Stropping compound woes

[mrcairney]

Ok, so not a 'woe' as such but I just want to check.

I use a leather board strop with green wax type compound. When I whack it on it gets quite thick and ends up flaking off eventually.

So I thought I'd have a look if that was the right way to do it. I found a woodworking site that suggests add a couple of drops of baby oil (mineral oil) to thin it out and help the leather absorb. I don't have a baby, nor any oil so I can't check the validity of this yet.

So is that where I'm going wrong and will it help?

Also, which user is it that has the blupoo?

Cheers

 

[robin wood]

I personally find the green compound I have to be fairly coarse abrasive though works well for an initial buff on power buffer before finer compound. I recommend folk use autosol on a strop, easily available from Halfords B&Q etc. comes like toothpaste in a tube, smear it on thin and away you go. Other folk get on very well with flexcut yellow/gold compound.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Autosol's not bad... Flexcut I didn't get on with (very slow cutting) but starkie blue, aka- smurf poo is the best I've come across (for knife stropping anyway's).

I'm sure you have vegetable oil in the cupboard!? Oil is mostly used on a strop to hold on cutting powders. It also helps with stuff like autosol, that eventually dries into said powder.

It sounds like you are putting far too much compound on. Scrape the strop clean every time with the back of a knife. Wipe compound on until it 'lightly' colors the leather, brush with the palm of your hand to remove lumps (from applying compound) and strop firmly at slightly less an angle that you would think, checking the sharpness of the blade every 10 or so strops each way...

Less is more, as they say

 

[mrcairney]

Hmm, I'm pretty much covering it with compound. Maybe that's what I'm doing wrong, like you say. Where can I pick up starkie blue? I've got some silverline blue compound, but I think as Robin said, it's buffing wheel kit.

Ok, found starkie on here
http://www.arb-tek.co.uk/ourshop/prod_1604248-Starkie-Blue-Metal-Polishing-Compound.html

Vigrously rub this polishing compound stick onto your leather strop until you have an even layer on the leather.

*rolls eyes*

I guess it's possibly a personal thing and not an exact science?

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Erm... If I put too much on, it gums up the strop. Its a visual thing you would have to see.

Having slightly less on wont be a problem, but too much and it may not work properly. Most are bound in a type of wax. More wax=More slip=Less cutting (at a guess)

Clean it off, add a couple of scrapes up and down the lenght of the strop, dust off the excess and give it a go.

Longstrider (username) is the fella you want, on here and also BB

 

[Dave Budd]

the green stuff works for me, but it can be a bit funny at times. If the leather is new and has a glaze on the surface (all new leather does to an extent) then the compound doesn't stay stuck at first, so rub the surface with a bit of sandpaper to open it up. Also if everything is cold then it doesn't work into the surface. If you put it on thick then it will rub off before it beds in too.

it's a quick polish though!

 

[Elines]

sounds like a tutorial on initial use and maintenance of a strop with compounds would be very useful - certainly would be for me

 

[mrcairney]

sounds like a tutorial on initial use and maintenance of a strop with compounds would be very useful - certainly would be for me

Phew, I'm glad I'm not alone!

 

[The Big Lebowski]

If I had a camera stand... I could oblige.

I'll see what I can do.

 

[mrcairney]

The Dude Abides.

 

[Stringmaker]

The only times I've tried stropping anything I just blunted it.

A tutorial would be excellent.

 

[Elines]

TBL - anyting you could do would be gratefully received - thanks

 

[mrcairney]

I have scraped my strop clean and await further instructions...

 

[mountainm]

flexcut yellow works a treat for me.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

I'm currently looking at two flat tyre's... and trying to figure out how I'm going to get 30 miles home from work.

Bear with me and I'll get the camera out saturday!

 

[Elines]

TBL - hope you got home safely - and in time for some kip

I have scraped my strop clean and await further instructions...

Just to illustrate the basic level I'm coming from - can the 'tutorial' include suggestions on:

• what do you scrape it with (eg back of a knife would round it off - not good for making sparks) eg should anything not be used in case it damages the leather
• what state the edge should be in before stropping (that might be a reference to an existing tutorial on using stones etc)
• optimum width and thickness of a strop eg I would have thought they would be about 3"wide but they seem to be about half that
• and could you use any leather eg the sample books from furniture super stores
• and length - minimuum/maximum
• would you have the glued to a strop on a board (or at least resting on a flat surface) rather than just tied to a post if the knife has skandi grind

I should say I have a strop at the moment and can get a knife sharper than before I had it - just not sure I'm getting the best out of it.

Main point is any advice cannot be too Noddy for me (are you allowed to be Noddyist these days or have the PC police complained about that too?)

 

[luckylee]

TBL - hope you got home safely - and in time for some kip



Just to illustrate the basic level I'm coming from - can the 'tutorial' include suggestions on:

• what do you scrape it with (eg back of a knife would round it off - not good for making sparks) eg should anything not be used in case it damages the leather
• what state the edge should be in before stropping (that might be a reference to an existing tutorial on using stones etc)
• optimum width and thickness of a strop eg I would have thought they would be about 3"wide but they seem to be about half that
• and could you use any leather eg the sample books from furniture super stores
• and length - minimuum/maximum
• would you have the glued to a strop on a board (or at least resting on a flat surface) rather than just tied to a post if the knife has skandi grind

I should say I have a strop at the moment and can get a knife sharper than before I had it - just not sure I'm getting the best out of it.

Main point is any advice cannot be too Noddy for me (are you allowed to be Noddyist these days or have the PC police complained about that too?)

i did say to you mate when i made the strop, it would be much better if you put it on a board bud, i find that if you are stropping a scandie edge this is much better, if you are stropping a convex edge then the tying to the tree is ok,as it will conform the grind a bit better, but i still prefere a wood backed strop for this.
take care.
lee.

 

[Thenihilist]

Stropping tutorial would be good.

I used to use my hand as a strop, 10,000 passes each side and your done lol. I've been using the leather shoulder straps on my backpack recently and it works a lot better but an old belt glued to a board with some compound would be better.

 

[Thenihilist]

If it cleanly slices paper after coming from the stone thats when i strop.

Tutorial would be good.

 

[Elines]

i did say to you mate when i made the strop, it would be much better if you put it on a board bud, i find that if you are stropping a scandie edge this is much better, if you are stropping a convex edge then the tying to the tree is ok,as it will conform the grind a bit better, but i still prefere a wood backed strop for this.
take care.
lee.

Yes thanks Lee, don't disagree with anything you say - I wanted to keep my options open and now use the strop resting on a piece of flat wood when using it at home. But as it is not fixed to a piece of wood I can more easily store it in a bag.

All my queries are aimed at helping to make sure the guidance on the strop and its use is as complete as possible. My maintenance of knives is one of the things I want to improve on during this coming year. (Along with use of knives for BC purposes - plus carving generally, firelighting, tarp set ups and then cooking - getting a bit fed up with boil in the bag)