Thread: CBN strops.... a thought

How about melding the two? Has anyone tried fiberglass cloth as a stropping medium, albeit an itchy one?

CBN is some cool stuff, been playing with it for a few years.

It come in some seriously small nano grit sizes, down to .10um, (160k grit) equivalents and does cut quickly, without the harsh edge that Diamonds can produce.

What impresses a lot of folks is its ability to completely remove the stria from a bevel that can be seen at 400 X, when used in progression, on a properly honed bevel and edge, without damaging the edge and in fact making the edge a bit smoother and Very Straight.

Actually there is not much difference in removing all the stria as opposed to a minimal stropping progression, in terms of comfort.

Like most paste, substrate does dictate results. It is best used misted wet with distilled water, as the partial size is smaller than minerals contained in some water, which eliminates most conventional substrates.

For best results it should be used in progression on a properly stropped razor to the smallest grit size. Size jumps are very large but still work well, for example from.25um, (60k) to .125um, (120K).

.50,/.25um and smaller can be used daily, and will eventually will remove all visible stria and can maintain a razor for a long, long time… indefinitely.

Strop contamination is an issue as partial size is smaller than dust.

As with all paste, stropping technique dictates results, it is not magic, it is just another, finer paste and tool.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

CBN is some cool stuff, been playing with it for a few years.

It come in some seriously small nano grit sizes, down to .10um, (160k grit) equivalents and does cut quickly, without the harsh edge that Diamonds can produce.

What impresses a lot of folks is its ability to completely remove the stria from a bevel that can be seen at 400 X, when used in progression, on a properly honed bevel and edge, without damaging the edge and in fact making the edge a bit smoother and Very Straight.

Actually there is not much difference in removing all the stria as opposed to a minimal stropping progression, in terms of comfort.

Like most paste, substrate does dictate results. It is best used misted wet with distilled water, as the partial size is smaller than minerals contained in some water, which eliminates most conventional substrates.

For best results it should be used in progression on a properly stropped razor to the smallest grit size. Size jumps are very large but still work well, for example from.25um, (60k) to .125um, (120K).

.50,/.25um and smaller can be used daily, and will eventually will remove all visible stria and can maintain a razor for a long, long time… indefinitely.

Strop contamination is an issue as partial size is smaller than dust.

As with all paste, stropping technique dictates results, it is not magic, it is just another, finer paste and tool.

Your knowledge on this subject is quite amazing. I am learning so much from you and so fast. I deeply appreciate your tutoring on these fine aspects of honing.

Originally Posted by Splashone

How about melding the two? Has anyone tried fiberglass cloth as a stropping medium, albeit an itchy one?

I would think that since the glass fibers are quite brittle, the act of stropping would break off fine pieces of glass fiber which, as you suspect, would not feel too good on the skin if left on the razor. As I understand it the advantage of a glass plate is that it is an unyielding flat surface that would be difficult to deform during the stropping process, hence eliminating the negative effects on the razor edge (roll over) that can occur with flexible strops or strop substrates that can be deformed with pressure.

Besides glass plate, I wonder if anyone has tried using a flat metal plate with an abrasive like CBN as a razor strop.

Originally Posted by DoctorSaul

I would think that since the glass fibers are quite brittle, the act of stropping would break off fine pieces of glass fiber which, as you suspect, would not feel too good on the skin if left on the razor. As I understand it the advantage of a glass plate is that it is an unyielding flat surface that would be difficult to deform during the stropping process, hence eliminating the negative effects on the razor edge (roll over) that can occur with flexible strops or strop substrates that can be deformed with pressure.

Besides glass plate, I wonder if anyone has tried using a flat metal plate with an abrasive like CBN as a razor strop.

Geeze, I neglected to give credit to Euclid440 for teaching me the use of non-deformable substrates and why "roll over" on a strop is to be avoided. Mea Culpa!

Pretty sure Jende is run by Tom Blodgett. On using soft vs. hard backing for the substrate, soft backing that has "give" will allow the abrasive to act like a finer one, evening out scratch depth and making scratches shallower. A hard substrate will of course do the opposite and leave a higher percentage of anomalous deep scratches.

Originally Posted by eKretz

Pretty sure Jende is run by Tom Blodgett. On using soft vs. hard backing for the substrate, soft backing that has "give" will allow the abrasive to act like a finer one, evening out scratch depth and making scratches shallower. A hard substrate will of course do the opposite and leave a higher percentage of anomalous deep scratches.

You are right... Tom Blodgett sells Ken Schwartz's products on the Jende website. Sorry for the misinformation.