Port-A-Strop Put to the Test Battery-powered honing tool makes it easy to keep a razor edge while on the go. By Bob Duncan
The Port-A-Strop combines a 14.4-volt rechargeable battery with a leather-covered honing wheel to give portable power to your stropping.
AT A GLANCE   Long lasting battery gives portable power Low speed makes it easy to maintain proper angles and doesn’t burn tools Reversible motor easily re-shapes tools Compact design for carrying and traveling Optional contoured leather wheel quickly sharpens gouges and V-tools   Port-A-Strop, a light-weight, battery-powered honing and sharpening system, was designed for portability. The tool is great for stropping or honing most tools. With the addition of sandpaper to the rotating wheel, it also works great to sharpen small tools. But there are some drawbacks when it comes to shaping or sharpening larger tools. The tool’s designer, Lynn Scism, came up with the idea for the tool while teaching carving classes at senior centers. He used to lug all his grinding equipment into the class and spent a large amount of the class sharpening. After developing the Port-AStrop, he would give a quick demonstration, and then pass the tool around the class. Even carvers who were intimidated by power sharpeners quickly learned to put a sharp edge on their tools. Weighing in at 41/2 pounds, its manufacturer calls it a “go anywhere sharpening system.” The basic setup, which sells for $230, combines a flat, leather stropping wheel with a 14.4-volt battery-powered motor. Adhesive-backed sandpaper can be applied to the side of the wheel for quick edge repair or reshaping. Add-ons include a contoured leather wheel, for an additional $40, to strop gouges and V-tools and a reversible motor for an additional $50—which makes edge shaping with the sandpaper easier. I questioned how long the battery charge would last. Right out of the box, the machine was ready to sharpen. I’ve used it for several months and have only needed to charge it three times. I’ve used it for about 20 minutes at a time, on average three times a week. The battery is not removable, but the included charger plugs into the tool easily and charges quickly. I had excellent luck with the leather stropping wheels. I restored a mirror finish to several knives and gouges very quickly. And a touch here and there on the wheel was all it took to maintain the edge. I did have a few problems reshaping an edge on larger tools. Anything that rotates horizontally (on a vertical axis), the speed of rotation decreases as you approach the center. This is good and bad! Slowing the rotation down is good when you are sharpening small tools or detail knives. Lynn suggests cutting out the center of the sandpaper to fit it to the flat leather wheel. This center piece fits nicely in the center of the contoured leather wheel. Since this part of the tool rotates very slowly, it is difficult to burn small carving tools. But it is more difficult to shape larger tools, such as a roughing-out knife, on the flat wheel. With larger tools it is difficult to hold the tool at a constant angle, since there are no tool rests. Essentially, you have to depend on your grip to hold a constant angle. Also, since the wheel is basically rotating at several different speeds, the tip is being shaped at a different speed than the blade near the grip. To compensate for this, classic logic calls for you to press harder on the tip—but I still had trouble shaping a constant bevel on the blade of my roughing out knife. In general, the Port-a-Strop is a great tool for stropping—anywhere. If your are short on space in your shop or even your recreational vehicle, this is the tool for you! The edge re-shaping options are great for small tools, but it will never replace a traditional grinder or whetstones for edgeshaping or nick removal.
Special Sources
The Port-A-Strop is available from Lynn Scism at 1453 Carol St., Camano Island, WA 98282, 425-418-6592, 360-387-6701, or portastrop@yahoo.com. In addition to the Port-A-Strop, Lynn manufactures a variety of carving roughouts and cutouts. He also teaches a variety of carving classes.
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