Thread: CBN strops.... a thought

Originally Posted by DoctorSaul

I've been pondering the real differences in stropping with CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) on nanocloth mounted on a glass plate, vs. a flexible nanocloth (unmounted, like what Dr. Matt sells). It seems to me that the flat glass mounted strop would work well only if the razor edge is absolutely flat along the complete razor edge.
...snip.....

The glass plate makes a lot of sense each time the abrasive changes.

The limited give of the nanocloth and the uniform thickness of the cloth preserves that same flatness
which is a good thing. The slight give of cloth may compensate for some topology that his coarse diamond start
gives him that his hones do not quite remove. It might also account for the bright line that is a micro bevel.
The bright line is what whiskers see....

Of interest plate glass has some shallow waves in it that I did not expect. Shallow waves could be a good thing.

For faster cutting a light spray of CBN directly on glass works but will waste CBN and eventually
dish the glass. Spraying directly on glass is a lot like a slurry and does cut quickly. Playing with
slurry on glass is how I noticed the waves on my glass plates.

The nanocloth eliminates wasting CBN down the drain.

I played with abrasive film on glass for a long time and the precision of the edge and resulting edge
is way golly sharp. Pinnacle honing film is not longer available last I checked.

CBN cuts faster than diamond for some reason. CrOx also is a little bit faster than diamond but
harder to find in well sorted bits. CBN and diamond do not stain things...

Bottom line... how does it shave for you? For me 0.03micron film (push honing) is too sharp on the first shave
so I strop extra on felt and calm it or use a 10K - 15K hone instead.