Thread: Alternative stropping compounds.

Hi everyone,

Just curious about alternative approaches to stropping pastes and compounds. In the first place because I am curious as a teen boy (even if I am a few times that age...) and in the second place because I live in Argentina, and importing most things is cumbersome or even nearly impossible.

I am currently stropping with green paste (probably CrOx, which is around #700 grit in whatever scale they are using), very fine, also used by knifemakers to polish blades, and then a white paste (#1300 grit in hopefully the same scale). No problem with them, I jump to plain leather after the white one.

But as nothing is too good to avoid trying something better, someone around might have already tried with alternative products: Brass polish, silver polish, car paint polish (at least three available here: "rough", "fine", and "autopolish"), toothpaste, engine valve polish (at least two available around here: "rough", which is definitely too rough for a straight razor, and "fine"), and probably other ones.

Has anyone tried any of the above? Other ones? Any clue on where should I place them on my "stropping grit scale" order?

Thanks for any input on this.

The scale they are using seems a bit off IMHO.
Isn't Chromium Oxide supposed to be 0.5 micron, so more in the 20-30k grit range if looking at the scale used by Shapton and Naniwa (the JIS I think)?

Cheers.

There are a variety of diamond slurries/sprays in the .5-0.1 micron range.
Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN)goes all the way to 0.05 micron I believe.
Cerium Oxide is a very common jewelers lapping compound in the 0.3 micron range.

Alternatives can be tested on a simple Newspaper folded to resemble a strop

Try

Lead
Pencil Lead
Ash
Lamp Black
Metal Polish (Flitz, Maas, Simi-Chrome)
Dried Slurry from a good finisher mixed with a carrier

These are proved Alternatives to buying Pastes

ps: The Newspaper and some inks in them are slightly abrasive too

Originally Posted by mainaman

There are a variety of diamond slurries/sprays in the .5-0.1 micron range.
Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN)goes all the way to 0.05 micron I believe.
Cerium Oxide is a very common jewelers lapping compound in the 0.3 micron range.

I know. I will try to get them at jewelry shops. They also have rouge (whatever grit it is supposed to be). As of now, the only references I know for these are abroad, and it is not easy for us to import (except maybe if you are an industry or shop instead of a final user).

Originally Posted by Pi3

The scale they are using seems a bit off IMHO.
Isn't Chromium Oxide supposed to be 0.5 micron, so more in the 20-30k grit range if looking at the scale used by Shapton and Naniwa (the JIS I think)?

My opinion is about the same as yours ;-) I am not certain whether it is CrOX or not, though. Even if it is something else, it wouldn't be used as steel shine polish if it were #700 in most known scales.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Alternatives can be tested on a simple Newspaper folded to resemble a strop

Try

Lead

Only with a respirator.

I have intended to try ash, something every shaver would have had access to, for years. Hopefully sometime I will actually try it. Has anyone else tried ash as an abrasive?

Originally Posted by Utopian

Only with a respirator.

I have intended to try ash, something every shaver would have had access to, for years. Hopefully sometime I will actually try it. Has anyone else tried ash as an abrasive?

Stropping on a baseball bat.

Out of curiosity, what about newspaper with a judicious rubbing of charcoal pencil?

Originally Posted by Tymus

Out of curiosity, what about newspaper with a judicious rubbing of charcoal pencil?

Haven't tried it but it sounds plausible

I personally don't recommend anything that I haven't actually tried myself,, so Yes Ron, the Wood Ash does work

These are all simply "Back in the Day" ideas as alternative strop pastes to our modern stuff

Personally I find really Pure CrOx at about .30~ or really Pure CeOx at about .25~ micron to be my goto pasted leather strops they simply smooth out an edge rather then add much keenness at all

I once considerd Silica fume but never got around to it. Could only buy it by the ton.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_fume