Why use honing compoound?

[Mark Reich]

That’s very interesting Mark.
 
I’ve look around for CBN belts and have not been able to find any.  I wonder why?
 
So what linen belt do you use for the 80u CBN compound?  What weight?  Can you point me to one?
 
Can you really get an even grit distribution applying compound, better than say 220 grit bonded abrasive ceramic belt?
 
I would think that because the abrasive is not really fixed to the surface when using compound, that it would be less effective than a bonded abrasive belt.  It sounds like you are finding differently.

Are you really saying that just smearing on emulsion like this  works better than a bonded abrasive belt?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxJMSHR907s

I'm always willing to try/learn something new.

LOL!!  Wow! A blast from the past. I took that video of Ken in my old shop a few years ago.

To be fair, we shot that in one take. I don't think Ken had ever applied compound to an upright 1x42 before. I wish he would have been running the camera. I was very familiar with that operation by then, but Emulsions were new, as I remember. I use them on leather.

So yeah, that's about all there is to it, except I don't use a rubber glove to apply grit. It still makes me laugh when I think about that conversation. Rubber gloves... lol   Ken has a surgical background. I'm just a hick from the sticks.

The reason you don't see CBN belts is probably because the abrasive is really expensive, and almost nobody knows how to keep CBN or diamonds on a belt. Everyone is satisfied with the same old cheap stuff that's been available for a hundred years. I know someone makes a diamond belt, but they are truly outrageously priced. Like one 2x72 belt costs as much as a bottle of compound. 

You're right, it's counterintuitive to think that "loose" grit stays on a belt better than bonded grit, but it does, and I'll try to explain how I think this happens. 

The compounds I use on linen belts come with an oil base carrier. This "wet" carrier sticks to the belt, and the "loose" grit stays with the carrier. The grit can move on the belt without coming off. The cohesive property of the fluid carrier allows the grit to "tumble" on the belt without coming off, and I think I can prove it. 

When I have a freshly loaded belt, there is some excess compound on the belt. When I make a pass on a blade, that excess compound stays in a neat little line of wet compound on the blade. I wipe it off the blade with my dirty finger and put it right back on the belt, and I keep doing that until I get tired of it or until I accidently wipe it on my pants.

Bonded grit has no such flexibility or cohesion. It can't move in any way except to break off and become airborne. We all know how quickly and easily that happens, especially with a new belt. When the blade touches the belt, much of the brittle grit comes off immediately in a cloud of particles, and they don't come back to land on the belt. 

When I make my first pass on a regular belt, not only can I see and feel the grit exiting at high speed, there's dust on the blade. I've tried to put the dust back on the belt, but it's never helped much.

That's my story. It changes when I talk about water base compounds on leather belts, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you how well that works anyway.

Now, I haven't seen any other kind of linen belt, but I haven't been looking. After Mr.Rupert sent me some of these linen belts years ago, I bought in bulk. Sorry I wasn't clear about the linen belts.

Mr. pjwoolw is extremely knowledgeable. His word is gold, and I'm very happy to see him here. I've said this before, and I'll keep saying it- I feel very humbled and honored to be here, on this forum, with this League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Not just sharpeners- Gentlemen.

Surprisingly, many of us here today have known each other for a long time. We sorta "grew up" together on a different forum that was very special indeed.  

We're still carrying on, going about business as usual. Not much has changed, yet the world seems a little brighter once again.