A cowhide leather strop on a Black Walnut paddle, made to keep an Aura edge sharp between sharpenings.

Stropping straightens and polishes the edge rather than removing steel, so a few passes before or after use bring the blade back to its best. Use it with Aura Diamond Emulsion, made for fine-carbide vanadium steels like the CPM MagnaCut in every Aura knife, or with a stropping compound of your choice.

How to use: Apply a small amount of diamond emulsion or compound to the leather. Lay the blade nearly flat at your sharpening angle and draw it spine-first along the strop, alternating sides. A handful of light passes per side is enough.