stropping compound

I

ironbike

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Nov 12, 2014
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I know i have searched a lot of the forum for my answers but i am new to stropping . i just bought a strop instead of making one, it is 2 sided ,one side is smooth top grain the other side is rough flesh. It comes with a bar of green compound but i keep reading about spray compound being better for top quality knives? I plan to sharpen then finish off my tops knives using this strop so where can i purchase a good spray compound? The handamerican compound seems to be out of stock. Is there anything else i can try that will be good for 1095 steel? Looking for any info that is helpful thanks
 
As I understand it, HandAmerican now distributes through another vendor. In fact, I think that vendor may have developed their own spray. Just google 'diamond spray' and you'll find lots of sources.

Also consider diamond pastes. Pastes are cheaper, work well on leather strops, and come as fine as 1 micron/15000 grit.

[soapbox]
But ... how 'sharp' do you need? Or rather, how 'sharp' is 'sharp enough'? I too became fascinated with ultra fine sprays and edges, then came to realize such edges were far beyond what I needed.

1095? It's not so much the steel but the task at hand. These sprays and ultra fine compounds are meant for super-sharp super-fine edges. But is that kind of edge needed, or even desired, on something like a camp knife? You can get scary sharp edges just using green compound.
[/soapbox]
 
Honestly these are just my edc blades.i just want to take good care of them and keep them clean and sharp. Do i need a mirror razor edge,probably not but i want o make sure I'm using something that will perform and not waste money. I see so many different types of diamond sprays and I'm just kind of lost on which micron is best to keep a nice edge or of i should just stick with the green compound
 
Which micron would be the best for my purposes? I'm tempted to just stick with the green paste or stick but i am intrigued by the other diamond stuff
 
For 1095, you don't need diamond at all; it's overkill on such a steel, and won't give you anything you can't get from other decent, but less expensive, compounds. With diamond, it's too easy to over-polish 1095, and using it on leather or any other compressible substrate risks rounding off the apex very quickly.

For refining a pretty coarse edge on 1095, white rouge (aluminum oxide) compound works very well on a fabric or denim strop (and polishes very fast); for refining a more polished edge on 1095, green compound (chromium oxide) is very good on leather.

Most quality 'green' compounds will all be around 0.5-1µ particle size. The poorer-quality compounds might have more impurities or other blended abrasives mixed in; some of which will be coarser than 1µ in size.


David
 
ironbike said:
Which micron would be the best for my purposes? I'm tempted to just stick with the green paste or stick but i am intrigued by the other diamond stuff
Click to expand...

That would depend as to what your finest stone is. I would try this stuff , its awesome on the simpler steels and much higher quality than any "green" stick mystery compound.
http://www.jendeindustries.com/prod...217-boron-carbide-emulsions-from-ken-Schwartz
Theres a sizing chart down below , choose a grit that's two-three times finer than your finest stone. I prefer kangaroo or nanocloth as a substrate.
 
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