Thread: Maxing out Jnats

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Let's wrinkle the CrO2 also, just like the J-nats themselves there are different grades of Crox, and they are vastly different

From the Iron Oxide doused inconsistent "Crayon's that are for sale everywhere, that are designed for Buffing to the 99.99% pure .30~ "soft" powder that is available by searching at the Chemical Supply houses..

You can actually hear the difference while stropping, between many of them..

If you think CrO2 is created equal you would be very wrong

Glen,

I picked mine up from SRD and not sure where they sourced it from but they are currently out so guessing it's good quality ?

Here is what I got from SRD:

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

Glen,

I picked mine up from SRD and not sure where they sourced it from but they are currently out so guessing it's good quality ?

Here is what I got from SRD:

That was a Mastro Livi crayon. It's most unfortunate that he opted to cease doing business with SRD, as having his crayons shipped over from Italy costs 2x in shipping what the crayon does. Since this is no longer an option I bought the SRD spray. I don't know if it's as good as a Livi crayon, but the spray is definitely better than the wood working tools crayon that a lot of newcomers (myself included) bought when they were just getting into it and thought, "CrOx? This stuff right...?" No, not that stuff. Fortunately it still has it's uses, but comparing that to CrOx intended for razor use the difference is indeed night and day.

Originally Posted by Marshal

That was a Mastro Livi crayon. It's most unfortunate that he opted to cease doing business with SRD, as having his crayons shipped over from Italy costs 2x in shipping what the crayon does. Since this is no longer an option I bought the SRD spray. I don't know if it's as good as a Livi crayon, but the spray is definitely better than the wood working tools crayon that a lot of newcomers (myself included) bought when they were just getting into it and thought, "CrOx? This stuff right...?" No, not that stuff. Fortunately it still has it's uses, but comparing that to CrOx intended for razor use the difference is indeed night and day.

Yes it's pretty pricey getting from Livi, I priced it and the crayon is like 10 euro without VAT then it's another 29 euro to have it shipped so how often should it be applied to my leather, I have added it twice by lightly rubbing it on the roughed leather and the leather is black so you honestly can't see the green, I have been just giving it a few light rubs after 4-5 razors.

I've been using the paste from Maggard's since the Livi crayons became impractical:

Maggard Razors Chromium Oxide Paste 0.50 micron (20g) | Maggard Razors - Straight Razor Restoration, Custom Scales and Wet Shaving Products

Maggard Razors Iron Oxide Paste 0.10 micron (20g) | Maggard Razors - Straight Razor Restoration, Custom Scales and Wet Shaving Products

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

I've been using the paste from Maggard's since the Livi crayons became impractical:

Maggard Razors Chromium Oxide Paste 0.50 micron (20g) | Maggard Razors - Straight Razor Restoration, Custom Scales and Wet Shaving Products

Maggard Razors Iron Oxide Paste 0.10 micron (20g) | Maggard Razors - Straight Razor Restoration, Custom Scales and Wet Shaving Products

What advantage is there to using the 1.0 and .5 ?

I really don't know what the refresh rate would be. I've had that green Woodcraft crayon since I started, but discovered it can make a mighty harsh edge if not careful. So I didn't use it too much. And now that I have SRD paste to play with I've got one razor that I strop on .5 CrOx, .25 CBN, then .1 FeOx every shave. But it's only been 3 or 4 trips through the progression, and none of them even look discolored yet. Well, the CBN is practically invisible in spite of me using 2 treatments on the poly webbing but that's neither here nor there.

The vast majority of my stropping is plain old linen and leather. If a razor needs a touch up I pick a finishing stone and get to work. The pastes are more of a passing curiosity, and while they're surprisingly nice to shave with I dislike how keen they make an edge. Something jolts me during a pass or I'm just a little careless chances are I'd be making a post in the Cut of the Day thread. I'm happy with my current nick free streak and would like to keep it rolling as long as possible since I don't even know where my styptic pencil is.

Edit: .50 Micron is like a 30K stone.
.25 is 60K
.125 = 120K and .1 was something on the order of a 160K grit stone. Basically, lower number = finer polish/sharper blade.

I only use the .50 micron CrOx myself, but I know that some like to use FeOx to further refine their edges. My usage is limited to refreshing edges, I don't use it after honing.

Originally Posted by Marshal

I really don't know what the refresh rate would be. I've had that green Woodcraft crayon since I started, but discovered it can make a mighty harsh edge if not careful. So I didn't use it too much. And now that I have SRD paste to play with I've got one razor that I strop on .5 CrOx, .25 CBN, then .1 FeOx every shave. But it's only been 3 or 4 trips through the progression, and none of them even look discolored yet. Well, the CBN is practically invisible in spite of me using 2 treatments on the poly webbing but that's neither here nor there.

The vast majority of my stropping is plain old linen and leather. If a razor needs a touch up I pick a finishing stone and get to work. The pastes are more of a passing curiosity, and while they're surprisingly nice to shave with I dislike how keen they make an edge. Something jolts me during a pass or I'm just a little careless chances are I'd be making a post in the Cut of the Day thread. I'm happy with my current nick free streak and would like to keep it rolling as long as possible since I don't even know where my styptic pencil is.

Edit: .50 Micron is like a 30K stone.
.25 is 60K
.125 = 120K and .1 was something on the order of a 160K grit stone. Basically, lower number = finer polish/sharper blade.

I to am alot like you, have only been playing around with the .5 CrOx for maybe a month and can see where it helps but it does not feed that honing monkey on my back so I usually do a 4/8K Shapton GS and then one of several JNATS to finish on and do linen/leather but i have found out on a tug if i do say 5-7 light passes it will carry me for awhile longer.

If you look around at Lapidary suppliers or pottery manufacturers you will find the various chemicals available in reliable grits. Lapidarists sell Cerium and Chromium oxides, whilst potters deal in chromium oxide as they use it a a glaze in firing clay. I bought a jar of Chromium Oxide (100grams) for 8 bucks. That was four years ago and I've still got half a jar left.

I wouldn't use pottery pigments on my razors unless minimum mesh size of .5 micron is guaranteed.
Particle sizes are not always consistent & anything up to 40 micron could be present.