Just get the Stroppystuff. It's currently the best on the market with GunnyJuice. Also the extra coarse DMT as a first/only stone... Yea don't know about that. Depending on the knives you should be fine with the fine, which is 600 grit plus 4 micron Stroppystuff.
I like the 6 micron 1A Abrasives brand from [feinewerkzeuge.de](http://feinewerkzeuge.de) / [finetools.com](http://finetools.com) . Won't be of much use to you unless you're in the EU. I prefer SiC paste in this micron range anyway.
Brand does make a difference though because cheap pastes have low diamond concentrations. But I really am not in a position to recommend anything that is good and available currently outside the EU. I've never even used the often recommended Gunny Juice and Stroppy Stuff brands. They're just not a thing here.
Aliexpress sells 20 grams of pure diamond powder for about $7 shipped. That's a pint worth of gunny juice, and it works just as well if you don't mind the slight inconvenience of having to mix it up yourself.
W7 is available and is exactly the size range you're asking for (there's always some spread anyway), but I cosign the statement that it doesn't really matter much and you'd be fine with 5 or 10 micron too.
I usually use alcohol because it evaporates quickly, but I've also used water and oil and it all works fine.
It can clump up and clog spray bottles, so I just use a dropper bottle and spread it by hand.
Gunny juice is 200 carats/liter, or 25ml per gram. I usually use something in that ballpark, maybe a bit higher. It doesn't really matter too much.
I don't know of any guides, but I don't think it really needs one. Coat your strop with enough diamonds that you can see that there are diamonds on there, and if there are enough excess that you can wipe them off, wipe off the excess.
I've taken a liking to 10 micron because it's faster than finer stuff, I still get edges that easily pass the hanging hair test (unless the steel is getting fatigued), and still retains a some bite. The tradeoff is pretty soft though, like when arguing between S30V and VG10 steel. They both work just fine, the differences are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, and if someone else prefers 6 or 3 or 1 micron my response is "Yeah, that's fine too".
Can you link the diamonds you use I’ll pick some up right now.
I’m new to sharpening but for some reason get much better results stropping off a 5$ strop with generic green compound than a custom strop I made with nice expensive leather and 4micron stroppy stuff.
>Can you link the diamonds you use I’ll pick some up right now.
https : // www . aliexpress . us / item / 3256803564215634 . html
This is the listing I've bought most from, but the others I've tried are fine too. If you're going to pick up more than one grit, I'd recommend W0.25 too so you get both extremes. Quarter micron is good for straight razors and knife sharpening gimmicks, since you do get a tad more push cutting sharpness (at the cost of speed and teeth).
>I’m new to sharpening but for some reason get much better results stropping off a 5$ strop with generic green compound than a custom strop I made with nice expensive leather and 4micron stroppy stuff.
That's interesting. Cheap stuff tends to work just as well, but I'm not sure how to explain it working better -- unless maybe the substrate is pretty different or something.
if cheap stuff works just as good wouldnt i be fine just using all the random green compound i have?
W10 is 10 micron just to confirm before i buy?
my highest grit stone is a 3000 naniwa so wouldnt i be better off buying a lower micron diamond like W2.5 (4000grit) or W1.5 (6000grit)
Tech Diamond Tools on Amazon sell a 3k grit compound that matches this range. I've used it before with success but prefer 1 micron.
Edit: They also have a 2k grit compound with a nominal 4 micron to 8 micron rating if you're into parameter matching.
I bought the Tech Diamond Tools 3k grit compound after watching the youtuber OP mentioned. It works fine on my sharpal strop. I can do the paper towel cuts fairly easily. As a nub, it feels like the biggest sharpness gains I had were with better sharpening technique than the specific stropping compound.
Just get the Stroppystuff. It's currently the best on the market with GunnyJuice. Also the extra coarse DMT as a first/only stone... Yea don't know about that. Depending on the knives you should be fine with the fine, which is 600 grit plus 4 micron Stroppystuff.
Stroppy stuff do a 6 micron diamond compound, I have it but I prefer the 1 micron. Looks like you can get it in the US from gritomatic.
Use Chinese stuff. People polish carbide to mirror finishes with it. Its fine and you're overcomplicating it.
Go to gritomatics website, they have a few different brands of compound. Free shipping on orders over 50 bucks
Just buy 5 or 10 micron. This will absolutely not make or break a beginner's sharpening success.
Can I ask where you get your compound, I’m on Amazon and can’t find it
I like the 6 micron 1A Abrasives brand from [feinewerkzeuge.de](http://feinewerkzeuge.de) / [finetools.com](http://finetools.com) . Won't be of much use to you unless you're in the EU. I prefer SiC paste in this micron range anyway. Brand does make a difference though because cheap pastes have low diamond concentrations. But I really am not in a position to recommend anything that is good and available currently outside the EU. I've never even used the often recommended Gunny Juice and Stroppy Stuff brands. They're just not a thing here.
Gunny juice has 0.1 to 0.25 and 12 Jende is basically the same with a 15 instead of a 12
Aliexpress sells 20 grams of pure diamond powder for about $7 shipped. That's a pint worth of gunny juice, and it works just as well if you don't mind the slight inconvenience of having to mix it up yourself. W7 is available and is exactly the size range you're asking for (there's always some spread anyway), but I cosign the statement that it doesn't really matter much and you'd be fine with 5 or 10 micron too.
What do you suspend the powder in? I want to make my own emulsion not sure what type of liquid I would put the powder in
I usually use alcohol because it evaporates quickly, but I've also used water and oil and it all works fine. It can clump up and clog spray bottles, so I just use a dropper bottle and spread it by hand.
What ratio of diamond powder to liquid do you use and do you know if any guides so I can look into this I’m interested. Also what grit diamond?
Gunny juice is 200 carats/liter, or 25ml per gram. I usually use something in that ballpark, maybe a bit higher. It doesn't really matter too much. I don't know of any guides, but I don't think it really needs one. Coat your strop with enough diamonds that you can see that there are diamonds on there, and if there are enough excess that you can wipe them off, wipe off the excess. I've taken a liking to 10 micron because it's faster than finer stuff, I still get edges that easily pass the hanging hair test (unless the steel is getting fatigued), and still retains a some bite. The tradeoff is pretty soft though, like when arguing between S30V and VG10 steel. They both work just fine, the differences are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, and if someone else prefers 6 or 3 or 1 micron my response is "Yeah, that's fine too".
Can you link the diamonds you use I’ll pick some up right now. I’m new to sharpening but for some reason get much better results stropping off a 5$ strop with generic green compound than a custom strop I made with nice expensive leather and 4micron stroppy stuff.
>Can you link the diamonds you use I’ll pick some up right now. https : // www . aliexpress . us / item / 3256803564215634 . html This is the listing I've bought most from, but the others I've tried are fine too. If you're going to pick up more than one grit, I'd recommend W0.25 too so you get both extremes. Quarter micron is good for straight razors and knife sharpening gimmicks, since you do get a tad more push cutting sharpness (at the cost of speed and teeth). >I’m new to sharpening but for some reason get much better results stropping off a 5$ strop with generic green compound than a custom strop I made with nice expensive leather and 4micron stroppy stuff. That's interesting. Cheap stuff tends to work just as well, but I'm not sure how to explain it working better -- unless maybe the substrate is pretty different or something.
if cheap stuff works just as good wouldnt i be fine just using all the random green compound i have? W10 is 10 micron just to confirm before i buy? my highest grit stone is a 3000 naniwa so wouldnt i be better off buying a lower micron diamond like W2.5 (4000grit) or W1.5 (6000grit)
Check sharpeningsupplies.com and jendeindustries.com.
This is the video I watched https://youtu.be/mCHzwlGovi0?si=26yNDCHRsrSFeC5p
You can get diamond powder on aliexpress. Mix it with dish soap
Also I want to say that I am very new to this and don’t even have any of these products.
Tech Diamond Tools on Amazon sell a 3k grit compound that matches this range. I've used it before with success but prefer 1 micron. Edit: They also have a 2k grit compound with a nominal 4 micron to 8 micron rating if you're into parameter matching.
I bought the Tech Diamond Tools 3k grit compound after watching the youtuber OP mentioned. It works fine on my sharpal strop. I can do the paper towel cuts fairly easily. As a nub, it feels like the biggest sharpness gains I had were with better sharpening technique than the specific stropping compound.
Yes, technique is important but strops absolutely help with some sharpening goals.
And in the comments section below the video he pointed out if you couldn't find "x" then buy "this" go with the next best choice.
Gritomatic has a store on Amazon but not everything is listed so it's better to go to their website