Starkie Blue Metal Polishing Compound (AKA Smurf Poo)
Used in conjunction with a leather strop to achieve that razor edge on your knife. Any suitable piece of leather can be used as a strop. The paste should be put on the rough side of the leather rather than on the smooth face.
How it Works: 1. Vigorously rub this polishing compound stick onto your leather until you have an even, but thin, layer on the leather. In cold weather the paste will be hard but vigorous rubbing on the leather will still deposit a thin grey layer. Storing the paste in a warm environment makes it a little easier to rub onto the leather.
2. Once you begin stropping you will see the blue surface slowly turning black as it removes a microscopically thin layer of metal leaving you with a razor sharp edge.
Leather is mildly abrasive in itself, this compound speeds up the process of stropping considerably.
For those who do not know, stropping is the reverse of sharpening. You draw the blade across the leather in the opposite direction to sharpening. Keep the blade angle the same as when sharpening but draw the blade across the leather backwards. When sharpening you draw the knife across the sharpener as if trying to take a thin slice off the top of the stone, but when stropping you draw the blade backwards at the same angle. Do this on alternative sides, always keeping the same angle, and you will develop a razor edge surprisingly quickly.
