Honing Compound on MDF? Really??

[Jon Agnew]

I have seen several sites and forums on which people recommend using LV green honing compound on a piece of raw MDF. Does this really work? I'm having a really hard time wrapping my mind around this considering the great extent we go to to ensure that all of our sharpening supplies are flat to within .001" tolerance. If anyone has used this method with good results or just feels like enlightening me on why I should stop caring about flat, I would be very grateful.

[Joel Goodman]

MDF is pretty flat!

[Harlan Coverdale]

Can't explain the mechanics behind why, but it works well for me. I've also used a small piece of BB ply with good results.

[Zach England]

Can't explain the mechanics behind why, but it works well for me. I've also used a small piece of BB ply with good results.

With the plywood which way do you orient the grain on the top layer?

[Zach England]

I have seen several sites and forums on which people recommend using LV green honing compound on a piece of raw MDF. Does this really work? I'm having a really hard time wrapping my mind around this considering the great extent we go to to ensure that all of our sharpening supplies are flat to within .001" tolerance. If anyone has used this method with good results or just feels like enlightening me on why I should stop caring about flat, I would be very grateful.

I don't think the point us to stop caring about flat. it is that honing and stropping are fundamentally different operations. Afterall, leather is less flat than MDF.

I'll let someone with more knowledge tell me why. That's just a guess.

[Rick Markham]

David Charlesworth recommends it, and I have had great success using his methods to set up my planes etc. He recommends soaking the MDF in BLO and allowing it to dry for several weeks, in his book, he cheats using a thinner piece of MDF soaked in BLO and glues it to a piece of plywood stock. The thinner piece allows it to dry and cure faster, the plywood keeps it from warping over time. The BLO makes the MDF into a more ridgid surface helping to minimize wear on the MDF and providing a stable substrate for the diamonds to "imbed" in. I am wanting to try this and am interested to see if anyone else uses his method.

[Jon Agnew]

Well, I'm not about to argue with David Charlesworth.

[Montgomery Scott]

While the green compound is good stuff and I have some, I've been turned on to DurSol which is, IMO, more effective and easier to use than the green stick. It very effectively produces a mirror surface.

[Rick Markham]

Well, I'm not about to argue with David Charlesworth.

I know, I know... Gotta give credit due where credit is owed

I knew there would be flak for dropping the DC name

[Andrew Pitonyak]

What is BLO?

[Sam Takeuchi]

Try it, it works. Irregularities on MDF surface doesn't get transfered onto the blade. At this point, you apply light to moderate pressure on the blade and only for a few strokes, compound removes very tiny amount of metal that it's not going to cause irregularities or abnormality along the edge as long as you aren't rubbing the blade unevenly.

[Steve Dallas]

MDF is pretty flat!

A lot of things are flat over the relevant area in which one might strop. With a polishing compound applied, I'd be more concerned about smoothness and at a very low magnification, MDF isn't terribly smooth. Nor is leather, but its saving grace is its flexibility. I don't see MDF as an improvement over a leather strop charged with paste. Not sure what would motivate one to use MDF as a strop. Novelty? Seems silly. Efficacy? Over what? Cost? Okay, just don't tell us about the $35,000 worth of other equipment and fixtures in the shop and we won't challenge on that one. If a $10 piece of leather is breaking the bank then one has wandered into the wrong hobby. Get out now while you can.

[Ben Davis]

What is BLO?

Boiled Linseed Oil

[David Weaver]

A lot of things are flat over the relevant area in which one might strop. With a polishing compound applied, I'd be more concerned about smoothness and at a very low magnification, MDF isn't terribly smooth. Nor is leather, but its saving grace is its flexibility. I don't see MDF as an improvement over a leather strop charged with paste. Not sure what would motivate one to use MDF as a strop. Novelty? Seems silly. Efficacy? Over what? Cost? Okay, just don't tell us about the $35,000 worth of other equipment and fixtures in the shop and we won't challenge on that one. If a $10 piece of leather is breaking the bank then one has wandered into the wrong hobby. Get out now while you can.

MDF is an improvement over a leather strop because it allows you to hone without changing any geometry. You use it just like you'd hone on a fine stone, the metal removal is more aggressive (if you charge it regularly), and it's still an extremely fine edge.

The surface gets burnished and filled in with abrasive and lubricant and slick, it doesn't really resemble MDF.

I wouldn't use diamonds on MDF because there's no reason to with chromium oxide available. Green stuff on MDF creates an edge that is clearly sharper than any of my synthetic stones, including a shapton 15k, and it does a better job sharpening/finishing the edge on some steel that shaptons are marginal on (high speed steel).

You also have zero chance of having a wire edge on any standard tool steel when you're done.

I sharpen straight razors with a barber hone, well - two of them - one charged and one lubricated only. It's a completely different thing - the MDF strop/hone is much better suited to woodworking because you can use it on the front and back of the bevel as much as you want without dubbing anything.

[Zach England]

Do you only pull the blade towards you, or do you also push it?

MDF is an improvement over a leather strop because it allows you to hone without changing any geometry. You use it just like you'd hone on a fine stone, the metal removal is more aggressive (if you charge it regularly), and it's still an extremely fine edge.

The surface gets burnished and filled in with abrasive and lubricant and slick, it doesn't really resemble MDF.

I wouldn't use diamonds on MDF because there's no reason to with chromium oxide available. Green stuff on MDF creates an edge that is clearly sharper than any of my synthetic stones, including a shapton 15k, and it does a better job sharpening/finishing the edge on some steel that shaptons are marginal on (high speed steel).

You also have zero chance of having a wire edge on any standard tool steel when you're done.

I sharpen straight razors with a barber hone, well - two of them - one charged and one lubricated only. It's a completely different thing - the MDF strop/hone is much better suited to woodworking because you can use it on the front and back of the bevel as much as you want without dubbing anything.