Veritas honing compound is excellent!

M

mikemck

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Sep 22, 2000
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I ordered a couple of sticks of Veritas honing compound from Lee Vallley Tools, and just today I finally had a chance to try it out.

This stuff is fantastic! I thought my knives were sharp before, but honestly, they are at a new level of sharpness now. Hair just falls off my arms.

I do not remember who recommended this stuff ( I think it was Cliff Stamp, but I'm not sure ), but whoever it was, I thank you much.

Anyone else who is thinking of ordering the Veritas, one stick is plenty, so don't do like I did and think you have to have two.
 
mikemck-

I have a couple of questions for you. First, I assume your talking about the Veritas honing compound that is green in color and comes in a 6.5 oz stick. I ask, because I have been debating about ordering some sort of strop, and lapping rouge. Second, do you use one of their single or douple strops that are premade, or do you use something you have made. I am full of questions because I have always finsished edges on fine ceramic hones. I would like to go to the next level of "scary" sharp like you have. Thanks for any replys or suggestions.
 
I will second the recommendation. I have been using their green compound for a couple of years. I usually hone on a leather wheel.
 
Wire Edge,

Oh yes, that's the compound I ordered. I did not realize just how much 6.5 OZ. really was, until it arrived. I now have approx. 2 lifetimes supply, but that's okay.

I have two strops. One I bought off of ebay, for like 3.00, and the other is just an old 1.5" leather belt. Both work equally well for me, so I keep one at home and one at work.

Before I got the Veritas, I was just stropping on the bare leather, after sharpening on the Spyderco 204 SharpMaker. This worked of course, but with the Veritas, my edges are now truly scary sharp.
 
The green honing/buffing compound is listed by Lee Valley (Veritas trademark) as 0.5 micron particle size. That's as fine as you are likely to find. The surprising thing is that it cuts very fast so stropping with it doesn't take all day. You'll see the green turning black as steel is removed from the blade withing a few strokes.
I found a slight improvement over other brands - but not so noticeable. The best way of using the stuff is rubbed onto the non glossy side of a piece of thin cardboard. Place this on a very flat surface and strop. Leather belts from thrift stores work well too if soaked in neatsfoot oil first. The leather then compacts with stropping and makes a fine strop too. I'd use the leather with carborundum honing compounds from your local auto supply store or Lee Valley. Again - unlike stropping a razor - knife stropping should be done with the strop supported on a flat surface. What you may want to do is to use thin leather on top of a discarded mouse pad or other rubber. This will give and will allow a slight convex edge.
The green buffing compound - and the various grades of carborundum are a super deal and a little goes a long way. That's good as all your friends will want a sample..
There's some stuff on this on my homepage - I'll be adding pics now that I have space..
 
Try gluing a strip of leather to a piece of wood and use it like you would a bench stone. With a light coat of compound it brings any blade up to a super edge quickly.
 
About 15 years ago a fellow who owned a leather shop(saddles and a lot of other leather products)got me started using the setup that George described, except that I have been using red compound that you can buy at Sears. Does anyone know if the green compound is finer than the red which is usually referred to as jewelers rouge?
 
Just ordered a stick of that stuff...

I bought some red compound from a local hardware store and the stuff was terrible. Maybe it was dried out or something but it wouldnt even spread onto leather or anything. I was very disappointed. I've been using some aluminum oxide powder that came in a friend's old rock polisher. Works pretty good but it wont really stick to the leather.

Maybe this'll do the trick.

--Matt
 
I just ordered a 6.5 oz bar of the green compound as well as a single sided leather strop from Lee Valley & Veritas. I have always been good at sharpening, IMO, and hope this will take me to the next level!!! I will let you know how it works for me.
Thanks :D
 
Originally posted by Mundele
Just ordered a stick of that stuff...

I bought some red compound from a local hardware store and the stuff was terrible. Maybe it was dried out or something but it wouldnt even spread onto leather or anything. I was very disappointed. I've been using some aluminum oxide powder that came in a friend's old rock polisher. Works pretty good but it wont really stick to the leather.

Maybe this'll do the trick.

--Matt
Click to expand...
I have never had the problem that you described. It has always always went onto leather quite well, but I have learned that it is better to oil the leather as someone else suggested.
 
Hmmm... Well I'll have to try that red stuff again. It was in a cardboard tube and the guy at the hardware store was suprised he even had it. It might be really old ?!?

I'll get some oil and see if that helps. The green stuff is coming anyway. :)

--Matt

P.S. Is that cardboard for stropping the thin kind, or the corrugated kind?
 
Originally posted by george tichbourne
The mineral in the red compound is less aggressive than the mineral in the green.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info George, I will have to get some of the green.
 
Originally posted by Mundele
I've been using some aluminum oxide powder that came in a friend's old rock polisher. Works pretty good but it wont really stick to the leather.
Click to expand...
Try mixing the powder in a small amount of wax. Beeswax should work fine or, at the least, try a pinch of ordinary paraffin. Keep the mixture strong on grit, you want just enough wax to hold the grit amongst the grain of the leather. Warming the wax will make mixing the grit into it easier.

Or spend $6.50 to get the well-recommended Lee Valley CrO stuff here:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=32984 It comes with Cliff's Stamp Of Approval (pun intended :) ), so it's been tested by the best and passed muster.
 
Walt :

Does anyone know if the green compound is finer than the red which is usually referred to as jewelers rouge?
Click to expand...

Jewelers rouge is for buffing soft materials, not hardned steel, and especially not hardened alloyed steel. The green compound is both very fine (0.5 micron as mentioned above), and hard enough to cut high grade cutlery steels, although not the harder carbides.

-Cliff
 
I have used a single stick of the green compound (chromium oxide) for several years on several strops maintaining my wood carving tools. I like it best for routine edge maintenance, and for creating the finest edges. I also use aluminum oxide powders designed for airbrushing in a couple of different grades for rougher work on shaped forms where a flat stone would be a slower way to touch up a gouge. Vaseline or beeswax is the best way to hold that to the leathet as discussed above. For really good polished edges, strop with the green stuff last.

Para
 
Mundele,if you rub the leather with kerosene then rub on the red rouge,I think you will get better results.Let it dry b4 use.
 
When I started using the red compound a knifemaker that was doing it part time started me using neatsfoot oil and later a product called Red Wing Boot Oil. He is deceased now. Never have heard of kerosene being used but sounds like a good idea. If I ever get around to making another strop, will have to give it a try, If I can find the kerosene!!!
 
Man, I love this forum. Ever since I was a kid I've always wanted to have answers to my (many) questions immediately. I can usually never find the answer I'm looking for, at least quick enough to suit me, but not here. You guys answer questions even before I get a chance to think them up!!

On to the topic....

Cliff said...

The green compound is both very fine (0.5 micron as mentioned above), and hard enough to cut high grade cutlery steels, although not the harder carbides.
Click to expand...

Does this mean I might have trouble stropping my Spyderco Military in CPM 440V? I was hoping that this honing stuff might finally let me get a polished edge on it. I can get a sharp, aggressive edge, but I cant seem to get a fine "hair poppin" edge. I've found after I've used the flats of the white sharpmaker sticks, it's best to go back to the corners of the coarser ones to "scratch up" the edge since I cant get a polished edge.

Do you guys think this stuff will work?

--Matt
 
I'll bet that it'll work on any knife you have - which is strange because I never bet.
 
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