- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
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- 250
By your view, do you think it’s time to replace the compound or is too early?
How far do you go?
How far do you go?
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It’s time to replace?
- Thread starter brasileiro
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- Apr 12, 2009
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If I can't see that the compound is working anymore, i.e., if I'm not seeing enhancement or improvement in the edge while using it, that's when I'd clean it up and reapply compound.
Some strop & compound combinations can get hideously dirty-looking, and just keep on working like the compound was applied yesterday. My denim strops with aluminum oxide compounds (stick/crayon-types) keep working like this, in spite of the fact they're tar-black on the surface. Since these compounds aren't expensive anyway, I sometimes will refresh the strop before I know I need to, just to make sure it hasn't lost any of it's edge-enhancing mojo. Or, sometimes a strop gets dirty enough that it's leaving black mess all over my blade when I'm using it, at which point I may choose to clean it up. For aggressively-polishing compounds, that's going to happen anyway, even after the first use. But at some point, it sort of screams at me, that it could use a cleaning and refresh.
Some strop & compound combinations can get hideously dirty-looking, and just keep on working like the compound was applied yesterday. My denim strops with aluminum oxide compounds (stick/crayon-types) keep working like this, in spite of the fact they're tar-black on the surface. Since these compounds aren't expensive anyway, I sometimes will refresh the strop before I know I need to, just to make sure it hasn't lost any of it's edge-enhancing mojo. Or, sometimes a strop gets dirty enough that it's leaving black mess all over my blade when I'm using it, at which point I may choose to clean it up. For aggressively-polishing compounds, that's going to happen anyway, even after the first use. But at some point, it sort of screams at me, that it could use a cleaning and refresh.
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- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 250
Thanks.
Today before lunch, I sharpened a knife and worked very well. After lunch I did some touch up on same knife (little roll), same way 1000 grit stone at 25dps just to remove the roll and used the strop and it doesn’t work like before.
My touch up was maybe 2 or 3 passes each side on angled stone like sharpmaker at 25dps with the weight of the knife then strop.
Are my micro becoming macro bevel?
Today before lunch, I sharpened a knife and worked very well. After lunch I did some touch up on same knife (little roll), same way 1000 grit stone at 25dps just to remove the roll and used the strop and it doesn’t work like before.
My touch up was maybe 2 or 3 passes each side on angled stone like sharpmaker at 25dps with the weight of the knife then strop.
Are my micro becoming macro bevel?
What ever you decide,,, suggest cleaning away the black residue,,, it is particles of steel and does not contribute to sharpening process. It will delay steel removal and frustrate apex formation.
Good magnification will decide micro, macro, dubbing,,, a lot of postings without real observations are misleading. I found a nice condition Nikon microscope 10x-80x on the big auction site,,, very interesting to actually examine some of the popular eye wash stories for strops and dubbing.
Regards,
FK
Good magnification will decide micro, macro, dubbing,,, a lot of postings without real observations are misleading. I found a nice condition Nikon microscope 10x-80x on the big auction site,,, very interesting to actually examine some of the popular eye wash stories for strops and dubbing.
Regards,
FK
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 250
Thanks. I have a loupe but actually I don’t own the right tools to measure micro dimensions and by my eyes I don’t know what is the limit of micro, I mean when it become macro. But I’ll try clean it and strop again.