Best Stropping Compound (Not an Opinion)

[JesusisLord]

So, let me tell you about this game-changer I stumbled upon – Gunny Juice. I've been into knives for a little bit now and tried my fair share of stuff to keep them sharp. I mean, I've tried the chromium oxide compounds, gave DMT Dia Spray a shot, you name it. But here's the deal: no matter what I used, by the end of the week, it was like a date with my sharpening stones was inevitable.

Then, out of curiosity (and maybe a bit of skepticism), I decided to give Gunny Juice a shot. I mean, people were raving about it online, but I was like, "Is this for real?" The price tag wasn't exactly pocket change, but I figured, why not? So, it arrives, and of course, it's the end of the week – prime time for my knives needing some sharpening.

I slapped on some Gunny Juice onto my strop, let it dry, and crossed my fingers. Well, men was I in for a surprise! This stuff not only brought my knives back to life, but it also made them slice through tomatoes like they were warm butter. I'm talking toothy edges just like I get with my sharpening stones.

This stuff really took my blades from "meh" to "heck yeah" in no time. And here's the kicker – I didn't have to bring out my stones by the end of the week.

So, for anyone out there who's been struggling to keep that perfect edge, seriously, give Gunny Juice a shot. It's like a secret weapon for your knives.

I only bought 1 Micron of Gunny Juice, since I already have 0.5 Micron of DMT Diamond Spray.

The DMT Diamond Spray isn't cheap either, but it's nowhere near Gunny Juice.

Leaving this here for anyone on the verge of spending money on stropping compounds. If you're going Diamond, I would go Gunny Juice, and not roam around wasting money on compounds trying to find that right one, like I did.

Gunny Juice literally has all the microns you need, which is a bummer because I already have other compounds on my strops that I don't want to use anymore after seeing the results from Gunny Juice.


Note: You don't need Gunny Juice to get a sharp knife, but if you're looking for a compound for stropping and haven't found the right one like me, I would not waste your money on anything else, but Gunny Juice. This isn't just another overhyped gimmick that folks blindly rally behind.

Just trying to save people time from trial and error like I did.


Anyone else tried Gunny Juice? Anyone else have the same experience?

 

[Rangen]

Gunny Juice is great stuff, and has received a lot of praise. I've used it, and Jende spray, and the Tech Diamond Tools paste, and paste from Ted Pella, pretty extensively. I used them for finishing razors on balsa with diamond spray, while I brought my honing skills and finishing stone collection up to snuff. I used them for stropping knives on basswood, before I switched to a combination of mostly not stropping, or stropping on unpasted leather, or on Nanohone's oddball diamond resin stones.

I don't seem to be as discerning as some other people, though. Other than some poor quality sprays that simply did not have enough diamond in the mix, and which I did not list above, I have not found significant differences in practice among the pastes and sprays, except perhaps in the amount you need to use. I'd happily use any of the ones I listed again, except that the Jende spray bottles sometimes come apart too easily, and I think their pricing was higher than others.

I also need to revisit the Venev and Poltava pastes, which did not work for me when I tried them, only because I did not realize that you have to use a hair dryer or something to get wax-based pastes to actually stay put on balsa or basswood.

 

[kayman67]

Thing is, when you find a diamond/cbn stuff that works without any hassle, you have this reaction of actual normality really. I know that feeling. This is how it was supposed to be, what was expected, but never met before.

 

[user 16756]

Ive tried a couple of diamond sprays and while Gunny Juice IS my favorite I dont think it's that much better than the next best alternative tbh.

One thing I'll give it credit for is application, much less clogging than others I've tried, though granted I'm using the finest one.

 

[Bear]

I've been using it for a few years now, I tried a few but this one is by far the best, try experimenting with the coarser grits.

 

[JesusisLord]

Thing is, when you find a diamond/cbn stuff that works without any hassle, you have this reaction of actual normality really. I know that feeling. This is how it was supposed to be, what was expected, but never met before

I agree!

 

[sansho]

first of all.. the product name is pretty funny. i can't be the only one that initially read that as something else.

back on topic, the only one i've ever used is 1µ "Richmond" brand from CKTG:

https://www.ϲhefknivestogo.com/ri1midisp2oz.html
how's that for a magic trick? ever seen a working CKTG link in this mofo?

has anyone else tried this one? i wonder where it sits in the lineup from a performance or value perspective.
it seems to have about 34mg of abrasive per mL (they state 10 carats (2g) of diamond per 2oz, which i am reluctantly interpreting as fl oz).

gunny juice does not seem to state how much abrasive they give you.

 

[BillHanna]

https://www.ϲhefknivestogo.com/ri1midisp2oz.html
how's that for a magic trick? ever seen a working CKTG link in this mofo?

WITCHCRAFT!!!

 

[Rangen]

The 1 micron choice is interesting. I would not have expected it to provide toothiness. I've only used 1 micron as part of a razor finisher sequence. I've used 8 and 4 and occasionally 2 on knives. Never occurred to me to try 1.

For reference, a Shapton Glass 16K has a 0.92 micron particle size.

Perhaps the 1 micron paste is just restoring the verve of toothiness that already existed in the edge.

 

[sansho]

all i can tell you is 1µ cuts (quickly refreshes) but doesn't seem to over-polish the edge. i've tested it for fun by trying to overstrop, and it still bit right through tomato skin.

it seems fine for my uses, and i don't feel a burning desire to try another grit. but i also don't know what i might be missing since i haven't tried anything else.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Shawn Houston uses Gunny Juice. That's good enough for me.

 

[JesusisLord]

I've been using it for a few years now, I tried a few but this one is by far the best, try experimenting with the coarser grits.

The 1 micron choice is interesting. I would not have expected it to provide toothiness. I've only used 1 micron as part of a razor finisher sequence. I've used 8 and 4 and occasionally 2 on knives. Never occurred to me to try 1.

For reference, a Shapton Glass 16K has a 0.92 micron particle size.

Perhaps the 1 micron paste is just restoring the verve of toothiness that already existed in the edge.

Same! I was expecting the one micron to be just like .5 DMT Dia spray, but it was way better. Brought my knives from being blunt to sharp. I can't imagine what the other microns do for Gunny Juice.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I have laboratory grade (and expensive) diamond lapping film. It doesn't really get any better. I have it in a few grits all the way down to .01um. I only use it for my high-carbide steels as there's no need for it on lesser steels.

That said, if I stropped on it and it brought my knife from blunt to sharp, I would sharpen my knife.

 

[Blank Blades.]

first of all.. the product name is pretty funny. i can't be the only one that initially read that as something else.

back on topic, the only one i've ever used is 1µ "Richmond" brand from CKTG:

https://www.ϲhefknivestogo.com/ri1midisp2oz.html
how's that for a magic trick? ever seen a working CKTG link in this mofo?

has anyone else tried this one? i wonder where it sits in the lineup from a performance or value perspective.
it seems to have about 34mg of abrasive per mL (they state 10 carats (2g) of diamond per 2oz, which i am reluctantly interpreting as fl oz).

gunny juice does not seem to state how much abrasive they give you.

I use the chef knives to go diamond spray. Ive been using the two bottle I've had for like 2 years now maybe.

I would say i like it as much as gunny juice.

Maybe the actual results from gunny juice are. Better. My only real complaint with gunny juice is, when i go to apply it. It soaks into the leather before i can spread it around much..so i end up seemingly having to use more than I think i should have to to get it applied.

But the diamond spray. I just apply it evenly (well, relatively) while spraying. (You have to shake first before you spray, and i keep shaking between sprays). Then let it dry.

I can say. As far as quality I like both above stuff like the venev diamond compound.

Through, for low alloy steels, when i use a stropping compound. I really just like the green sharpal compound I have. It seems to work really well. As far as the edges it produces.

 

[Blank Blades.]

The 1 micron choice is interesting. I would not have expected it to provide toothiness. I've only used 1 micron as part of a razor finisher sequence. I've used 8 and 4 and occasionally 2 on knives. Never occurred to me to try 1.

For reference, a Shapton Glass 16K has a 0.92 micron particle size.

Perhaps the 1 micron paste is just restoring the verve of toothiness that already existed in the edge.

I use 1 micron directly following either my f240, or f400 venevs. Or before it was dead, my dmt coarse..and it just adds a bit of refinement. Unless you are stropping at too high of an angle. You really won't loose any bite. Ime at least.

 

[Blank Blades.]

I have laboratory grade (and expensive) diamond lapping film. It doesn't really get any better. I have it in a few grits all the way down to .01um. I only use it for my high-carbide steels as there's no need for it on lesser steels.

That said, if I stropped on it and it brought my knife from blunt to sharp, I would sharpen my knife.

Those are basically what I use to polish my stuff. Never actually tried using them to sharpen. Great for polishing 10v though. (Idk what else i would do without them lol)

 

[sansho]

My only real complaint with gunny juice is, when i go to apply it. It soaks into the leather before i can spread it around much..so i end up seemingly having to use more than I think i should have to to get it applied.

gunny juice isn't a spray? i assumed it would be.

the richmond CKTG stuff is a spray. have used about half the bottle with no clogging. my complaint is you end up wasting a lot of it because it's hard to get a nice spray pattern that perfectly matches your strop diameter. if you want even application, there's always some overspray that just equates to wasted product.

still, even if you waste some, i guess i'd rather have a spray than something you have to drip on and spread around.

 

[Blank Blades.]

gunny juice isn't a spray? i assumed it would be.

the richmond CKTG stuff is a spray. have used about half the bottle with no clogging. my complaint is you end up wasting a lot of it because it's hard to get a nice spray pattern that perfectly matches your strop diameter. if you want even application, there's always some overspray that just equates to wasted product.

still, even if you waste some, i guess i'd rather have a spray than something you have to drip on and spread around.

Yeah. Their is wasted product on both sides. You just have to pick your poison.

I happen to prefer the spray application. But like I said. The actual results of gunny juice are very good. Maybe even a tiny bit better than the cktg spray. Though its close enough that I can't say for sure.

But yeah. Gunny juice isn't a spray. Its an emulsion that comes in kind of a squirt bottle thing that shoots out a bit of it, and you spread that on the stropping medium.

Tbh, i think I even prefer actual compounds for the application aspect alone. Though the only diamond compounds I've tried were the venev ones. And I wasn't crazy about the results of that stuff. Though I could go back and try again. Since its been a long time since I've given it a go.

 

[Ruso]

OP sounds like a comercial.