I have a lump of jeweler's rouge that was gifted me by my Uncle Gordon in London :-) I visited him and Aunty Fay during the summer after my first year at trade school. This must have been in '94 (?) I remember his advice that if I wanted to buy woodworking tools I ought to go 'south of the river' -- I did. Gordon was a leather-worker by trade; he did repairs of expensive leather-goods (handbags etc.) for the luxury-brands. He also repaired my vintage Swiss rucksack while I was there. He worked out of a quite small shed in the back garden of their semi-detached in north London, up Wembley way. I spent my days walking and looking at the great city and its people, refreshing myself in pubs at suitable intervals :-)
One evening, after dinner, he invited me out back and showed me his workshop; He had all the handtools, of course, and a great variety of materials, but also the benchtop-versions of the common leatherworking machinery (for instance, they use thicknessers similar to woodworking ones, just smaller!) But most importantly; he had the deep knowledge of his trade that made him capable of tackling all sorts of work and executing it impeccably. He was a true Master. We spent an evening out in that shed, and he explained the basics of his trade and tools. I'd had one year at furniture-maker school where my mind had been opened to the trade-way of thinking, so I could understand a bit of what he was talking about. His knowledge -- what I was able to comprehend of it -- was impressive.
During that evening, as we talked, he gathered a collection of leatherworking tools from his drawers and cabinets -- not the expensive versions, but the ones suitable to whet the appetites of a beginner -- and gave them to me. Just the basic tools for stitching leather by hand, a small spool of waxed thread ... and a lump of jeweler's rouge. "You can use this to hone your cutting edges on a piece of leather" he told me. I did not quite understand what he meant at the time, but now I'm trying to find out.
I still have that small collection of leather-working tools that he gave me; I keep them in a leather pencil case. I remember Uncle Gordon and Aunty Fay with great fondness, in their very English house with its front garden and gate, and the brightly painted, gloss lilac front door, the carpeted bathroom, and the narrow, fenced-in back garden with its little fish pond containing carp that would mesmerize their cats ... and Gordon's little shed where he would ply his trade. Even as a young and quite foolish man (all young men are foolish!) I sensed that Uncle Gordon was a very clever, very intelligent man; he had a gentle way about him, and a quiet and disarming sense of humour -- not at all obvious, but deep and warm. I think he viewed the world with quiet amusement. I wish more people were able to do that!
Ahhh, well ...
To get back to the nitty-gritty of the subject at hand: Veritas rates the abrasive grit-size of their honing compound to 0,5µ. I do not know what that is equal to in the 'P-scale', but 1µ is roughly equivalent to P 10.000. Why do I need to hone at a finer grit than this? What grit-size do you reckon jeweler's rouge to be?
Paul Sellers is a good redource
I'd suggest trying jeweler's rouge. I use it after green honing compound and it works a treat
I have a lump of jeweler's rouge that was gifted me by my Uncle Gordon in London :-) I visited him and Aunty Fay during the summer after my first year at trade school. This must have been in '94 (?) I remember his advice that if I wanted to buy woodworking tools I ought to go 'south of the river' -- I did. Gordon was a leather-worker by trade; he did repairs of expensive leather-goods (handbags etc.) for the luxury-brands. He also repaired my vintage Swiss rucksack while I was there. He worked out of a quite small shed in the back garden of their semi-detached in north London, up Wembley way. I spent my days walking and looking at the great city and its people, refreshing myself in pubs at suitable intervals :-)
One evening, after dinner, he invited me out back and showed me his workshop; He had all the handtools, of course, and a great variety of materials, but also the benchtop-versions of the common leatherworking machinery (for instance, they use thicknessers similar to woodworking ones, just smaller!) But most importantly; he had the deep knowledge of his trade that made him capable of tackling all sorts of work and executing it impeccably. He was a true Master. We spent an evening out in that shed, and he explained the basics of his trade and tools. I'd had one year at furniture-maker school where my mind had been opened to the trade-way of thinking, so I could understand a bit of what he was talking about. His knowledge -- what I was able to comprehend of it -- was impressive.
During that evening, as we talked, he gathered a collection of leatherworking tools from his drawers and cabinets -- not the expensive versions, but the ones suitable to whet the appetites of a beginner -- and gave them to me. Just the basic tools for stitching leather by hand, a small spool of waxed thread ... and a lump of jeweler's rouge. "You can use this to hone your cutting edges on a piece of leather" he told me. I did not quite understand what he meant at the time, but now I'm trying to find out.
I still have that small collection of leather-working tools that he gave me; I keep them in a leather pencil case. I remember Uncle Gordon and Aunty Fay with great fondness, in their very English house with its front garden and gate, and the brightly painted, gloss lilac front door, the carpeted bathroom, and the narrow, fenced-in back garden with its little fish pond containing carp that would mesmerize their cats ... and Gordon's little shed where he would ply his trade. Even as a young and quite foolish man (all young men are foolish!) I sensed that Uncle Gordon was a very clever, very intelligent man; he had a gentle way about him, and a quiet and disarming sense of humour -- not at all obvious, but deep and warm. I think he viewed the world with quiet amusement. I wish more people were able to do that!
Ahhh, well ...
To get back to the nitty-gritty of the subject at hand: Veritas rates the abrasive grit-size of their honing compound to 0,5µ. I do not know what that is equal to in the 'P-scale', but 1µ is roughly equivalent to P 10.000. Why do I need to hone at a finer grit than this? What grit-size do you reckon jeweler's rouge to be?
Thanks for the shout-out!