Thread: Best for stropping

I use the finest diamond compound paste in tubes from McJing.
Seems to work for me

On leather Jeremy ?

Yes - I stuck a piece of kangaroo tail to a flat board and charge it with the diamond paste, which is an oil suspension. I add some baby oil as a lubricant sometimes to keep the leather from drying out totally.

OK, thanks.

I had never thought of using diamond paste for stropping and didn't know McJings sold it, so good info, thanks.

cheers
Arron

any other comments or product advice is still welcome

Originally Posted by jmk89

I add some baby oil as a lubricant sometimes to keep the leather from drying out totally.

The best oil to use is neatsfoot. It has been used for centuries to stop leather from drying out. Mixed with kero it is a brilliant lub for oil stones as it doesn't dry out and gunk up. Readily available from shops that handle leather goods for horses.

Autosol chrome cleaner on a 5/16" thick pump leather strop with the occasional drop of oil to keep it moistened.
Mark

Originally Posted by Arron

In terms of stropping a tool to keep an edge between sharpenings, what do people find to be the best products.

I've just been using some paste that came in a sharpening kit I bought years ago but there is no reason for me to think its any good, I guess.

So I'd like to try some other product, sourced locally.

cheers
Arron

Hi Arron

Essentially you have two options: a compound paste or daimond paste. I compared this several years ao here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Woodwor...mondpaste.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Old-Biker-UK

Autosol chrome cleaner on a 5/16" thick pump leather strop with the occasional drop of oil to keep it moistened.
Mark

Yep I second that that wholeheartedly .
Mike

I use the green, chromium oxide compound sold at Carbatec.

Originally Posted by jmk89

Yes - I stuck a piece of kangaroo tail to a flat board and charge it with the diamond paste, which is an oil suspension. I add some baby oil as a lubricant sometimes to keep the leather from drying out totally.

An old whipmaker friend of mine, now long dead, used kangaroo tail for his leather strop. It was also in the days before diamond paste became fashionable so he used 'valve grinding compound' as his abrasive.

OK, thanks for the responses. The Autosol sounds interesting - I expect I can get that at Supercheap which makes it convenient.

I'm wondering now about the shape of the strop. I think most of the posters just use a flat strop. Has anyone gone down the route of shaping the strop to account for the fact that gouges are not flat? I was thinking about making grooves in the substrate to match the most common sweeps (in my case 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9) and then gluing the leather down. Or is that overthinking it ?

And also, what about the inside of the gouge. Do people strop up the inside ? I don't and have never thought about it, but now I'm wondering isn't it otherwise a job half done ?