack as a leftie, so if you’re looking to really get into the craft the left handed carvin jack and a left handed hook knife may be the way to go. A little less pocket friendly, but still well worth the investment in my opinion.

@@clarkschwenke1 Thank you so much for your reply! I've bought the left handed Carvin' Jack. Once I see what I can do with that and see if I get as hooked on it as I think I might I'll get the hook knife. :)

@@user-bh3ew6ii4g the spoons are really a lot of fun, and something practical as well, they make great gifts. I’ve also done butter knives and cake knives from wood, again wonderful gifts. Enjoy your journey!

@@clarkschwenke1 thank you! I have a feeling I will. Butter knives would be useful too, and spatulas. I'll have to try those as well. Are cake knives like those pie slicer/servers? I've bought my Left-handed Carvin' Jack... now I'm just impatiently waiting for it ;)

@@user-bh3ew6ii4g the butter knives I do are a Swedish style, and the cake knives are similar, just longer. They look more like a real knife, just made of wood. I don’t believe I’ve done a video on those yet, I’ll work on that. Make sure to subscribe and turn the little bell on so you know when new stuff comes out. I also have a Carvin’ Jack on the way and will be doing some videos with that when it arrives. Looks like you may be in luck there too, it has the hook knife for spoons, let’s just hope yours is left handed! Please keep me posted.

B*C, pretty sure that one was a Minwax stain called gunstock, over coated with Minwax Gloss polyurethane spray.

Bill Whitmire I usually try to leave any green cut sticks with the bark on inside for at least one year. I believe 6-8 months, depending on humidity, for every inch of diameter, is what is recommended, and most of the pieces I use are in the 1-2 inch range.

Thanks so much .. I have a couple of Red Maple .. thats been in the dry for about 3 years .. So Im good to go ( I actually forgot about them) Thanks again Bill

Ron Weasley I think it depends on the tool. I have some that are shaped both ways, and I know there is a method to the madness, but I will be the first to admit I know not why. I do know my detail knives have a double sided taper, but my curved blades do not, or if they do it is very minimal. I will research this a bit and see what I can find out.

CP, Honestly yes, that blank was more to get the most out of that particular piece of wood, didn’t have much of it, and didn’t want the waste of a hatchet job. After using the tool on many different projects at this point, if you were going for a small, useful, bushcraft style spoon from a branch while on the trail, I’d still be just as confident. I appreciate your honesty, and over the next couple days I’ll see if I can’t get something together for a short video doing just as you requested. Thanks again, Clark

Some of their blades do have a more raw finish, usually on the non-working side of a curved blade or the interior face of a gouge, but the majority of mine are high polished. I have an older set, the 3 knife starter set, and the detail knife over the years has darkened a bit, but that’s probably a combination of oil from my hands and hundreds of hours of use in probably no less than a dozen different species of wood, in various states of being seasoned. You may try a little bit of a fine metal polish like flitz polish or brasso to restore their luster (using extreme caution of course). As far as holding an edge, I’ve sharpened everything from my pocket knives to antique high carbon steel butcher’s knives with the Flexcut gold and a strop and have always been able to get the mirror edge, though sometimes only through a considerable amount of elbow grease. I’m not a bladesmith or a metallurgist, but it sounds like they may have been overheated at some point, which can happen if they are sharpened on a grinder or other powered device very easily with such a thin blade. If the hardening or the temper in the metal has been disturbed, that would cause both of the issues you are speaking of. I know one used to be able to send the knives back to Flexcut and they will re-hone the edge for you for a nominal fee, that would be my personal suggestion. They may be able to diagnose something, and get your blades back up and running for you. Hope this helps. Thanks for the view, and the comment!

Charlie Durham, Thanks. I really need to get more in depth with cleaning up palm tools and my Sloyd Hook Knife, it’s a real challenge to sharpen. Life happens, so I haven’t done much video in awhile, but hope to soon. Thanks for the comment!

Fair enough. I’ve not seen a more recent version of the slip strop, and to be quite honest, I have several other strops that I have made that are more purpose built for larger or specialty knives. I do use the profiles, but not near as much as just leather, and as stated I have different leather for different applications as well.

The V and U shaped wood profiles are for removing the burr on the backside of the edge after stropping. They’re not there for the actual stropping action.

Hello Codi, the answer to this question is both simple, and complex. A lot of the pleasures of carving hinge on very sharp tools. I have used hobby store tools, antique tools, made my own tools, and bought new tools. The simple answer is buy (or build) good tools, good tools come sharp, and are made of quality steel that is easy to put an edge on, and easy to keep an edge on. Good tools come with the proper profile (gouges, v-tools, skews, etc...) and good knives have a proper blade profile for carving and for keeping an edge. Now for the complex answer. The key to maintaining a good edge is a process called stropping. There are many good videos on the process, and I may do one just for my subscribers who may be curious. Stropping blades uses a piece of leather, a very fine abrasive, and some elbow grease. Unless for some reason I would damage a blade by dropping it or some other severe impact, I NEVER use any stone or any other coarse abrasive on my carving blades. I know FlexCut makes an awesome tool called a Slip Strop. It has many profiles for sharpening nearly all blades and tools, and comes with their proprietary stropping medium called “FlexCut Gold”. If it is OK with you, I will make a quick video on stropping this week and mention your name. I’d look for it after Wednesday. If you haven’t done so already, subscribe and hit the little bell so you will know when it is out. Thanks for watching and thanks for the awesome question! Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

@@clarkschwenke1 I subbed after viewing this video, but ill be sure to look out for the new video. I'm currently looking at getting the right handed carving jack which seems to be the best multitool for all round use, which I can easily carry on me while camping and use while at home to make some things for entertainment purposes

@@clarkschwenke1 Thanks for the reply!

The carvin jacks are awesome, and I can’t say enough about the quality of FlexCut tools. There are others who make carving multi tools, but I have not had the pleasure of having one to compare to the Spoon Carvin’ Jack I have. In my opinion, they are definitely worth the investment!

Zoe Hancock thanks for watching! I would assume that if sales reach the level of the Carvin’ Jack that FlexCut would eventually consider a left handed design Spoon Carvin’ Jack (speaking for myself totally and not for FlexCut). I know they make a left handed hook knife, I actually use one to work the inside details of deeper spoons. I can always make you a gooseneck scraper if you would like! Email me at [email protected] if you are interested.

joshua covey to be honest I’ve not used it as much as I have the hook knives and the Spoon Carvin’ Jack. We are finally settling into our new shop, and I was just thinking of doing a video this week. I will work on putting together something using the sloyd. I will say, for the applications I’ve used it for it has worked great. I’ve used it for hollowing some shallow bowls and doing some other detail work where the fine tip worked best. I like the handle, the blade is quality, and like every other blade I’ve used from FlexCut, comes ready to work and only requires the occasional light stropping. Keep an eye out for a new video and I’ll try to get something done with the sloyd.

I’m in the process of moving to a bigger shop right now, so videos have been on hold for awhile. I can do a more in depth video as soon as I get things set back up. Thanks for watching!

Thanks, I’ll probably carve another wood spirit cane soon. This was a quick one for a friend who is in need of one. Thanks for checking us out!

Whittlebear Carver Thanks, ill check it out!

This is the first FlexCut Carvin' Jack I've had the pleasure of working with, and I am surprised how similar the tool feels in the hand compared to their wood handled knives. I like it a lot. Thanks for checking us out!

Thanks, and me too! We were just plugging along, Colton was carving a spoon and was working on the screwdriver, then I smelled walnut burning. Took us about ten minutes to find the source, in my prefab barn of a shop full of wood, shavings, and sawdust. I should have let the camera run, then this would have been a comedy bit!

Half of the fun of a platform like this is watching different ways of doing things and seeing how other people think “outside the box”. Sometimes you pick up things, and sometimes you contribute things to others. We are supposed to have a couple warm days in a row and I’ve got a project or two I want to work on, so we will see how far I get. Thanks for watching!

Flexcut Tool Company thank you for making such a great product!