Need new stoping compound alternatives?

[Eric]

I can’t afford to buy the green and yellow paste from wicked when they only let about 3 knives. What cheaper pastes can I use. It’s 3.5 and 5 micron

[Montana Edge]

If your WE paste is lasting 3 knives, you’re using far too much. The paste should last many, many knives. It take very little to be effective.

[Steven N. Bolin]

I can’t afford to buy the green and yellow paste from wicked when they only let about 3 knives. What cheaper pastes can I use. It’s 3.5 and 5 micron

Honestly, I don’t think you can find another alternative for cheaper. I mean… $9 on eBay + free shipping for 2 compounds. That’s nothing! And it should last you quite a while if you use some of the tips and tricks shared here on the WE forum.

Also, if you do find anything cheaper it’s probably not worth it and I doubt you’d be happy with the results… I definitely wouldn’t recommend buying buffing compounds etc.

[Steven N. Bolin]

Oh wow! I guess I missed that it’s only lasting you 3 knives. Yeah, it should last you WAY longer.

Check these out.

Stropping with Wicked Edge: https://youtu.be/4YwJAZv8w8c

Cleaning & Loading My Wicked Edge Strops: http://youtu.be/mALOWZ_7LFs

[Eric]

If your WE paste is lasting 3 knives, you’re using far too much. The paste should last many, many knives. It take very little to be effective.

When you say many knives what do you mean? The paste seems to dry out completely within a few minutes. It still works dry? I tend to sharpen 1 knife a month so I have to reapply it each time right?

[tcmeyer]

No, no, no! The paste is only a media to help distribute the diamond particles. Once the particles are embedded in the leather strop material, the paste is irrelevant. It can soak into the strop or evaporate for that matter. I don’t think there’s a practical limit to how long the particles would stay effective; maybe years. Don’t add more paste to the strop unless you see that its effectiveness is diminishing. As the strops collect more and more particles over time, I would think the strops would last longer between loadings.

Cleaning the strops is only done when they have collected a lot of dirt, grease, metal filings and other contaminants and you think it’s time for a good scubbing. Think more like a redneck geezer deciding that June is a fine time for a bath, as opposed to a young newlywed nurse, scrubbing up at every opportunity.

[Montana Edge]

It definitely works dry – no problem. It goes on wet because that’s the only way to get it on – and then dries and keeps on working that way. If you like the wet feel, spray a little alcohol on one strop and rub them together for moisture if you like. I believe that is what Clay does, there’s a video in his files somewhere where he talks about it. Sometimes I wet with alcohol, sometimes I use dry. The wet gives a nice suction sort of feel. Dry is simple and clean.

The Oldawan video by Bob says it all. Load the first time with a inch or so of paste, actually less is fine at first, you can add more the first time if you need to. Balsa and leather and Kang leather load differently. After that just three little dabs every (4 or 5 dozen) knives. I think Bob said something like 60 knives at 12 strokes each. When I feel I’m not getting suitable polishing effect from the paste, I dab three little dabs of paste (like about 1/8″ each dob) on one strop and then rub them together carefully so that I don’t catch an edge and wipe it right off. In a matter of 10 seconds both are completely covered with a thin film. That is all you need. After you load the strops the first time like shown in the video, it takes very, very little to reload.

If you are doing one knife a month, that paste applicator should last years and years for you.

Finish sharpening a knife, if the strops are moist, let them dry, put them in a plastic container so they breath but don’t gather dust or get contaminated, bring them back out for the next knife, no need to reload every time.

Don’t forget to think about contamination. Clean your edge between grits/strops. Very important.

[Montana Edge]

No, no, no! The paste is only a media to help distribute the diamond particles. Once the particles are embedded in the leather strop material, the paste is irrelevant. It can soak into the strop or evaporate for that matter. I don’t think there’s a practical limit to how long the particles would stay effective; maybe years. Don’t add more paste to the strop unless you see that its effectiveness is diminishing. As the strops collect more and more particles over time, I would think the strops would last longer between loadings.

Cleaning the strops is only done when they have collected a lot of dirt, grease, metal filings and other contaminants and you think it’s time for a good scubbing. Think more like a redneck geezer deciding that June is a fine time for a bath, as opposed to a young newlywed nurse, scrubbing up at every opportunity.

Yep, what TC said.! I was going to say the same thing about cleaning… the spring cleaning analogy is right on for cleaning strops. Or, you forgot to clean your edge after a coarser grit something-or-other just one too many times and now have coarse grit particles chewing on your polished edge… then it’s time to clean the strop and be more careful next time… note to self.

[wickededge]

If your WE paste is lasting 3 knives, you’re using far too much. The paste should last many, many knives. It take very little to be effective.

When you say many knives what do you mean? The paste seems to dry out completely within a few minutes. It still works dry? I tend to sharpen 1 knife a month so I have to reapply it each time right?[/quote]

It really means many knives as in dozens and dozens. When we go to trade shows and expos we sharpen hundreds of knives, stropping everyone and never adding new paste. I was just at the East Coast Custom Knife Show this past weekend and one of the guys there had the same question. By Sunday morning I’d sharpened something like 100+ knives and the strops were working great. Like Tom said, don’t even worry about adding more paste until you feel like the strops have really lost their effectiveness.

-Clay

[Eric]

If your WE paste is lasting 3 knives, you’re using far too much. The paste should last many, many knives. It take very little to be effective.

When you say many knives what do you mean? The paste seems to dry out completely within a few minutes. It still works dry? I tend to sharpen 1 knife a month so I have to reapply it each time right?[/quote]

It really means many knives as in dozens and dozens. When we go to trade shows and expos we sharpen hundreds of knives, stropping everyone and never adding new paste. I was just at the East Coast Custom Knife Show this past weekend and one of the guys there had the same question. By Sunday morning I’d sharpened something like 100+ knives and the strops were working great. Like Tom said, don’t even worry about adding more paste until you feel like the strops have really lost their effectiveness.[/quote]

Thank you
I was avoiding stropping as I thought it was costing me 5 bucks in paste to strop each time used up the syringes on a weekend. And was wondering why it made such a mess How do you go to use the strops each time still mist then with alcohol? Also the yellow paste goes on which color strop ? I have the 3.5 and 5 strops. Do the strops really have a purpose if I’m ending at 1000 grit rather then the super fine grit you have? Thanks

[Eric]

Also is 50 percent or 70 percent rubbing alcohol better?

[Daniel maloon]

. Think more like a redneck geezer deciding that June is a fine time for a bath-June is a fine time of the year haha

[Steven N. Bolin]

Also is 50 percent or 70 percent rubbing alcohol better?

I’ve used both. I’ve also used 90% which evaporated way too fast and left the strops totally dried out. The surface seemed to have a hard time accepting the substrate, so the diamonds never really took hold of the leather. Or visa versa?

Personally… I think the 70% works great… Doesn’t dry too quick, doesn’t stay wet too long… Although, you want a LITTLE moisture from the alcohol because it definitely helps to distribute the compound a bit better.

[Lance Waller]

[/quote]Thank you
I was avoiding stropping as I thought it was costing me 5 bucks in paste to strop each time used up the syringes on a weekend. And was wondering why it made such a mess How do you go to use the strops each time still mist then with alcohol? Also the yellow paste goes on which color strop ? I have the 3.5 and 5 strops. Do the strops really have a purpose if I’m ending at 1000 grit rather then the super fine grit you have? Thanks[/quote]

The yellow goes on the 5 (Probably dark brown color) side and the green goes on the 3.5 side (Light brown side) If you end at 1000 grit…the strops will smooth the peaks and valleys that the diamonds have left in the blade. They also polish as well. I suggest, if you are stopping at 100 grit….to get the 14/10 micron strops. They are a little more aggressive and will work well before you use the 5/3.5 strops to polish and smooth out the grind lines from the diamonds. 😉

[JS]

Somewhere over 150 knives for me and still with the original tubes of paste with more than plenty left in them. Lately for my personal knives I’ve been stopping at 1000 grit completely or stopping at 1000 grit and then a couple light strokes with the 5 micron strops (sometimes on my handheld strop with 5 micron compound) and it’s produced a really aggressive edge.

[Author]

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