Thread: Chromium oxide ?????

Ok so yesterday I have received the red oxide from the merchant, it is ferrous oxide so I was a little comprehensive as a doubt rust is harder than razor steel, never less water carved Great Canyon and I reallllllly doubt water is harder than rocks over there. I didn't have any clean leather anymore, but I should soon. I sprinkled a little of the powder on a folded plane sheet of paper (90gs I believe). I put the paper on smoothest stone I had and did a little stropping. I did about 20-25 strops on each side with no pressure, and the shave is surprisingly good, not so much sharper as smoother than just stone. Soon I will get some chromium oxide with right particle size and compare the result. I'm gonna try progression CrOx to FrOx to plain leather as well, but that all in time.
Rafal

Originally Posted by RafalS

Ok so yesterday I have received the red oxide from the merchant, it is ferrous oxide so I was a little comprehensive as a doubt rust is harder than razor steel, never less water carved Great Canyon and I reallllllly doubt water is harder than rocks over there. I didn't have any clean leather anymore, but I should soon. I sprinkled a little of the powder on a folded plane sheet of paper (90gs I believe). I put the paper on smoothest stone I had and did a little stropping. I did about 20-25 strops on each side with no pressure, and the shave is surprisingly good, not so much sharper as smoother than just stone. Soon I will get some chromium oxide with right particle size and compare the result. I'm gonna try progression CrOx to FrOx to plain leather as well, but that all in time.
Rafal

i swear by CrOx and FeOx for refreshing my razors when they begin to pull, as well as at the end of my honing regimen.

i have learned from allot of very experienced members here on SRP that the most important thing when it comes to purchasing chromium oxide paste, powder or a crayon is the quality of the chromium oxide itself, or the percentage of purity... generally I go for a product that is at least in the 99.9% range...

the way I understand it is that if you buy a less pure chromium oxide from a less than reputable dealer... let's say a hardware distributor... you can end up with other substances within the powder or paste which can cause the particle size to vary greatly..... straight razor quality CrOx should have particles between 0.3 to 0.5 microns... some users on the forum have used a microscope and have noted that some chromium oxide from some vendors have particle sizes mixed in that go all the way up to several microns in size...

typically I buy my chromium oxide from either SRD, Lynn gets his CrOx crayon and mixes his liquid spray from the same source that the famous Mastro Livi gets his from...it is very high quality...

you could also try GemStar custom razors, Glenn (gssixgun) provides a pre-mixed paste which is 99.99% pure and is a great price, works beautifully.

also Larry @ Whipped Dog Razors sells 99.9% pure Chromium Oxide and Iron Oxide powder which come from Kremer pigments....its very easy to mix with a small amount of plain mineral oil until you get a paint-like consistency, then simply apply a small amount to one side of a piece of balsa wood and spread it out nicely, then; once dry do the same on the opposite side and you've got yourself a VERY affordable homemade pasted strop

I'm going to try the legendary strop maker Neil Miller just because of the postage cost, its kind of un economical to buy from states. Neil sells 10g bags of cerium, chromium and tin oxides I just need to email him to ask about the particle size, but I can imagine whatever he have is what should be used for stropping.