Thread: I need help identifying my polishing compounds.

I have 3 unknown polishing compounds. The colors are...

• Red (roughest)
• Black
• White (finest)

Here's an image of the compounds
...image too large to post locally, too lazy to edit. Also, color correction took a bit of red out. The brown looking compound is actually a rusty red color.

The progression doesn't seem to fit the standard colors, and the white has a higher sheen than my Formax Microfine Honing Compound (chromium oxide). It seems obvious that the white is an alumina compound, unless I am wrong about the Formax (product no. 12668) being chromium.

I doped some paper with each compound and tested them on my fingernail to figure out the progression. The red compound is unmistakably more coarse than the others, and leaves a sheen duller than my fingernail started. The red is also the most wax-like and seems softer when applying it to the paper. The black compound is about the same as the Formax chromium with no obvious difference in sheen (about the same sheen as a natural fingernail too). The white compound is certainly finer than the Formax, leaving a nearly glass smooth finish.

Can anyone help me determine what brand these are, or deduce what grit size they are? I would like to know this for my own reference before I construct my finishing (honing) strop.

P.S. Since I am here, I have one little question on the strop design... It's a two-sided strop with leather and denim on either side. Should I put the coarser compound on the tougher leather side to prevent edge rounding, or should I put the finer compound on the leather for some benefit to the final polish?

I'll take a shot but may get corrected by other more buffer savy users.

The black is for removing metal.
The red I think is actually called brown and is also for removing metal but usually not as abrasive as black.
The white is for polishing and does not remove much, if any, metal.

For the strop: I would not put any paste on either side. Assuming it is a hanging strop leave as is and palm the leather daily. It is very easy to cross-contaminate pastes on strops.

Save the compounds for a buffer or balsa plank.

Here is the chart I use:

Back to what you (I think) are trying to accomplish.

The compounds you have are NOT for stropping. They are for buffing a blade before it is honed.
There are tons of threads here on strop pastes. The ones usually used are CrOx and diamond spray. These are what I use.

Do a little research in the wiki and you will find the answers you need.

Good luck and let us know what you decide and what you accomplish.

Also, here is a link to find local members and mentors in Chicago.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/memberlist.php?do=search

For stropping you need CrO /Diamond spray on your strops.
If you want a progression, then take a look at Dovo or TI pastes for razors.
The bars you have most likely are not refined enough to work for razor, they are for sure suitable for knives though.

Originally Posted by rolodave

I'll take a shot but may get corrected by other more buffer savy users.

The black is for removing metal.
The red I think is actually called brown and is also for removing metal but usually not as abrasive as black.
The white is for polishing and does not remove much, if any, metal.

For the strop: I would not put any paste on either side. Assuming it is a hanging strop leave as is and palm the leather daily. It is very easy to cross-contaminate pastes on strops.

Save the compounds for a buffer or balsa plank.

Here is the chart I use:

I have a strop for maintenance already. This strop is made to replace ultra fine finishing stones.

I used the same chart, but the black is about the same grade as my green chromium, and that doesn't fit with this chart.

Originally Posted by mainaman

For stropping you need CrO /Diamond spray on your strops.
If you want a progression, then take a look at Dovo or TI pastes for razors.
The bars you have most likely are not refined enough to work for razor, they are for sure suitable for knives though.

I was considering using CrO on the denim side and then the (presumably) alumina compound on the leather. I figured that if the white compound is around 0.3micron then I doubt it has odd particles greater than 0.5micron. If that's the case then it wouldn't do any harm to use it after the 0.5micron CrO.

Maybe I am wrong about the purity, though, as I don't know a lot about how these are manufactured, and I certainly don't know what brand these are.

Originally Posted by Sirnanigans

I was considering using CrO on the denim side and then the (presumably) alumina compound on the leather. I figured that if the white compound is around 0.3micron then I doubt it has odd particles greater than 0.5micron. If that's the case then it wouldn't do any harm to use it after the 0.5micron CrO.

Maybe I am wrong about the purity, though, as I don't know a lot about how these are manufactured, and I certainly don't know what brand these are.

You can test on a piece of scrap leather and take a look at the scratch patterns to get an idea which is finer. Shaving off the green and then the white also will give you and idea which is better final polisher.

“unless I am wrong about the Formax (product no. 12668) being chromium.”

You are…the Formax is not pure Chrome Oxide. You will notice they do not even call it Chrome Oxide, first clue… There are several post on it.

As said, most of these bars contain a cocktail of compounds of various grits to speed up polishing and not stropping.

You need to find out from the vendor or manufacturer what is in the bars.

When buying these greased compounds for razors, you really do get what you pay for. Color means nothing and I doubt anyone can tell who made a bar by looking at it, much less what is in it.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

“unless I am wrong about the Formax (product no. 12668) being chromium.”

You are…the Formax is not pure Chrome Oxide. You will notice they do not even call it Chrome Oxide, first clue… There are several post on it.

As said, most of these bars contain a cocktail of compounds of various grits to speed up polishing and not stropping.

You need to find out from the vendor or manufacturer what is in the bars.

When buying these greased compounds for razors, you really do get what you pay for. Color means nothing and I doubt anyone can tell who made a bar by looking at it, much less what is in it.

Dang, that's too bad. I actually didn't know about the compounds possibly being mixtures. That's surprising.

I will say this... I didn't buy these and I don't know how much they cost. The Formax was a gift along with some oil stones. If it's going to offer good results, even if not the best, I would rather use it for my tools as well as my razor. However, if it's going to fail to improve my razor over my hard arkansas, then it's useless.

Sad day, now I must research the Formax to decide if even that is worth using.

It’s not.

Good Chrome Oxide is not expensive 10-12 buck for a life time supply.