Simichrome as a stropping compound?

skyhorse

skyhorse

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
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I've used simichrome to polish metal for decades with good results.Was wondering if anyone has ever tried using it as a stropping compond?
 
Indeed it does, it will put a mirror shine on the bevels. Flitz is almost as good.
 
+1

It does work quite well. I have a dedicated 'Simichrome' strop. Used it this afternoon, in fact. :)

Simichrome is especially handy in paste form, even when/if used on something other than leather. Just a little dab on some paper, wrapped around a wood block works well. I've also used it on the backside of some wet/dry sandpaper.
 
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What do you guys think of it's abrasive level when compared to jeweler's compound? Thanks for you're thoughts.
 
I haven't used jeweler's compound. But, I think most compounds for jewelry ('soft' metals like gold, silver, etc.) are made with abrasives that aren't as hard or aggressive, such as iron/ferric oxide, aka 'red rouge'. Anything too hard would carry the risk of stripping gold/silver plating off, or otherwise removing too much precious metal, too fast. The Simichrome and Flitz polishes are made for steel (at least), and they utilize aluminum oxide as the abrasive. Much harder than 'red rouge', and therefore much more effective on steel and other 'hard' metals. It's not necessarily coarser than rouge; aluminum oxide can be found in particle sizes down to 1 micron or so. But, definitely harder and works much faster, to a very high polish.
 
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Thanks Guys,wasn't sure what type of abrasives are used in simichrome paste but now I do.Thanks David,saved me a trip to town.:):thumbup:
 
skyhorse said:
Thanks Guys,wasn't sure what type of abrasives are used in simichrome paste but now I do.Thanks David,saved me a trip to town.:):thumbup:
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You're welcome. I'm pretty sure you'll like the results with Simichrome. :)

The downside of using jeweler's compound, would be that it's relative softness won't allow it to work well (if at all) on some more wear-resistant steels. I've been tempted to try some on basic carbon-steel blades (for stropping), as I'm always curious about what 'works' and what doesn't. I think it's fairly commonly used on razor strops, for carbon-steel razors. My first strop block was a 4-sided 'razor strop' model with a 'red' side, to be treated with red rouge compound (iron oxide). For some blades, it might fill a 'niche' somewhere between using a bare strop and one with another compound (aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, diamond). But, I'm not too optimistic it'd work on something like S30V.
 
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