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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
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- Thread starter ItsBenjii
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 6,642
For a standalone compound I'd go with Flexcut Gold.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,442
What steels are you sharpening? Depending on which, the green may not be as useful as you'd want. Green can work well on simpler steels like 1095, CV and 420HC and similar steels, so long as the edge coming off the stones is fully apexed and crisp, needing just some burr cleanup and a little refining. If the steels are higher alloy (S30V, etc), or if the edges coming off the stones aren't quite ready, green won't help much to refine them.
David
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2008
- Messages
- 1,647
Maybe it depends on what you want to use it for too. Stropping reduces the edge/apex width and I believe no matter what, it applies a micro-convex bevel. Compound on a leather strop just increases "abrasive power", a naked balsa or nano cloth likely has no abrasive power at all. The right abrasive (if you need more power) is important, the finer you get and which steel your knife has. At a minimum, you align the edge a bit and clean it up, even if there is no abrasion going on. Also it seems that the final edge quality may be more important effected by the actual base material than the compound.
So I like the idea of having a compound that abrades all steels, is easy to apply and lasts long. CBN spray/emulsion seems to fit the bill the best. I use it exclusively on Balsa wood now. I just recently got 600 grit and 1200 grit Sic paste and the first impression of the 1200 grit on Balsa is good. There is also Diamond spray/paste but likely more expensive. I don't get to crazy about the grits. I like to stay in the ball park of what the last stone was and since I almost always end with the DMT 1200, The microns stay between 8-16 micron.
I do like the BRKT white compound and the Flexcut gold a lot too, the only reason why I am stepping away from those is the way of application. It is always difficult, uneven, clumps in places etc. and even though that may not affect the result, I don't like it.
Lastly, very feather light edge leading strokes on very fine hard abrasives may actually make stropping unnecessary to achieve a keen and fine edge but by using the Spyderco fine rods for this, my impressions have not been too good.
Just for disclosure, I have no way to look at my edges better than a 10x loupe, I test my edges on TB paper and whether they catch hair above skin on my wrist.
So I like the idea of having a compound that abrades all steels, is easy to apply and lasts long. CBN spray/emulsion seems to fit the bill the best. I use it exclusively on Balsa wood now. I just recently got 600 grit and 1200 grit Sic paste and the first impression of the 1200 grit on Balsa is good. There is also Diamond spray/paste but likely more expensive. I don't get to crazy about the grits. I like to stay in the ball park of what the last stone was and since I almost always end with the DMT 1200, The microns stay between 8-16 micron.
I do like the BRKT white compound and the Flexcut gold a lot too, the only reason why I am stepping away from those is the way of application. It is always difficult, uneven, clumps in places etc. and even though that may not affect the result, I don't like it.
Lastly, very feather light edge leading strokes on very fine hard abrasives may actually make stropping unnecessary to achieve a keen and fine edge but by using the Spyderco fine rods for this, my impressions have not been too good.
Just for disclosure, I have no way to look at my edges better than a 10x loupe, I test my edges on TB paper and whether they catch hair above skin on my wrist.