Leather strop and compound question

Lord_Balkan

Lord_Balkan

Joined
Aug 25, 2016
Messages
600
Hey,

I bought a Garos leather strop and it came with 3 of their compounds (Red, White and Green), and on one side I put on Tormek PA‑70 Honing Compound.

I am not sure if I should try to remove the Tormek honing compound and replace it with the White compound that came with and put the green compound on the other side- Or should I just put the green compound on the other side.

Any help / advice would be appreciated- I am new at this.

Thanks!
 
Well as you probably know I rarely strop anything so I am obviously well qualified to respond to your question.

When people have a either or question I usually respond with my generic answer that never fails to cover all the bases which is :
Get at least one of each and if you like two of each. A guy should have two of everything . . . emergency back up etc. :)

That said; it you got another strop you could have each compound applied. Seems logical since you already have the four grits.

I would be kind of leery of a two sided strop. The side that is down could pick up all manner of junk that could damage your edge.

So maybe three more strops is the answer (minimum) and just not use the side that is down.

I hope this helps. :)
:thumbup:
 
Sounds like the Tormek compound is 3 microns. Most likely the green compound is mostly chromium oxide, which in general will be finer than 3 microns, probably about .5 microns. If you've already put the Tormek on one side, I'd go with the green on the other.
 
jc57 said:
Sounds like the Tormek compound is 3 microns. Most likely the green compound is mostly chromium oxide, which in general will be finer than 3 microns, probably about .5 microns. If you've already put the Tormek on one side, I'd go with the green on the other.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that sounds good. For the white compound that comes with, I am guessing it is similar to the Tormek ?
 
That would be my guess- white is usually aluminum oxide, but the fineness of the grit is dependent on the manufacturer. Aluminum oxide is more abrasive than chromium oxide so will cut as well as polish. Sometime green sticks are a combination of both. Based on the strop vendor descriptions, I'm thinking it should be similar to your Tormek paste.

I use a green stick of Porter Cable buffing compound that I paid less than $3 for at Lowe's hardware a few years ago. Seems to work OK for me.
 
If you ever decide to change the compound on a strop, putting a higher grit over a lower won't hurt a thing, but if doing the opposite, it obviously would. To remove a compound or refinish a strop I use an oscillating sander (an oscillating tool with the triangle shaped sander attachment) with 80 grit sandpaper. Sands off the leather and creates a wonderfully soft finish.

Yeah, yeah, I know someone will say, "You dummy, those 80 grit particles will come off and be in the leather." Yes, that is a possibility, but I have found that the top layer of leather gets embedded in the sandpaper and a quick wipe down before applying new compound removes anything left behind. In other words, I've not run into a problem with a larger abrasive being left behind.
 
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