Stropping compounds quality?

N

nuggetz

Joined
Jul 25, 2013
Messages
39
I've been meaning to get some Bark River compounds because the black and white compounds I have (got them from Menards in some sort of buffing wheel kit) seem to be of poor quality - especially the black. It goes on like shit and strops even worse. It tends to flake off and makes a mess. Are all blacks the same? If so I'll deal with what I have. If not, I'll go for the Bark River variety. I put some of the black on a strop and was stropping my knife in the car on my commute home for an hour and a half and it didn't seem to change the surface of my scandi at all. Thinking a black crayon would have worked better :-) WFT
 
The 'stick' or 'crayon' compounds don't always apply easily to strops, but it's not necessarily an indicator of quality of the compound itself. These were made for application to buffing wheels mounted on bench grinders, applied to a spinning wheel. The wheel heats the compound in the process, which softens and loosens up the waxy binders to make the compound more easily stick to the wheel.

All that said, you can either heat the stick by other means (hair dryer, etc.), or use some mineral oil, WD-40 or similar lubricant applied to the end of the stick to somewhat thin the compound and make it distribute more evenly on a strop.

I have some Ryobi 'Emery' compound (black) which applies essentially the same as what you've described. Pretty dry, clumpy, chunky stuff. The compound itself works pretty well (polishes quick), and even better if applied to a hard or very firm strop (like wood). That also makes application easier, the firmer the stropping surface is.

If you get a chance sometime, you might also try some powder compounds (SiC, AlOx, Green). When mixed with a bit of mineral oil in the bottom of a small dish/cup, they can literally be 'painted' onto a strop with a small brush. Much, much easier application. You can find compounds like this in bulk quantity (1 lb. jars are common) at lapidary/rockhound hobbyist shops. It's usually used for tumbling and polishing rocks and gemstones. I've been using a couple of compounds this way, recently, and have been liking how they're working. I use them on wood (balsa mostly).


David
 
Last edited:
I'd like to try to powdered compounds but never knew where to get them. You think a hobby lobby or something might carry them?

I also tried some metal polishing paste on a strop and that worked awesome. Not sure what the micron rating of that stuff is tho.
 
nuggetz said:
I'd like to try to powdered compounds but never knew where to get them. You think a hobby lobby or something might carry them?

I also tried some metal polishing paste on a strop and that worked awesome. Not sure what the micron rating of that stuff is tho.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen the powder compounds at Hobby Lobby (I have purchased leather, balsa and basswood there, for making strops). If you search the web for rock polishing/tumbling supplies, you very well may find a local dealer/shop in your area; that's how I found my source for it. Obviously, they could be ordered online as well.

I've used Simichrome polishing paste on strops, and it works pretty well. Aluminum oxide abrasive in it is ~9 micron in size (according to the manufacturer), though it performs to a much finer degree (it's polishing paste, after all). I suspect the abrasive in likely fractures/breaks down in size with use. Flitz paste also uses aluminum oxide abrasive (~3 microns or so), and others have used it on strops as well. I don't have any of it yet, so I've not tried it.


David
 
Never thought of checking Hobby Lobby for leather. Is it any good? I bought a strop from Woodcraft and I wasn't impressed with it. I also bought a sheet of the leather that they sell which is pretty firm and attached that to the other side of their strop and it seems to work better. Wonder if the DLT strops are like that. What really works the best in my opinion is this old leather wallet I had laying around. Its black and soft and I tried stropping on it one day and it gave me an amazingly toothy edge so I sacrificed the wallet and was able to salvage a nice rectangle piece that I glued to a board. After stropping on the other hone I always make a few passes on the wallet and you can feel the results immediately. I have no idea why it works so good and with no compound either. Wish I could find more of it as I'd love to slap some compound on it just to see how it would be. I leave this one natural as I don't want to ruin it and it does such an awesome job. I think its made of out magical unicorn ass :-) Seriously, its so great. Wish I could send people samples of it.
 
I've always had trouble with applying the white compound to leather strops. The black sic carbide compound works great. The green works well too, but its slightly hard to apply.

I am a balsa convert of recent and in lieu of the white compound, I use boron carbide paste from CKTG. Applies easily on to balsa and gives the edge a clean bite. Its harder than silicon carbide too. I really need to try some CBN or diamond sprays though. They're just too pricey.
 
nuggetz said:
Never thought of checking Hobby Lobby for leather. Is it any good? I bought a strop from Woodcraft and I wasn't impressed with it. I also bought a sheet of the leather that they sell which is pretty firm and attached that to the other side of their strop and it seems to work better. Wonder if the DLT strops are like that. What really works the best in my opinion is this old leather wallet I had laying around. Its black and soft and I tried stropping on it one day and it gave me an amazingly toothy edge so I sacrificed the wallet and was able to salvage a nice rectangle piece that I glued to a board. After stropping on the other hone I always make a few passes on the wallet and you can feel the results immediately. I have no idea why it works so good and with no compound either. Wish I could find more of it as I'd love to slap some compound on it just to see how it would be. I leave this one natural as I don't want to ruin it and it does such an awesome job. I think its made of out magical unicorn ass :-) Seriously, its so great. Wish I could send people samples of it.
Click to expand...

I've bought some fairly heavy & thick leather 'scraps' from Hobby Lobby, in a 3 lb. bag. Also a couple pieces of what they call 'tooling leather', which is thinner and somewhat smoother. Used with compound, either type can work. But ultimately, thinner and smoother is usually better with strops. I also have one of those leather pieces from Woodcraft. And even though it was pricier (I think ~ $15 or so), I didn't notice any particular advantage in it, over the cheaper 'tooling leather' I got at Hobby Lobby.

I'm guessing your wallet is likely very thin leather, and the preparation of it by the maker might've enhanced it's suitability for stropping (tanning method, pressing, rubbing, polishing, etc). In particular, leather that's been compressed tends to have a higher concentration of natural abrasives (silicates) near the surface, and that will enhance it's usefulness for stropping. Leather is so highly variable in quality, and the price doesn't really guarantee what's best for a strop.

I tend to view a piece of stropping leather that works fine on it's own (without compound) as something of a rare nature. I wouldn't be too quick to add compound to it, as that may defeat any benefit from the leather itself. Used with compound, most any flat & smooth surface can do well (leather or otherwise), so it's kind of a waste to add compound to a truly prime piece of stropping leather anyway. Personally, on my compounded strops, I tend to use other materials (wood, or paper/cardboard over hard backing, like glass) much more often than leather. My 'best' leather strop right now, is the sueded side of a leather belt I purchased from Cabela's; part with green compound, and also a bare section. I use the belt like a hanging strop, and it works better than any other leather (cowhide) strop I've used so far.

I've heard good things about horsehide leather strops, and kangaroo leather, but haven't yet tried them. The more ways I find to get good results with cheaper materials, the less I feel the need to try the pricier horsehide and other exotic leathers.


David
 
I've has success with Chromium oxide green oil paint.
Art supply stores all carry it and if you look around you can get a tube for $7-$10
Spreads easily and does a nice job with the edge.
It's the way the great master artists would maintain their cutting tools, I've heard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top