Does compound go bad?

A

asterik216

Joined
Apr 21, 2017
Messages
52
So yesterday I was cleaning out my grandfathers old garbage and found 2 bricks of compound green and red. They are literal bricks in the shape of a gold bar and weigh lover 5lb each. Any way this stuf has to be older than me and it is kinda lke dry and crumbly. You can get it to stick if you press on it but then its like uneven amounts and its like crayon. The bricks say Matchless Trademark Chicago Ill and Glenridge N? I cant see the last letter.
 
asterik216 said:
So yesterday I was cleaning out my grandfathers old garbage and found 2 bricks of compound green and red. They are literal bricks in the shape of a gold bar and weigh lover 5lb each. Any way this stuf has to be older than me and it is kinda lke dry and crumbly. You can get it to stick if you press on it but then its like uneven amounts and its like crayon. The bricks say Matchless Trademark Chicago Ill and Glenridge N? I cant see the last letter.
Click to expand...
It maybe a little dry,but should be ok.Let it set in a humid area for a few days and see if it changes any way.Personally I would use it ,long term supply.
 
I planned to use it as long as its any good and i can make it work. Its way more than you could ever use for stroping in probably quite a few lifetimes. The company its from still and still exist and make the same giant bars i looked it up after i posted this. I have
Steel & Stainless Steel Buffing Compound and Nonferrous and Tripoli Buffing Compound. They also make one for Rouges & Jewelry.

Link to non-supporting vendor removed, read the site rules.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The 'grit' of the compound will always be the same. The binder or suspension may dry up or harden; but that could be softened up by wetting it with some mineral oil or WD-40, most of the time. That's often the 'fix' for stick compounds that are sometimes too hard to apply evenly on strops, even when the compound is relatively new. Even if completely dry, it can be chipped or broken up and mixed with oil, WD-40 or whatever, to be applied to a strop (I've done this with green stick compound).
 
Thanks I never tried using some oil on it. I did try a little water but that didn't really do it. I did figure it out though. I used the microwave. It worked amazing as long as you put in on the strop first then microwave it. It came out pretty perfect actually
 
Is there any other way besides sitting in humidity to reconstitute it somewhat as I'm fresh out of humidity right now.

Also after testing it out I've noticed it's actually that only thing i need to sharpen a knife. I did a couple strokes with it and noticed it turned really black and you could see the polished edge right away basically. I ended up coloring some on a paint stick and it's more efficient and better maybe then stones. I even dulled a edge a couple times running it along a stone. In 5 minutes it was back to popping hairs. It would of taken me way longer using stones and I would or used a could grits. Why even bother using stones. This works to good and is to easy.
 
Take an old knife and scrape a large pile of shavings into an aluminum foil 'cup.' Perhaps enough to fill a small soup bowl. Hit that with a hair dryer or heat gun until if all melts. Add a few drops (only) of mineral oil, and mix together. Let it cool down and harden, then peel off the foil. You'll have a nice 'small' bar of compound that you can easily rub onto your substrate.
When you have a big one pound or two pound block of compound, it's usually pretty unwieldy. Those are made to be pressed against larger buffing wheels, not rubbed onto a small strop. But it's just a 20 minute job to melt down enough to last you several years of stropping using this method, and the benefits are two-fold; easier to work with, size-wise, and easier to apply because of the addition of the oil.

Stitchawl
 
I mixed up a little of the crumbs that broke off with a little mineral oil last night and it turned out ok. I kinda assumed it would harden back up a bit but it hasn't yet. I Put a couple extra drops in after I started mixing it because there was a could little piece I had to break up to powder. I either need to completely crush it up to powder first or im going to try your hairdryer and foil method.
 
stitchawl said:
Take an old knife and scrape a large pile of shavings into an aluminum foil 'cup.' Perhaps enough to fill a small soup bowl. Hit that with a hair dryer or heat gun until if all melts. Add a few drops (only) of mineral oil, and mix together. Let it cool down and harden, then peel off the foil. You'll have a nice 'small' bar of compound that you can easily rub onto your substrate.
When you have a big one pound or two pound block of compound, it's usually pretty unwieldy. Those are made to be pressed against larger buffing wheels, not rubbed onto a small strop. But it's just a 20 minute job to melt down enough to last you several years of stropping using this method, and the benefits are two-fold; easier to work with, size-wise, and easier to apply because of the addition of the oil.

Stitchawl
Click to expand...

I started to use a hairdryer and instantly knew it was going to be a problem. I ended up just using a Dixie cup and putting it in the microwave then mixing it up. I just peeled the cup off and it's good to go. I still stand by the microwave for melting it down. It's quick and easy and for sure the way to go.
 
Sorry... I forgot to suggest covering the bowl with another layer of foil to keep shavings from blowing away. My bad...


Stitchawl
 
It's not that lol. It just seemed like it would be a lot more involved and take longer trying to melt it down with a hairdryer. All I had to do was turn on the microwave for 2 minutes. You should put it in something that conducts heat though. Originally I out some shavings on a paper plate and it didn't want to really melt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top