Best stropping compound

B

Bo-dacious

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Aug 13, 2016
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Hey guys. Another question here. I bought a cube of stropping compound. I didn't think to make sure this was the right compound for the job. It says it's a wax compound. My question is do you guys know if this is appropriately used after a #10,000 stone? It's the kind you scrape on. It doesn't say the grit of the Compound so I assumed it was meant for any stropping. Will this work? If not, what grit stone is it meant to be used after and what compound do I use after a #10,000 stone?

Thanks,

BO-DACIOUS
 
Depends.

What is the brand of the compound and what color is it?

The color of the compound determines it's approximate grit ... usually. ;)

Generally, black = coarse, white = medium, green = fine, red is for polishing.

After a #10,000 stone, try just using bare smooth leather or 1 micron ~ .5 micron solutions.


The stropping gurus will be along shortly with more detailed info.
 
I like diamond compounds from jende. 1 mic and half mic would further refine a 10k.
Good old green chromic would work on low alloy steels too.
I am no expert, just a chef and knife hobbyist.


Russ

Good cbn slurry will work, or try diamond lapping film on ultra flat surface, it will all work........
 
You shouldn't need to strop with compound after a 10,000 grit stone. If you are stropping with compound, you are wasting time with the stone. Japanese style wood workers I know do not strop their tools, if they go as fine as 10,000, that is it. My experience is that stropping with compound does great things for a knife sharpened on a 1200 grit stone, or maybe even out to 5000, although I suspect this is more to do with poor technique or compatibility with my 5000 grit stone.

Generally, I find solvent based stropping compounds to be better than wax based ones, so stuff that comes in a tube like tooth paste; ie Flitz, Tormek, Autosol chrome polish and the like. They don't clog up the strop like the solid block compounds.

I did read an article where David Charlesworth used MDF to make a lapping plate to use with diamond paste to polish some high spec powder steel plane irons. That was because the waterstones he usually used were not up to cutting the new steel. Lapping isn't quite the same as stropping though.

What sort of blade are we talking about, what steel and what do you want to do with it?

All the best,

Chris
 
After a 10k waterstone I'd be thinking bare leather if its a shaving razor, or a good quality paper if its a knife. Or nothing at all per C_Claycomb.
 
Veritas green compound has an average particle size of 0.5 microns which is the equivalent of 60,000 grit.
 
Stropping compound depends upon the steel.

Green Chromium Oxide like Veritas is fine for most steels, for the very tough alloys like ZDP-189, CM110V I prefer a diamond or boron carbide paste for stropping.

Use a very thin hard leather for the base material to minimize rounding or dubbing the apex edge.

Stropping is also excellent for refreshing a slightly worn edge back to maximum performance.

Regards,
FK
 
TravisH said:
Depends.

What is the brand of the compound and what color is it?

The color of the compound determines it's approximate grit ... usually. ;)

Generally, black = coarse, white = medium, green = fine, red is for polishing.

After a #10,000 stone, try just using bare smooth leather or 1 micron ~ .5 micron solutions.


The stropping gurus will be along shortly with more detailed info.
Click to expand...

It doesn't say the brand it's on eBay. It's green. I'm gonna ask him how many microns it is.

Thanks,

BO-DACIOUS
 
C_Claycomb said:
You shouldn't need to strop with compound after a 10,000 grit stone. If you are stropping with compound, you are wasting time with the stone. Japanese style wood workers I know do not strop their tools, if they go as fine as 10,000, that is it. My experience is that stropping with compound does great things for a knife sharpened on a 1200 grit stone, or maybe even out to 5000, although I suspect this is more to do with poor technique or compatibility with my 5000 grit stone.

Generally, I find solvent based stropping compounds to be better than wax based ones, so stuff that comes in a tube like tooth paste; ie Flitz, Tormek, Autosol chrome polish and the like. They don't clog up the strop like the solid block compounds.

I did read an article where David Charlesworth used MDF to make a lapping plate to use with diamond paste to polish some high spec powder steel plane irons. That was because the waterstones he usually used were not up to cutting the new steel. Lapping isn't quite the same as stropping though.

What sort of blade are we talking about, what steel and what do you want to do with it?

All the best,

Chris
Click to expand...

OK, I'll have to try the Compound and try without. I have all kinds of knives from 62 hrc down to 55. Tool steels like d2, and as low as the cr mov series of steel. Is there an all around good thing to use?

Thanks man,

BO-DACIOUS
 
FK said:
Stropping compound depends upon the steel.

Green Chromium Oxide like Veritas is fine for most steels, for the very tough alloys like ZDP-189, CM110V I prefer a diamond or boron carbide paste for stropping.

Use a very thin hard leather for the base material to minimize rounding or dubbing the apex edge.

Stropping is also excellent for refreshing a slightly worn edge back to maximum performance.

Regards,
FK
Click to expand...

OK so I'll try diamond first for my super steel knives.

Thanks a lot.

BO-DACIOUS
 
Great info Mr. Wizard.

In my own experience I have had better luck using the bark river black compound which is expected to be coarser than this, followed by gentle passes on a 10k Naniwa stone or stropping on bare leather.
 
Last edited:
Diamond spray for me is fine. On balsa or smooth leather. Of course it depends on what you want out of an edge. Bur removal can be done many ways. Most kitchen knife touchups start and end on a 325 DMT. No stropping most of the time.
 
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