Dried out Smurf Poo, help please

[Hammock_man]

Kim picked up some smurf poo honing compound last bush moot and split it with me. Just come across my half and its a dried out stick, like a lump of light blue chalk. How do I soften it ready to use again. Is it just as simple as mixing a bit with water or is it oil based? My knives get used for battoning 90% of the time so I have never bothered to hone them. ( Plus I forgot I had the stuff!!)
Many thanks in advance

 

[hughlle1]

Does heat have any effect on its consistency?

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

Is it not wax based?

 

[decorum]

What I do with white jeweller's rouge (which is rock hard and dry ) is to use a small (food) grater to file/grind a bit off and add a bit of 3-in-1 oil to the shavings, stir it up and allow it to absorb a while and add a bit more oil if needed.

This may or may not also work for smurf poo

 

[Hammock_man]

Thanks for the replies so far

 

[Nice65]

It's generally pretty dry to begin with. I just scrub it on the strop, my leather is rough side up so it abrades the compound.

 

[Robson Valley]

Since it dried out, I'll suppose that it was mixed with water or vinegar, not oil or wax.

I bought a little pot of straight AlOx from a carving tool vendor. It's white. Blue will be some added color coding.
Honing compound to be smeared on denim cloth glued to a flat surface.
I was told that if it dried out, add vinegar and stir to make it 'smearable' again.

 

[Bazzworx]

You can heat it, it melts like wax. I bought a large lump of it melted it down and poured it into little moulds.

 

[C_Claycomb]

You have had it just since last Moot? Shouldn't be a problem. I have had mine at least three times longer than that and its as good now as it ever was. Always needed to be rubbed briskly and with some pressure on a strop. The idea is to get it hot and that softens it and spreads it on.

For info, many things, pastes and waxes included are mixed with hydrocarbons which evaporate and the whole lot dries out, without them being compatible with water, vinegar, or oil.

Mind you, in my view the ONLY good thing about Smurf Poo is that it IS dry! Makes it convenient to transport on trips. If you are at home, and you want performance, use Tormek compound or Autosol, both are pastes in tubes and work much better than S.P.

 

[robevs73]

Buy more and keep it in a plastic bag.

 

[Robson Valley]

"White Lightning" honing paste is AlOx mixed with vinegar. So sayeth the maker.
Supposed to be nominal 0.25 micron, works well.

I've never seen Autosol to try it but every report that I've ever read praises the stuff.

For honing my carving tools, I use a mix of CrOx & AlOx, green, mixed into some sort of wax. Lee Valley and others sell sticks of it.
The faster I scribble (friction heat), the more of it that comes off on whatever I use for a strop (mostly card stock, never leather.)

 

[Leshy]

Leave it out in the sun for an hour and then use it . 👍

 

[Nice65]

Autosol is a metal polishing compound used for cars and bikes, there should be an equivalent.

I've just started using this stuff, it works well.

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/pa...ecla-g3-permanent-scratch-remover-paste-150ml

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hey Robson Valley,

As Nice65 says, it is just a solvent/abrasive paste polish. Its a lot like Flitz in the US, and I am sure that places that sell automotive accessories, paints and bits should have something similar. Failing that, the Tormek paste is about the same, just a little more abrasive (not sure if its coarser, or just has more particles per cubic volume) http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67108&cat=1,43072,67090,67093

I recently tried the Autosol on a wide balsa wood strop (5mm balsa glued to a birch ply backing). Never tried balsa before, but oh my goodness is it good! All my chisels and planes loved it, and my kitchen knives are scary sharp. Firm and dead flat.

 

[Hammock_man]

Will try a drop of light oil but will also pick up a tube of Autosol. Like the idea of a balsa wood strop.

 

[Robson Valley]

Thanks for all the info. I have to be in the city for a week so I'll add Autosol to my list of things to buy.
I'll guess it's an oxide of iron (aka rust) or copper. Nominal particle size 0.25 micron and smaller.
It's an abrasive. However the scratches are so fine, we can't see them so the surface looks smooth and polished.
A quick look with a 10X lens is discouraging.

The waxy carrier in a bar of CrOx/AlOx softened my good leather strop over a decade so that's done and gone.
Instead, I use pieces of any handy box card, file folder, filing card and so on.
Just dabs of masking tape to hold it down is always good enough. Scribble fast and get busy.
None of those compress to rebound as the tool edge goes by.

 

[C_Claycomb]

The Autosol here, and the Tormek paste, are white/off white, so not likely to have iron oxide.