Thank you Knipper, a solution at last.
I have been using grinding paste on my strop for some time. A few years ago I bought jewelers rouge but because it failed, I assumed I had purchased the wrong sort. Just last week I received some from the Tandy agent in Cape Town and so far I am very disappointed. Now I know why. I find I get the best results by first honing the blade and then a final honing on a small Arkansas stone. I have a strop with grinding paste which gives fair results, but I find the oiled Arkansas stone gives me the edge I am looking for. I will look into the availability of the compounds that you mention.
Thank you for clearing that problem.
Malcolm