Thread: "microabrasive" strop

Originally Posted by Utopian

That "well-respected" fellow hones all full hollows with three layers of tape and all wedges with 5-6 layers of tape, so you might want to take that into consideration.

I just don't understand why this is frowned upon. It's been found that this works very well and I understand that quite a few folks are very happy with his work, inexperienced and experienced, alike. So if it apparently works very well, then why not?

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

I am guessing this is a diamond spray or similar sprayed onto a strop they are selling.

No pastes or spray on the microabrasive strop, nothing is added.

So, what is it, then?


What is the grit?


Can you post a pic?

Absolutely.

It is a material that's used in industrial conveyor belts - that's extent of what I know about this. As far as I can tell, it seems to be some type of "fiberglass" weave embedded in a poly core (sandwiched) It's not fiberglass, it's not friable or anything of that nature. It is best described as already mentioned - the magic eraser material (Melamine foam) which is microabrasive - No idea on the grit but it's extremely fine if anything. With use, you can see the white turning grey very slowly this is a clear indicator of removing some metal.

http://i.imgur.com/a/j3sRP

An additional thought - this could be similar to the flax "firehose" material, just a lot more stiffer.

Thanks RocTraitor for sharing the pics! That's the first time I have the chance to see this material. It is much more rigid I'd have expected.

Obviously, I want all strop makers to be held to the same standards. I'm not asking for a grit rating for Lynn's canvas, for instance.

Your find may revolutionize the strop industry. That being said, because you advertise it as a microabrasive, and not "something with lots of draw", the question of particle size is bound to pop up, and I think it will be at your commercial advantage to explain your product better. You know how specific people are about their diamond sprays and all. One guy will swear about 0.5 micron CBN is the best ever, and the other will scream 'too coarse!'

(As a sidenote, I know that all this 'explaining' sucks - I spend a lot of time writing and re-writing papers so that people understand what I do and it gets tedious really fast.)

After much thinking, I chose to buy a more traditional option. That being said, I'd love to see reviews from more experienced folks on the forum, especially those who tried lots of strops and aren't competitors. Personally, I'd love lots of microscope pictures, and I wish more strop makers would provide them. But that's another story.

Originally Posted by RocTraitor

Absolutely.

It is a material that's used in industrial conveyor belts - that's extent of what I know about this. As far as I can tell, it seems to be some type of "fiberglass" weave embedded in a poly core (sandwiched) It's not fiberglass, it's not friable or anything of that nature. It is best described as already mentioned - the magic eraser material (Melamine foam) which is microabrasive - No idea on the grit but it's extremely fine if anything. With use, you can see the white turning grey very slowly this is a clear indicator of removing some metal.

http://i.imgur.com/a/j3sRP

An additional thought - this could be similar to the flax "firehose" material, just a lot more stiffer.

Originally Posted by Utopian

That "well-respected" fellow hones all full hollows with three layers of tape and all wedges with 5-6 layers of tape, so you might want to take that into consideration.

One answer is a fellow that carefully measures his razor and computes the spine to edge angle
and discovers that an old soft spine has worn enough to need a lift of exactly
three layers of tape.

The reverse dimensional error is interesting. Always honing a blade with tape can protect the spine
to a degree that after half a lifetime the spine is too thick and the angle too open.

Tape is a tool. One use is to tape a note on the wall to not use too much tape.

EDIT...
The comments on microfiber got me looking.... because they are finer than cotton or
linen they might grab and remove minor surface cruft that linen and cotton might not.
Sub micron abrasives might get trapped and work better. One note it should(?) be a split
microfiber. Non-split microfiber is little more than a very soft cloth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfiber

Why do smaller fibers clean better?
Microfibers are able to attach themselves to even the smallest, most microscopic dirt
particles—ones that normal cloth fibers (positively giant in comparison) crudely brush past.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/microfibercloths.html

EDIT #2.
A couple years back there was a honing thread involving the microfiber cloth on
glass or hardwood to hold sub micron abrasives and strop.

I searched for a conveyor belt reinforced canvas material with a cotton surface
and found some interesting stuff so who knows?

I would like to try a strip of this to see the affects.

Have you tried to compare the stria to a known grit?

And is it consistent from piece to piece, I take it there is no added grit, just what is in the material?

I've been playing around with .5 CrOx and it will be interesting to see how this compares to the CrOx, i have heard several boast about using vintage fire hose for stropping and it's supposed to better than flax linen but i have never used it, I have used poly webbing and don't like it at all.

Nylon webbing (seatbelt type) is better, makes a good strop with about the same results as most leather, makes a great pasted strop.

Polyester Canvas Sailcloth is my favorite for Chrome Oxide. I use paper strops for Nano grit sprays/paste, that can be misted wet.