Cozzer
Established Member
Just as the question.
In the UK, there's red, there's green....apart from the obvious, is there a difference?!
In the UK, there's red, there's green....apart from the obvious, is there a difference?!
"Best" compound for leather strop?
- Thread starter Cozzer
- Start date
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Blackswanwood
Still Learning
Yes, they vary in coarseness. I use green for carving tools, chisels and plane blades.
https://www.cooksongold.com/downloads/files/Polishing-Compound-Chart.pdf
https://www.cooksongold.com/downloads/files/Polishing-Compound-Chart.pdf
mrpercysnodgrass
Established Member
silverline do a good range of buffing soaps.
https://www.silverlinetools.com/en-GB/Product/ProductDetail?ModelName=107874
https://www.silverlinetools.com/en-GB/Product/ProductDetail?ModelName=107874
what I take from that chart is don't use red in the work-shop only the jewelry-shop.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Autosol, or any metal polish is good.
Personnally, I've put leather on both sides of my strop and use green on one side and red (rouge) on the other. Green is my general go to stropping compound but when I really want to push the boat out, I'll flip the strop over and give some strokes on the red side after the green.
Recently I've started using carving tools more and made up a second strop with yellow compound on one side and pink on the other. If I've got an old gouge that needs more than a simple buff up of the edge, I'll work through the compounds (Yellow -> Green -> Pink -> Red) the same way I would go through the grits with sharpening stones. The advantage with the compounds being that I can apply them to leather and bend the leather around formers to match the gouge profile.
I also found this Axminster chart useful:
Recently I've started using carving tools more and made up a second strop with yellow compound on one side and pink on the other. If I've got an old gouge that needs more than a simple buff up of the edge, I'll work through the compounds (Yellow -> Green -> Pink -> Red) the same way I would go through the grits with sharpening stones. The advantage with the compounds being that I can apply them to leather and bend the leather around formers to match the gouge profile.
I also found this Axminster chart useful:
Guys into sharpening knives often mention "flitz".
I assume because it's American and available to a lot of the folks writing on the internet.
It stinks, and seems similar to autosol.
I assume because it's American and available to a lot of the folks writing on the internet.
It stinks, and seems similar to autosol.
Cozzer
Established Member
Thanks, Jacob...
Is it simply a case of rubbing a quick squeeze of it on to the leather?
On one of the now defunct Knife Forums, many members used to recommend the Blue stuff.
Affectionately called Smurf Poo!
https://woodlandcraftsupplies.co.uk/products/sorby-honing-compound
Edit:
Affectionately called Smurf Poo!
https://woodlandcraftsupplies.co.uk/products/sorby-honing-compound
Edit:
johnnyb
Established Member
Being really old school I do love tallow then autosol on leather. Oil works as well. Anything to keep the autosol from going dry and falling off. Tallow is available from stained glass supplies as its a rather wonderful lead flux. Strangely it's in the form of candles but with no wick! It's advantage is its harmless and never goes hard. Neatsfoot oil is good to. This is a strange one that's made from the legs of cattle. Used on leather as it doesn't set or congeal(apparently a unique property that allows cattles feet to not freeze....or something)
Autosol is quite fine as well.(1 micron)
Autosol is quite fine as well.(1 micron)
I've found tallow to be the best lubricant for the bottom of wooden planes. I read somewhere that its years of tallow application that has turned old wooden planes black. That made me curious so I got some (Toolstation sell it) and gave it a try. It works really well. It lubricates really nicely, and sticks to the wood well so doesn't wear off quickly like wax can. So I'm interested to see another use for it.
Jacob
What goes around comes around.
Just smear it on. Leave it there when you finished and just spit on it next time. Or something like that - it's not critical there are no magic formulae!
What's really good for a polished and very sharp bevel is a disc of mdf on my lathe just turning at a lowish speed. Smear of Autosol on the face and as you use it it gets sort of embedded. Half round the edge of the disc and it'll do inside edge of gouges. It takes just a few seconds to shine up an already sharp blade, plane, chisel or gouge, and make it super sharp.
Plane soles wood or metal a smear of candle wax. Just a quick squiggle. It can be transformative and dramatically improves the action. One candle lasts for years.
Wooden planes always rubbed over with linseed oil, whenever you feel like it.
