stopping compound?

bushcraftbasics

Well-Known Member
hey guys! i have looked everywhere for an answer and have got absolutely ZERO consistency, so i will ask here...

i have a strop with one full canvas strap and one heavy-duty leather strap (two sides each, naturally). right now they are just bare...do i use compound? if so what colors? which sides? mind you i will be using this to finish my custom blades not to sharpen a straight razor...i can get, and keep a hair-popping edge but i still want to know if there is a better way...what combos do use that work best for you?
 
I approach this much like stones and belts... it comes down to what you want and where you're finishing. I take my edges to 1200 on the belts or 10k on japanese water stones and from there I go to a block of hard felt to de-burr. After, I go to boron carbide paste (1 micron), followed by Chromium oxide (.5 micron) then down to diamond spray (.25) the onto horse hide but it all depends on the knife and work it will be doing. For users, I typically just strop them on boron or chromium and move to bare leather. As for stropping compounds, I love the stuff from Hand America. They had a site once upon a time but now they sell the bulk of their products through Mark's site at CKTG .... http://www.chefknivestogo.com/handamerican.html
 
thanks mike928...so do i put the chromium oxide on the backside(rough side) of the leather? or on the canvas or what? then i would use the chromium, canvas then smooth leather?
 
Do you have a razor strop? You don't really need to use the canvas IMO. I like to keep my strops separated to avoid grit contamination but in theory you could use both side. Making your own stop is cheap and easy... but that is another post. Anyway, use your abrasives sparingly. Most people make the mistake of putting in a thick layer which doesn't help things... rather, make an X pattern from corner to corner then use a paper towel to rub the the abrasive into the grain. I'll shoot you a picture if you need it. Anyhow I hope this helps.

I keep 4 strops typically, Boron, Chromium oxide, Diamond spray, and naked leather. Also, clean your blades when moving from strop to strop. It may seem expensive but you can make 4 strops for about the cost of buying one from most suppliers and the HA 4 oz bottle of abrasives will last you a LONG while.
 
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Do you have a razor strop? You don't really need to use the canvas IMO. I like to keep my strops separated to avoid grit contamination but in theory you could use both side. Making your own stop is cheap and easy... but that is another post. Anyway, use your abrasives sparingly. Most people make the mistake of putting in a thick layer which doesn't help things... rather, make an X pattern from corner to corner then use a paper towel to rub the the abrasive into the grain. I'll shoot you a picture if you need it. Anyhow I hope this helps.

I keep 4 strops typically, Boron, Chromium oxide, Diamond spray, and naked leather. Also, clean your blades when moving from strop to strop. It may seem expensive but you can make 4 strops for about the cost of buying one from most suppliers and the HA 4 oz bottle of abrasives will last you a LONG while.

yeah mike, i got a sweet deal on a razor strop that actually appears to be pretty nice...it has 2 separate straps one is a heavy white canvas and the other is about 3/16" thick leather that has a rough side and a smooth side...how would you set this thing up to be best used? do you think i should just omit the canvas and use chromium on the leather's rough side? thanks a ton brother
 
BCB, if you'd like to use your good strop on knives (I wouldn't, razor strop leather is typically of better quality than what is required for knife stropping) you can put the Boron on the rough side and and the Chromium Oxide on the smooth side if you'd wish. The other option is making two other strops out of run-of-the mill leather and loading them with compound and using your razor strop as your final strop. Be sure to study proper stropping technique prior hitting that razor strop. BTW, what brand is it? I have two that I really love, an old Keen-Edge and a Classic from Keith G at HandAmerica.

*** Also, keep in mind that even though most compounds will work, they are not created equal. With the stuff I link from HA, you get a compound with consistent grit with little variation as apposed to some of the cheaper stuff which may have a lower standard for grit grading.

*** Another note: when stropping with a hanging strop it is harder to keep a nice flat surface as our knives have a smaller bevel than razors which have a built in guide in the design of the spine which lays flat on the strop. If you don't keep the strop FLAT you will round your edge over and end up with duller edges.
 
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thanks for your input mike, i appreciate it...no markings on this one, just says "made in U.S.A." on the brass fitting...i think ill slap some chromium on the rough side and see how that works...thanks again

BB
 
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