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Facts About Leather Strop Polishing Compounds

Product Reviews, Blog

Only polishing compounds can provide…

…a much better result than simply stapling on leather.

Now let’s read more about Leather Strop Polishing Compound….

Leather strop polishing compound
Credit: ebay.co.uk

Let’s hear Lucas’ experience…

I forgot that I bought a leather strop polishing compound…

and when I check it. It is already dry.

I ask around if anyone knows of a way to rehydrate…

..or make a moist dry compound? But most people said it can’t be saved.

So, I just bought some new Green and it powders off the buffing wheel…

Can’t seem to get it to load the wheel...

Leather strop polishing compounds are abrasive compounds consisting of polishing powder mixed with waxes and fats to form a cake or bar. They are used in a variety of industries to smooth metals and gradually apply a clean and professional finish

fintechabrasives.com

First thing to know…


Bite and Polishing

With polishing agents, diamond sprays and compounds…

….you can get two different effects when it comes to operation: “bite” and polish.

Bites indicate the speed at which material is removed….

Depending on the product, this can differ….

Some compounds polish differently, allowing for a greater shine….

You can have certain compounds that remove material rapidly…

…but that are less effective at polishing. This is a good starting point….

There is a finer compound that takes off less material and polishes better….

Together, these two make a great combination….

It is common for diamond sprays to have a good balance…

…between these two factors: they quickly remove material…

…while simultaneously polishing.

Keep going….


Is Leather Strop Polishing Compound Needed?

Leather strop polishing compound
Credit: walmart.com

Your goals for the strop will determine how you proceed….

You can use a bare strop to gently re-align a rolled wire edge…

…or to remove some light burrs from your edge.

Some compound would be helpful for refining, honing…

…and/or polishing the bevels.

It is also important that the edge is prepared for stropping….

Any strop of any configuration probably won’t help too much…

…if the edge isn’t sharp or apexed enough to begin with, compound or not.

First, you have to work on the stones…

…and stropping shouldn’t take more than maybe 10-20 passes…

….(or less) to really make the final edge stand out.


Leather Strop Polishing Compound Recommendation

Leather strop polishing compound
Credit: ebay.com

There are a lot of people here who like using diamonds…

…or chromium oxide (green) compounds…

…usually in sizes as small as *1 micron (green is usually 0.5 micron on average).

HA (Hand American) is very popular for its green compound…

….and DMT is very popular for its diamond compound.

Many sources sell the green, which is usually found in ‘stick’ or bar form…

…but some vendors also sell it in powdered or liquid form (HA).

There are a lot of variables involved with stropping…

Diamond compounds will perform better on steels like S30V, D2, etc….

The green compounds do very well with steels like 1095…

…and other basic carbon steels, as well as many mid-range stainless steel…

… like 420HC/440-series/AUS-8/etc. Almost all steels work well with Simichrome…

..with the exception of the most abrasion-resistant steels.

I haven’t used Flitz yet, but many here have…

…and I think it would perform very similarly to Simichrome.


Toothpastes as Leather Strop Polishing Compound

Some toothpastes contain hydrated silica,…

…which is sometimes (but not always) hard enough…

…to abrade hardened knife steel.

Yet, it’s not very hard and likely won’t do much on many blades…

…aside from lightly burnishing or ‘cleaning’ them.

An uncoated leather strop accomplishes more….

…or less the same thing as natural silicates.

A simple way to test how toothpaste or any other compound…

…might work on steel is to put some on a piece of clean…

…white paper and ‘strop’ the paper. If the compound is hard enough…

…to abrade (polish) steel, the steel removed…

…will leave black/gray streaks on the paper.

The silica in toothpaste is actually less hard than baking soda…

having a Moh’s scale of relative hardness of only *2.5…

…(hydrated silica has a Moh’s scale of 5.5-6.5).

It may be useful for cleaning foreign dirt from a knife blade…

…but it won’t help with abrading or polishing by removing steel.

Baking soda, on the other hand, is effective at removing thick…

…flaky rust from a neglected blade.

It can also be used to neutralize rust-causing acids…

…and it can be used to clean up a carbon steel blade after a ‘forced’ patina…

…with vinegar or another acid, both to remove the rust…

..and to stop the acidic reaction on the steel.

If you need best leather strop recommendation…

..we have list of best leather strop.


Polishing Compound Categories

Polishing compounds can be divided into three main categories:

These are cutting compounds made by Tripolis…

A compound is said to “cut” when it removes metal quickly…

High cuts remove more than low cuts…

Tripoli compounds eliminate dull scratches…

…and emery marks to deliver a smooth, if dull, surface.

Intermediates, which smooth over rough surfaces and provide a degree of luster…

Suitable for burnishing and polishing…

..finishing rouges provide a high-quality shine.

As a result of their varying functions…

…polishing compounds come in a variety of forms…

…with surfaces that range from highly coarse to very fine.

You can use different compounds throughout the process…

…to smooth away imperfections and achieve the desired results…

…depending on the application and the level of smoothing required.


Commonly-Used Polishing Compounds & Recommended Applications

Polishing compound
Credit: boss reviews.com

Blue, yellow, and aluminum metal leather strop polishing compounds…

…are best suited to certain applications, but others are more versatile.

On stainless steel surfaces, for example…

…you could use a green or white compound.

The following is a list of the most commonly used leather strop polishing compounds..

…along with their recommended applications.

Brown Tripoli, The brown Tripoli leather strop polishing compound is highly versatile and is commonly used to polish surfaces on softer metals like brass, copper, and aluminum. It can even be applied to wood surfaces to give them a lustrous finish.

Green, The stainless steel compound is mainly used to polish stainless steel surfaces, which is why it is often called the stainless steel compound. The finish is mirror-like since scratches are removed.

White, Usually used on stainless steel and hard metals, white leather strop polishing compounds have a finer composition that makes them the best choice for cutting and intermediate stages of polishing.

Blue, leather strop polishing compounds can be used to restore the gleam and smoothness of non-ferrous metals, plastics, and synthetic materials.

Pink, A dual-purpose compound is used during the first stage of soft metal polishing and during the final stage of hard metal polishing to add a finishing touch. It is one of the most versatile compounds, since it can also be used on wood, painted surfaces, and plastic.

Black, The black leather strop polishing compound is used in smaller doses to add shine to metals, including aluminum, steel, copper, and brass. If you need to remove deep scratches or smooth rough surfaces, you should use black emery compound.

Aluminum, metal leather strop polishing compounds ensure a smooth and consistent finish on soft metals.

Yellow, leather strop polishing compounds deliver a brilliant shine on hard metals like gold and platinum, which is why they are used in the jewelry industry.

Gold, There are different abrasive grades in the gold metal leather strop polishing compound. They provide a high level of lustre to polished metals, making them another popular choice for jewelers and metalworkers.


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To Sum It Up

The next time you are in doubt about…

..whether you should use rubbing compound or leather strop polishing compound…

…make sure that you are aware of all the relevant information.

These two processes are necessary at their own place…

…and should be used without confusion.

For a smoother and shinier finish, polishing compounds

…can be used along with the rubbing compounds


Conclusion

.

There are some great details W have shared in this article…

…about leather strop polishing compound.

I hope this article was useful..

..and that I have brought a little bit of clarity…

..to your understanding of leather strop polishing compound.

Thanks for sticking around!

If you have more question about leather strop polishing compound

..feel free to contact us!


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