Compounds other than green?

C

Call_to_Arms

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Apr 13, 2011
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Hey, ive been looking at Gessweins website, they sell all sorts of interesting sharpening elated stuff, stones and compounds. They sell all sorts of different colour compounds and types, they even list how it cuts into different metals, is there anything else that would work well for stropping? im thinking about cutting faster for convexing...
 
Silicon carbide, in the form of wet/dry sandpaper, is a great solution for creating convex edges. For stropping, some like to use Silicon Carbide powder, which is available in a wide range of grits (very coarse to very fine). Take a look at posts by member HeavyHanded; he's done a lot with Silicon Carbide compounds on strops. And also for stropping any edge, diamond compound is always a good bet. The green compounds (chromium oxide) are pretty good for final polishing, but won't work well for heavy metal removal. The grit is way too small for that.

Either the diamond or silicon carbide work well on any steel. Other compounds may not be quite as effective on more abrasion-resistant steels with very large & hard carbides (like S30V, for instance).

Aluminum oxide makes a pretty good (even excellent) stropping compound. It's commonly found in polishing pastes like Simichrome or Flitz. Also used in some auto polishing compounds. I like it for stropping when I'm close to finishing, as in before a final bare leather stropping (I use Simichrome).

Red compound (rouge, a.k.a. ferric oxide) can sometimes work quite well with basic carbon steels (such as used in razors; it's often used on razor strops) and some simpler alloy steels that don't have significant carbides.
 
wow, thanks obsessed. I worked last night and have been up for a long time, I need to go sleep for a little while and then read your post again.
 
Alright, so most of my stuff is 440 and 8cr13mov, with the occasional ATS-34, S30v and carbon steel mixed in. This place advertises a bunch of colored "crayon" compound but does not list the composition or the grit. What colour would normally remove more material than the classic green? I dont know if there is an industry standard for this type of stuff. Thanks
 
Green = fine, white = medium , black = course

You should have different strops for each compound
 
Perfect, thats what I needed to hear, do you use each? my finest stone right now is a light blue, feels like chalk, and it leaves a cloudy satin edge, sometimes its a bit of a stretch to jump to green compound from there, I was hoping a courser compound would bridge the gap. Any idea what grits these would fall near?
 
This how I rate (use) them -

220 grit silicone carbide lapping compound for any edges coming off a coarse diamond stone, the coarse side of any combination stone, up to 800 grit waterstones, or up to 220 grit sandpaper. This is the only compound i use on the rough side of the leather.

Black emery compound (Sears) for any edges coming off a fine diamond stone, the fine side of a silicone carbide combination stone, 1200 grit waterstone, or up to 800 grit sandpaper. Used on the smooth side of some tough leather roughed up with sandpaper

Flexcut Gold (white) for any edges coming off an extra fine diamond stone, the fine side of an Alumox stone, 6000 grit waterstone, or 1000-1500 grit sandpaper.

Green chromium oxide for any edges coming off an extra extra fine diamond, Spyderco fine or extra fine ceramic hone, translucent or surgical black Arkansas, 2000 grit sandpaper or finer grades of lapping film, and presumably finer grades of waterstones (of which I own none).

After any level one can use plain leather but this most noticeable payoffs aren't really present till you get to the white and green compounds, and realistically only the finest (green compound) edges benefit from plain leather (IMHO).

One can use them in series to "jump" stone grits but there will be increasing amounts of convexing at the apex and this will be noticeable in use compared to using a corresponding grit stone with an approximate equal value strop grit. It works, but is not "best practices" - IMHO. When used on hard leather or wood I do not believe its possible to "round" an edge, rather the edge angle increases to the point where cutting efficiency suffers - even an "overstropped" edge can usually shave armhair but starts to fail cutting newprint etc.

Hope this helps.
HH
 
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