Remove diamond paste

[Spyderjoe87]

Hi all,
Anyone have any tips to remove diamond paste from a KME strop?
I overloaded it, newbie mistake. Would also like to swap to a finer micron.
Would isopropyl work? Don't want to ruin it.

Thanks

 

[kreisler]

completely remove from the leather

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Maybe isopropyl alcohol on a rag first, to remove the heaviest accumulation. Don't use too much and DON'T pour the alcohol directly onto the leather - that'd be overkill and might even cause the adhesive holding the leather to the block to let go.

You'd still need to remove the embedded grit after that, if going to a finer grit compound. To do that, I'd lightly sand the surface. Some 100-150 grit garnet sandpaper (the type intended for wood) works very well for that. Wrap the sandpaper over a block of wood and sand with a light touch. Doesn't take much to remove the contaminated layer from the surface and expose clean leather underneath. And any of the relatively coarse grit of the sandpaper is least likely to remain unnoticed on the leather and won't imbed itself either. Clean it up with a vacuum cleaner and then apply your new compound. I'd avoid using aluminum oxide or SiC sandpaper, because that grit is much harder and more likely to leave unwanted scratches on your bevels, if any of it imbeds in the leather. The garnet grit is less of a scratching threat to steel, in that regard.

You might test the sanding method on a piece of scrap vegetable-tanned leather first, to get a sense of how it'll work. It's very easy and works very quickly. The leather will take on a velvety nap after sanding. But applying new paste and using the strop afterward will compress the nap and smooth it out again in a relatively short time.

 

[Spyderjoe87]

Maybe isopropyl alcohol on a rag first, to remove the heaviest accumulation. Don't use too much and DON'T pour the alcohol directly onto the leather - that'd be overkill and might even cause the adhesive holding the leather to the block to let go.

You'd still need to remove the embedded grit after that, if going to a finer grit compound. To do that, I'd lightly sand the surface. Some 100-150 grit garnet sandpaper (the type intended for wood) works very well for that. Wrap the sandpaper over a block of wood and sand with a light touch. Doesn't take much to remove the contaminated layer from the surface and expose clean leather underneath. And any of the relatively coarse grit of the sandpaper is least likely to remain unnoticed on the leather and won't imbed itself either. Clean it up with a vacuum cleaner and then apply your new compound. I'd avoid using aluminum oxide or SiC sandpaper, because that grit is much harder and more likely to leave unwanted scratches on your bevels, if any of it imbeds in the leather. The garnet grit is less of a scratching threat to steel, in that regard.

You might test the sanding method on a piece of scrap vegetable-tanned leather first, to get a sense of how it'll work. It's very easy and works very quickly. The leather will take on a velvety nap after sanding. But applying new paste and using the strop afterward will compress the nap and smooth it out again in a relatively short time.

Thanks very much for the really detailed reply. I'll give your advice a try!

 

[sickpuppy1]

I'd be tempted to use a green scouring pad over sandpaper because I worry about getting grit imbedded in the leather. That would play hell with a knife finish. But proper clean up would probably take out most of it.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

If the 'green scouring pad' is a Scotch-Brite, that's aluminum oxide abrasive grit in a plastic binder. The green dust left behind by those is more likely to embed in the leather, and harder to detect it's there, than the coarse 100-150 grit garnet I mentioned earlier, as that grit is easily seen by naked eye and felt under the fingertips, and large enough to resist being captured in the fibers of the leather itself. If any of those coarse grit grains are shed from the paper, they feel literally like grains of sand (in fact, garnet grit IS sand) under the fingertips, and are therefore much easier to detect and remove completely. And for what it's worth, under the very light touch needed to sand it, that paper won't shed much, if any grain anyway. This method is how I've cleaned up strops in the past, for new compound. I've done it many times and it works well.

 

[Mister Coffee]

I wonder if you could clean leather with leather . . . ? Use the rough-out side of a piece of leather on the strop?

I have a DLT strop. The smooth side is loaded with green Bark River compound. It didn't take long for it to become hard, smooth and loaded up with metal from stropping blades. Don't know what to do about it. The rough side of the strop is loaded with Bark River black compound, and it's still rough and functioning like it should.

 

[Spyderjoe87]

This method is how I've cleaned up strops in the past, for new compound. I've done it many times and it works well.

Worked a treat. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[cudgee]

Worked a treat. Thanks for everyone's input.

Glad you got it sorted. Here is a suggestion for future reference. Buy yourself a putty knife, they come in different sizes so try to get one as close as the width of your strop. These are good for spreading out diamond paste when you apply it to your strop, remember less is best. A couple of small applications then spread it out with the putty knife, and they are good for removing paste if you feel you have applied too much. And are great for cleaning a strop of old compounds when you feel it is time to do so.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I wonder if you could clean leather with leather . . . ? Use the rough-out side of a piece of leather on the strop?

I have a DLT strop. The smooth side is loaded with green Bark River compound. It didn't take long for it to become hard, smooth and loaded up with metal from stropping blades. Don't know what to do about it. The rough side of the strop is loaded with Bark River black compound, and it's still rough and functioning like it should.

If you're going to reapply the same compound, you can clean the strop by wiping it down with a microfiber towel wetted with isopropyl alcohol. Can also do the same with WD-40 - just don't overwet it. The WD-40 will take longer to dry & evaporate from the leather, and too much of it might seep through and weaken the adhesive bond under the leather. I've used both of these methods and they work well enough, especially if you're not concerned about embedded compound in the leather. All you're really needing to do is clean up most of the dirty swarf, and the leather doesn't have to look pristinely clean after the fact. Microfiber towels are GREAT at lifting & holding a lot of the dirty stuff, which is why I recommend them for this.

 

[cudgee]

Microfiber towels are GREAT at lifting & holding a lot of the dirty stuff, which is why I recommend them for this.

. Another thing i have had great success with is PH neutral leather cleaner or leather/saddle soap, it works really well cleaning strops, and an added bonus is, it is fantastic for cleaning the wooden scales on knives. The amount of gunk it gets out of wood is mind blowing. I use it to clean wooden covers on a new knife from the factory, and you would not believe what comes out of them. I reckon it is metal dust as they go through the production process.