When using a leather strop for the final honing of a blade, what type of compound does everyone use? Any home-recipes? Where do you buy it?
Thanks!
“100 Years” — scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work — “If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I’ll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)”
Edited 1/30/2006 3:37 pm by zombeerose
Replies
Zombeerose,
There was an article on sharpening in FWW some time ago and she addressed compounds. Green appeared to be a favorite because it is fairly agressive. Woodcraft stocks the green, I'm sure others do too.
Any idea what magazine #? Did it explain why one was better than the other?Green huh? When I was searching, I found so many varieties that I was utterly lost. Thx for the info.
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
Zombeerose,
The FWW article was by Aime Fraser, I think, about a year ago...possibly two. The purpose of the article was to examine various shapening/honing protocols under the microscope to see which produced the best outcomes. As I recall, the honing compound was not much more than an afterthought relative to the study.
There has been some discussion here too about honing compounds...some using the palm of their hand.
Dang...looked it up in the index and it's mag # 157, which I don't own (before I subscribed). Thanks though. :)
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
I like the red compound (jeweler's rouge) for knife and chisel blades.
What prompted you to choose Red over another color/solution? Thanks!
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
http://www.mcmaster.com
Go to page 2538 and read about buffing compounds. Always seek documentation from a reliable proven source.
Thx! I'm not familiar w/ McMaster but it appears they offer engineering-grade tools. Do you order thru them much?
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
I buy from McMaster a couple of times a week for the company I work for as a purchasing agent. One of the best companies to deal with as far as service.
I had been using the red compound to polish knife blades, found it worked pretty well on chisel & plane blades after honing, so I just never bothered to change. It's pretty fine and not very agressive, I just want to polish the edge, not sharpen it.
toolsforwoodworking.com
Lowe's carries several honing compounds. Sears probably still carries it too. I bought red rouge and a white compound from sears a number of years ago.
mike
Never seen them at Lowes but will check. In tools?
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
Yes, they're in the tool section. I believe the name starts with M, like micro or something.Sears also has honing compound, might try your local hardware store too.
mike
Hi Mike,
Stopped by Lowes to check out what they had. The rep. pointed me to a rack w/ 6 different bars of cleaning/polishing compounds from Mibro. I ended up getting the level 5 version, which was roughly identified as jewelers rouge. Does that name - Mibro - sound right to you? Have you actually used any of these compounds? Are all compounds this firm and difficult to rub onto a piece of leather?
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
Mibro is what I tried to recall.I used the white compound on a strop and on a couple of homemade wheels.I usually use red rouge for most honing, I suppose because I've been using the same bar for 25 years.They are fairly hard, just rub a enough in so the leather is covered,lasts a long time. You can use many other substrates for honing,leather,cork,even wood or mdf . I use wood or mdf with gouges, I plow out a piece of wood with the gouge,charge the depression with compound.Apply the compound directly to the wood. Like any honing, pull the tool in one direction.
I think that the compound you have is probably the only one you need. I keep a stick of wood about 3"x 12"x3/4" with cork from automobile gasket paper glued on, and red rouge ,on the bench.After honing a chisel or plane iron , I remove the burr using this stick. One or two strokes on the back side usually does it.
mike
Thanks for the advice Mike! Like you said, only takes a little once rubbed on. All those tiny scratches from my 1200 grit diamond stone are now polished out to a silky smooth texture! I'm most thrilled!!! :)
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
Jewelers rouge is not for honing. Rather it is for buffing.
For fifty years, I stropped my knives/chisels/planes using my belt
Just pull out the end past the buckle in your left hand and strop the blade with your right,drawing the tool away from the strap. DO NOT push toward the belt (unless you want to be caught with your pants down? Honing is done with fine oil based silicon carbide compound smeared
onto a dead flat surface (Plate glass/granite/marble.
SteinmetzClofer Brand (Valve grinding compound at your auto store
Lee Valley
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32984&cat=1,43072
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Thinks my Grandpa used my little butt!
EDIT: I was a BAD kid!
Edited 2/3/2006 5:23 am by WillGeorge
I think that's a home-made recipe that should stay in the family! ;)
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
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