diamond paste

D

DennisStrickland

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would appreciate a little help on this one . received my ferhman final judgment & a stroup with green diamond paste in a small vial.i've used barber stroups with jewelers rouge for yrs. but the paste is new to me . my question is how to apply the paste to the new leather. also how often do es one need to retreat the stroup with additional diamond. knife is super sharp so i thought i would break the stroup in on a zdp189 endura to see what the paste actually does. thanks guys , i know many of you have been strouping with diamond for years.
 
I use 2-3 pea sized dots of diamond paste for a strop that is 12"x3"
I put them on spaced over the strop and rub them around to cover using my thumb (which does NOT get sharper, by the way.) You do NOT need to completely block out all color of the strop, just distribute the paste to 'gray out' the strop.

I re-apply this about twice a year, stropping several times a week. I honestly think I'm wasting a lot of compound, using a bit too much. One or two pea spots would probably be more than enough.

Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
I use 2-3 pea sized dots of diamond paste for a strop that is 12"x3"
I put them on spaced over the strop and rub them around to cover using my thumb (which does NOT get sharper, by the way.) You do NOT need to completely block out all color of the strop, just distribute the paste to 'gray out' the strop.

I re-apply this about twice a year, stropping several times a week. I honestly think I'm wasting a lot of compound, using a bit too much. One or two pea spots would probably be more than enough.

Stitchawl
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You ruined my dream :(.
I was hoping to make the first SUPER portal knife ;) Try with the nail :)















J/K.

On topic. USE VERY LITTLE like what stitch said 1 or 2 drops. I would also recommend treating the leather a bit first heat it up a bit with a hair dryer or lighter (be careful with the lighter). This will open up the pores of the leather allowing it to "drink" the compound. Apply 1 or 2 pea size drops onto the leather then use your thumb/ napkin/ cheapo PLAIN edge knife, and work the leather into it. Once you have nice even coverage if you look closely you should still be able to see the pores of the leather, and it should have a tinge of the color of the compound.
Your'e not done yet. Heat the leather up again, and work the leather in some more this will give you very nice coverage, and will help bring out silicates of the leather, and aid in the stropping.
 
chococrazy said:
You ruined my dream :(.
Click to expand...
That's what the girl at the picnic said too...

I was hoping to make the first SUPER portal knife ;) Try with the nail :)
Click to expand...

Nail... hmmmmm.... I hadn't thought about that.

O.K. I thought about it. NO.
I'm a guitar player. I need my picking hand fingernails thick and my fretting hand nails short.
However, just so long a one isn't a guitar player or chronic nose picker, it should work.

Stitchawl
 
i really appreciate the info since i was going to put the entire vial [1/2 gram] on the leather. this stuff must be increadibly effiecent to need such a small amount.thanks guys.
 
stitchawl said:
That's what the girl at the picnic said too...



Nail... hmmmmm.... I hadn't thought about that.

O.K. I thought about it. NO.
I'm a guitar player. I need my picking hand fingernails thick and my fretting hand nails short.
However, just so long a one isn't a guitar player or chronic nose picker, it should work.

Stitchawl
Click to expand...
Or constant nail biter!

Oh god your strop would have been ruined if you poured a half vile of compound onto a strop.
 
DennisStrickland said:
i really appreciate the info since i was going to put the entire vial [1/2 gram] on the leather. this stuff must be increadibly effiecent to need such a small amount.thanks guys.
Click to expand...

It's not an uncommon mistake. I did it when I first got my liquid CrO2 compound. I painted it onto my strop... Used about 1/4 of the bottle instead of the few drops that I actually needed. In fact, I bought two bottles of the stuff the first time around because I didn't want to run out. That was many years ago and I still haven't finished the first bottle, and probably won't in my life time!

I 'almost' did it again the first time I used diamond paste. It came in a plastic syringe and the plunger seemed 'stuck' to me so I pushed harder... I have strong fingers, but fortunately, also fast reflexes. I only squirted about 1/4 of the tube. Having several different configurations of strops for each compound (i.e. hanging, large benchmount, small benchmount, paddle, etc.,) I just scooped what I needed for each off the first strop. I got lucky. :D

Stitchawl
 
Is it oil or water based? This WILL matter in application.
 
Oil based like DMT will spread on leather like warm butter with no pre treatment, water based compound will dry up in the spot you put it and will not spread at all. If its water based spray some WD-40 on a rag then wipe the leather to moisten and it will spread like it should. I learned this the hard way the first time I tried to apply water based amplex compound.
 
nothing is ever simple. from the appearance the product looks like tooth paste. i assume its oil based since it looks to be fairly thick & somewhat visicous.thanks again, dennis.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Oil based like DMT will spread on leather like warm butter with no pre treatment, water based compound will dry up in the spot you put it and will not spread at all. If its water based spray some WD-40 on a rag then wipe the leather to moisten and it will spread like it should. I learned this the hard way the first time I tried to apply water based amplex compound.
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Hmmm... good to know! Thanks.
I have to assume mine was in an oil base as it spread like, like, like... something in an oil base! ;)

Stitchawl
 
DennisStrickland said:
nothing is ever simple. from the appearance the product looks like tooth paste. i assume its oil based since it looks to be fairly thick & somewhat visicous.thanks again, dennis.
Click to expand...

Mine looks like gray toothpaste and is about that same consistency. I wonder if it would be cheaper to use than those damn tooth whitening creams? :eek:

Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
Mine looks like gray toothpaste and is about that same consistency. I wonder if it would be cheaper to use than those damn tooth whitening creams? :eek:

Stitchawl
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:D Actually....toothpaste IS a fine abrasive and can be used as a polish! Not sure about the "gel" types but the old white stuff works.

Peter
 
What would would be the consequences of using too much compound on a leather strop? Say, if I sprayed about a half ounce from a four ounce bottle of diamond spray, but did it evenly and in steps, letting each coat dry in between applications. Not that I did this; I was very judicious with its application. Just wondering, is all. Also, how about too much chromium oxide... why would that be a bad thing?
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
What would would be the consequences of using too much compound on a leather strop? Say, if I sprayed about a half ounce from a four ounce bottle of diamond spray, but did it evenly and in steps, letting each coat dry in between applications. Not that I did this; I was very judicious with its application. Just wondering, is all. Also, how about too much chromium oxide... why would that be a bad thing?
Click to expand...


Yes it becomes counter productive because the edge "floats" on the compound.
 
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