Thread: How much improvement can I get with chromium oxide?

Originally Posted by WilliamDallaPorta

Thanks to all you guys that replied, I have a few more questions though. As I read the post of 10Pups I started wondering wether I should hone the razor which came in the sealed box (remembering it is a dovo, and most of them are not shave ready from the factory), I'm not sure if I should drop to the norton 4K - 8k -12k (naniwa), the reason I'm not sure it is because the razor doesn't perform a bad shave at all, it's just not good as the bismarck pre-honed. What do you guys think? And dropping down to the 4k to begin the progression wouldn't damage the edge that, in my opinion isn't so bad? What progression do you guys recomend if I chose to rehone the razor? Thanks to everybody.

that sounds okay... just keep a light touch on the hones.. If you want to do the Chromium Oxide, then just go to Hobby Lobby and get a piece of balsa wood and put the CO on that... If you like it advance up to buying another strop.. Truth be known though I just went down to the leather store and had them cut me a piece of cow hide, poked a hole through it an tied it to the towel bar... CO'd in a striped fashion and that serves as my CO strop.. It doesn't need to be a high dollar strop if you are just gonna gue it up anyway.

If I were doing it, I'd try 10 strokes on the CrO3 and shave test the edge, then 10 more if that didn't work. If that doesn't work then I'd go to the Naniwa 12k for about 5-10 strokes until the edge shaves better (after stropping) than it does now, then I'd use the CrO3 if you want the edge a tiny bit sharper and smoother. Like Wintchase said above, make sure your pressure on the hones is the lightest needed to keep the edge in contact with the hone and not skipping or chattering (this is what I've determined is "weight of the blade").

William

Much of razor maintenance and especially honing is problem solving. First you must uncover the problem. You can just bevel set and completely hone all razors that begin to flag and even then some/most razors will thwart your every effort until you determine the source of the problem. So first find out why your razor is not shaving. Most edge problems with novice shavers are caused by improper stropping. Stropping does take some time to learn.

A new unhoned razor is always suspect and a complete bevel set may be needed, I certainly would do so. But you may miss an opportunity to learn about an edge creation and maintenance.

Chrome Oxide is not magic dust or paste for that matter. It is an excellent polisher that I am sure you will not regret purchasing, though not expensive. It can be put on almost anything and get good results, leather, nylon, cotton, wood even plain paper or cardboard. I have achieved best results with Polyester Canvas and weaved Nylon.

Unless the bevel is properly set, where the two bevels meet completely in a straight edge and the entire edge is sharp, polishing that bevel does not reach the edge and it may take many, many laps with CO2 to create an edge. And if stropping was the cause, chances of success are slim.

So if the razor is lacking in shave quality, first inspect the edge to ensure there is an even edge. Look at the edge straight down with magnification and strong light. A sharp bevel will appear fuzzy, any shinny spots on the edge reflecting light is where the bevels are not meeting. HHT will only tell you that one hairs width spot where the razor touched a single hair is sharp, not the whole edge. There is a good You Tube video on this here