Re: Sharpening question

Three or four strokes on a leather strop charged with a stroping compound
every hour or two should be enough to keep a sharp tool's edge keen for
quite a while.  If you're carving found wood or harder woods like cherry or
walnut, you'll need more frequent touch-up on your stone.  If the tool
quality is poor or the bevel angle is incorrect, the edge will need
attention more often.
I once asked a teaching, professional carver about the advantages of his
expensive power strop set-up vs. my manual strop.  His response was that he
used a power strop because it allowed him to sharpen his, and his student's,
tools quickly.  Because he spent less time sharpening, students got more
instruction.  Be careful not to overheat your tool when using a power strop.
The keen edge can heat up in a heartbeat if you press too hard or have the
wrong angle or strop speed.
When one of my tools does need more than a stropping (and wasn't dropped or
dinged) I usually make a couple passes on 2000 grit silicon carbide paper
adheared to a glass plate (Scary Sharp system) and finish up with a few
stroke on the strop.
Diamond hones are OK but aren't available in grits fine enough for precision
tools.  I got tired of cleaning and dressing stones so I switched to Scary
Sharp.
JT