Silicon & Boron Carbide Paste-Stropping?

C

Col. Cornelius

Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
648
Howdy,

I'm thinking about upgrading my stropping setup to hand sharpen convex edges, and was wondering if anyone has any experience with Handamerican Silicon Carbide 2micron paste and Boron Carbide 1micron paste?

Do both work good on leather (thinking about getting the Handamerican magnetic back bovine leather strop)?

My idea was to use the courser silicon carbide paste first (2micron), then the boron (1micron) and finally to the green chromium oxide paste (0.5micron, which I already have).

Would this setup work better than the Bark River black/green combo?

Is the silicon carbide aggressive enough to take the place of high grit sandpaper to sharpen a convex edge (Bark River knives - A2, 154CM)?

Thanks for you help.
 
I have two strops set up with different slurry; one with coarse diamond and the other with green rouge and I can't really tell the difference in the edge after stroping on them or on just one of them . On removing fine burrs perhaps the chromium oxide strop, maybe . DM
 
Well, I decided to give the Hand American boron carbide paste a try and put in an order for one bottle and a magnetic backed bovine leather strop.

Once it arrives and I try it out, I'll post a little review.
 
Haven't used the Bark River black/green combo compounds but the Hand America Silicon carbide (2 micron or 8000 grit) is good and aggressive for an 8k finish. The 1 micron Boron Carbide (16,000 grit) is a favorite of mine and works quite nicely on a strop or a leather belt. Highly recommended. Cuts faster than diamonds. From there if you feel the need (depending on the application), CRO or other alternatives can follow it. Oddly, I find the 1 micron Boron Carbide is a nice followup to a 16k GlassStone. Both about the same grit (approx), but yet it improves the edge.

---
Ken
 
Well, the Boron Carbide Paste showed up today, and I have to say - WOW!

I tried it on several different knifes and was very impressed. It cuts fast. Very impressive. Even though it left a mirror finish, I followed it up with a strop loaded with the chromium oxide paste. Unbelievable edge!

I also liked the magnetic backed strop. I used my DMT D8XXF as a base. Worked great. I cut one strop to 8" exactly so it fits the DMT diamond diasharp perfectly. I found that putting a piece of paper between the DMT and the magnetic surface worked good for keeping the magnet and DMT clean.

All in all, I highly reccommend the Hand American Boron and Chromium Stropping pastes, as well as the magnetic backed strops.
 
Thanks Col. - I'm glad that the products worked for you.

Ken (ksskss) is conjuring up some nano nano sub micron compounds for those completely gonzo knife nuts out there - keep an eye on him.
Keith
 
ANYTHING that comes from Handamerican is top drawer. :thumbup::thumbup:

I will make one observation about Chromium oxide here. In my personal experience, it works quite well for polishing softer steels, but cubic boron nitride and/or diamond spray are considerably superior on harder steels.


Kieth, keep us updated on these "nano" compounds that you referenced above.
 
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