How do you strop a knife?

To strop your knife, get some soft but slightly abrasive material to rub your polishing compound on. Leather belts, denim, and cardboard all work well. Get your compound—like green chrome oxide compound—rubbed in evenly. It doesn’t need to be a thick layer, just enough to feel waxy. Using pulling strokes toward you, lightly glide your knife along the strop. At the end of each stroke, lift the blade edge off the strop, don’t roll the edge inward—this defeats the purpose of stropping. A dozen dragging strokes on each side will finely polish your edge, but feel free to do more or less.