Green vs White Compound.

[BuckFan1357]

Hey fellas,

New here, but not to EDC'ing, sharpening or sharp edges on knives or tools in general.
Anyway, I've always only used a green Sharpal compound on my Lavoda Strop.
Even though my knife edges are literally razor sharp, cutting paper and strands of hair easier than a carpet razor, the green compound has always done me good. However I've never utilized a white (or different colored for that matter), compound. So if I were to buy a cheap 2 sided Lavoda paddle strop and put green on one side then white on the other. Would it be a good sharpening regimen to run my whetstone, then my 10k jade polish stone, and THEN use a green compound and then finish with a white?

Thanks guys, hope to hear from all of you sooner or later and gain more knowledge in this hobby, than what I've gained on shotty Facebook groups that are full of a bunch of know-it-all buttholes. Lmao.

Wish I could post pictures to show you my mirrored apex's on all my knives. But it looks like you need to upload them on some sort of website?

-Evan

 

[BuckFan1357]

Oh! And can somebody let me know which website or app is best for posting pictures? Just a picture, no link or anything else included. Thank you.

 

[Diemaker]

Click on the photo icon between the chain and smiley face icons, click on (or click here) and pick the photo on your computer to add to your post, you no longer have to host it first!!!

 

[BuckFan1357]

Click on the photo icon between the chain and smiley face icons, click on (or click here) and pick the photo on your computer to add to your post, you no longer have to host it first!!!

Unfortunately I'm utilizing my smart phone and it still requires a http:// link when I click on the photo icon :-/

 

[MTHall720]

I always use the green compound. I may be wrong but think the red compound is mostly for soft metals like Gold. I have tried the white but for my purposes the Green is best.

 

[kreisler]

A decent free image hoster is abload.de

I have green powder , red powder , pure oxide . It seems that leading industrial compound producers don't use green or red for erh industrial use (OSBORN, MERARD) . I like their WHITE and BLUE and ORANGE compounds . Very fast cutting , highly effective , time saving .
If your green strop doesn't turn black ,

 

[DavidABQ]

I am no expert but I have been using the green followed by the white compound when I am stropping my knives. I got my compounds from Bark River Knives if that makes any difference. I have good results with the various blade steel that I have bu I don’t have have ny of the really high end stuff like S110v, M4 M390, etc. I normally sharpen S35v, S30v,CM154 and 1095 and D2 on my traditional knives.

Edit: I only have black and green compound, not white. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Assuming the white is aluminum oxide (and it usually* is), it's substantially harder than green (chromium oxide) and a lot more aggressive (faster) at polishing. It'll also typically be 10X or more times as large in actual grit size (commonly in the 5-10 micron range, vs. 0.5-1 micron for good quality green). This means the effect of the white would essentially overwhelm and render moot any effect of the green, if used in a sequence in either order.

If I have a choice of white or green, I'll usually choose one OR the other and not bother using them in a sequence. A big part of making the choice is how much subtlety you need, OR how much aggressiveness is needed, in polishing and cleaning up burrs. White aluminum oxide is very aggressive at cleaning up stiff, heavy, tenacious burrs. Works VERY well on stubbornly ductile stainless steels with some moderate wear resistance, like 440A/C, VG-10, etc. Green chromium oxide's strength is in its finesse and gentler touch at cleaning up very fine, thin burrs on less wear-resistant steels, like simple carbon and low-alloy stainless steels (1095, CV, 420HC). White compound could likely be overkill on the simpler steels, and the green would fall a bit short with the tougher burrs on more wear-resistant steels.

I like using green on a simple leather belt for that subtle touch on simpler steels. And for quick, heavy burr cleanup and fast, high polish on the mid-range stainless, the white works very, very well on denim or linen over a hard backing.

* - There is a 'white' tin oxide compound that I think is typically reserved for polishing soft metals and other soft materials (jewelry, plastics). But it would be way too soft to do much good on any hardened steels, as it's considerably softer than the steel itself.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Assuming the white is aluminum oxide (and it usually* is), it's substantially harder than green (chromium oxide) and a lot more aggressive (faster) at polishing. It'll also typically be 10X or more times as large in actual grit size (commonly in the 5-10 micron range, vs. 0.5-1 micron for good quality green). This means the effect of the white would essentially overwhelm and render moot any effect of the green, if used in a sequence in either order.

If I have a choice of white or green, I'll usually choose one OR the other and not bother using them in a sequence. A big part of making the choice is how much subtlety you need, OR how much aggressiveness is needed, in polishing and cleaning up burrs. White aluminum oxide is very aggressive at cleaning up stiff, heavy, tenacious burrs. Works VERY well on stubbornly ductile stainless steels with some moderate wear resistance, like 440A/C, VG-10, etc. Green chromium oxide's strength is in its finesse and gentler touch at cleaning up very fine, thin burrs on less wear-resistant steels, like simple carbon and low-alloy stainless steels (1095, CV, 420HC). White compound could likely be overkill on the simpler steels, and the green would fall a bit short with the tougher burrs on more wear-resistant steels.

I like using green on a simple leather belt for that subtle touch on simpler steels. And for quick, heavy burr cleanup and fast, high polish on the mid-range stainless, the white works very, very well on denim or linen over a hard backing.

* - There is a 'white' tin oxide compound that I think is typically reserved for polishing soft metals and other soft materials (jewelry, plastics). But it would be way too soft to do much good on any hardened steels, as it's considerably softer than the steel itself.

A qoute from a couple years ago from obsessed with edge
“”
I'd be less concerned about the grit size, and pay more attention to how each will polish, and how crisp they'll leave the edge. If the rouge is aluminum oxide, it'll be a better, cleaner cutter of the steel than the green will be, even if the green's size might be finer. I've tended to favor the aluminum oxide white rouge, over green compound, for most mid-grade stainless steels with some wear-resistance (think: 440C, 154CM, D2, etc). For very simple carbon steels and low-alloy stainless (420HC, 440A, etc), green can work very well, and leave the edge very, very crisp. Green starts to falter a little bit with more wear-resistant steels, tending to burnish or round off the apex, because the compound itself (chromium oxide) is less hard than the carbides in those steels (chromium carbide, vanadium carbide in particular). That's where the aluminum oxide could do a better job refining the edge, even if it's grit size is somewhat larger.

A lot of 'jeweler's rouge' compounds will be intended for softer metals worked by jewelers (brass, gold, silver, copper, etc). That's to say, they are NOT formulated to cut hardened metals, like cutlery steel, very well. The 'white rouge' in those cases might be something like tin oxide, which is much too soft to be useful on steel. More aggressive compounds that work well to polish steel might be overkill or even damaging to the metals used by jewelers, especially on plated jewelry, on which the compound might strip the plating off in a heartbeat.

If this leather crafter was using the rouge for his cutting tools, that's a decent sign it may be an aluminum oxide compound. Give it a try on a blade in basic carbon steel (1095, CV) or low-alloy stainless (420HC, etc), and see how fast it polishes the bevels. Try it on a strop of denim or linen, for best effect. If you also notice the strop blackening with swarf very quickly, that's also a good sign it's aluminum oxide.””


David

me I am falling in love with 1-.5 micron diamond spray on basswood
and formax white dry on rough side of the strop

 

[Ryansknives]

Try it and see what happens. I’ve always used a good quality free compound. On both my hard strop I made and the leather bets for the belt sander. A lot of the paper or MDF wheels use white.