Thread: Iron Oxide Usage

Originally Posted by mparker762

Thanks for the information. I ordered the 0.09 iron oxide and the 0.3 micron chrome oxide. This should be interesting.

For those of you who are big fans of the coticule, I notice that they've also got 5 micron garnet - that's smaller than the garnets in a coticule.

I'm curious if these extremely fine powders have the clumping problems that bedevils aluminum oxide. You can get 0.05 micron aluminum oxide, for example, but it acts much bigger than that because at that size the particles clump together in threes and fours, so there's not much point. The 0.3 micron aluminum oxide doesn't do this and works fine. I suspect that this clumping effect is ultimately the limiting factor on the fineness of the nakayama hones.

If you get levigated alumina you won't have the clumping problem.

As far as the iron oxide goes that's pretty much what jewelers use (jewelers rouge) for polishing gold and silver-really soft metals. I can't see it as a sharpener. maybe to polish the edge but I would think there are better alternatives.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If you get levigated alumina you won't have the clumping problem.

As far as the iron oxide goes that's pretty much what jewelers use (jewelers rouge) for polishing gold and silver-really soft metals. I can't see it as a sharpener. maybe to polish the edge but I would think there are better alternatives.

I think the jewelers rouge is coarser than this though. The Dovo red paste is iron oxide and it sharpens fine, but it's about 3 microns IIRC. 0.1 micron diamond is a very slow worker so I suspect this 0.1 iron oxide won't really do much, but you never know until you try it. And that 0.3 micron chrome oxide could be especially interesting, I'm really curious to see how it compares to 0.25 diamond.

Originally Posted by mparker762

And that 0.3 micron chrome oxide could be especially interesting, I'm really curious to see how it compares to 0.25 diamond.

It is commonly said that, due to crystal shape and hardness, diamond cuts more rapidly than Chromium Oxide. But, creates a harsher, less smooth edge. Since the 0.3 micron Chromium Oxide is for all practical purposes the same average grit size as the 0.25 diamond, it got my attention enough to order the 0.3 micron Kremer Chromium Oxide.

I am using these pastes in different ways and combinations, trying to get a feel for the Chromium Oxide. The main way so far is to use the diamond 0.25 (speed) followed by the 0.3 Chromium Oxide (smoothness.)

I am not confident this even makes sense! Thoughts...

Feeling my way thru. So far, I like the 0.3 Chromium Oxide a lot.