Stropping compounds

Has anyone used stropping compounds other than diamond or chrome oxide? Specificly. Cerium Oxide,
Linde, orTin Oxide for example.

Iron Oxide!

None of those three, although the Linde is interesting.

how about aluminum oxide?
alumina hones seem common.. same grit?

Last week I made four bench strops from ½ birch ply with denim glued on one surface. I put chrome oxide, 1.8 boron carbide, rottenstone, and tin oxide on the last one tonight.

So far I have tried the chrome and the rottenstone, after coming of my yellow coticule. The rottenstone and chrome had very similar results. I will try the tin oxide later this week sometime.

I will break into my old telescope making boxes and dig up some cerium oxide and give it a try at a later date.

The linde abrasive seems like it would be a good choice.

I have read several old references to people stropping on bare aluminum. Aluminum forms an oxide very quickly on the surface I wonder how it would work. Have any of you tried it?


Charlie

Rottenstone and chrome ox having similar results? Interesting. Are there varying grits of rottenstone? I bought a 1 pound box at a Rockler Woodworker store about a year ago and made a slurry with it on top of a Belgian Blue. Really terrible results. Very very gritty feeling.

Interesting idea about stropping on a polished aluminum plate. Very interesting.

Chris L

I think that there are varying grits in the rottenstone. But it breaks down quickly. I rubbed the rottenstone into the denim then used the shop vac to remove the excess. I then used a scrap razor to strop with before I used an actual razor I wanted to polish.

My theory is that the first stropping may have broken the big chunks.

I am just guessing.

Chris, I just reread your post, I think that rottenstone comes in only one grit. I was thinking it might not be uniform in that grit size.

Charlie