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2K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  BigMig 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey LJ team,
I'm getting better at sharpening plane irons, chisels and I want to finish with a strop and compound.

My first question is: Is green compound on a strop a good way to finish sharpening a tool?

Second question: If green compound is the right compound to finish with, is every company's green compound the same material? Like - is the green compound from Highland Woodworking the same as Lee Valley and the same as …? Some retailers offer a small bar; others have a 1 lb block.

Thanks.
 
#4 ·
Honestly, I have used many different types including Harbor Freight, Sears C-man and more expensive ones. For power stropping or buffing/polishing, there may be some noticable difference. But when it comes to stropping tool edges on a piece of charged leather, I can't say that any one worked better than any other. As far as I've been able to tell, any green compound works well with stropping. If it's hard to get charge the leather, thin it a bit with mineral oil.
 
#6 ·
My first question is: Is green compound on a strop a good way to finish sharpening a tool?

Yes

Second ? I have no idea.

Lately I've been using Flex Cut gold and the green compound on a DMT plate because it's flat, then polish on
an 8000 water stone. Works for me.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Wood stain


Some folks use mdf because it's flat and others use a flat piece of maple.
 

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#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
I took an old leather belt that was too worn to wear to work anymore, cut a strip and hot glued to a stick, and bought this at my local lumberyard: https://www.amazon.com/Wood-Good-WD402-Abrasive-Powder/dp/B003NE5BFO

Only problem is my belt isn't wide enough for my plane irons, so will probably buy the 3" strop on amazon for $10 which already comes with the green compound. Oh well.
 
#10 ·
You can buy your leather online from Tandy Leather (https://www.tandyleather.com/en/). I always keep some around the shop for various purposes. I have made a number of leather strops of various sizes and shapes for planes, chisels, and gouges. I use Turtle Wax automotive rubbing compound on my strops. Cheap and easy to obtain.
 
#13 ·
Reading all of this reminds me of my late father whom, as a boy, I used to watch occasionally strop his pocket knife on the leather sole of his shoe. I didn't understand it at the time, but now I know the fine abrasive embedded in the shoe leather did the job. Great old memories! That was back in the late 1940s and 1950s.
 
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