Thread: 1 micron diamond paste instead of 12k stone for refreshing

I have some 1 micron diamond paste already and was wondering if I could use it instead of a 12k stone for refreshing the edge?

The progression would be 1 micron, .5 micron then linen then leather
Though I could throw in .25 micron as well. Would this work for refreshing only or do I need a 12k stone?

Lots of folks do that with great results.

I use .5 micron paste on canvas and finish on leather. Maintains edge. I only refresh my razor once a year (rotation of 8).

Depends on the quality of the Diamond paste, and the condition of the edge.
If it is quality paste, you can easily refresh on ,25um or .50um.

With paste, the substrate is almost as important as the paste. For Diamond, I use Sail Cloth (Polyester canvas) , but any canvas, nylon, polyester or cotton strapping available from any fabric store. The finer the weave the better.

There are several sources for Diamond paste and sprays now and it is very inexpensive. With paste you can thin with alcohol or distilled water, depending on the carrier and spray with a 2oz spray bottle, for an even application, You don’t need much, most folks use too much paste.

1um might be too aggressive and leave a toothy edge.

Thanks so far. I used to do good with the .5 but there comes the time when the .5 doesn't do it anymore and I would rather not spend 90-100 on a stone if I can avoid it. I plan to use the felt pad from my SRD modular strop as I have one that is so far unused.

For me, if .50um paste, Diamond or CBN will not bring an edge back, it gets a touch up on a finish hone.

But first, take a look at the edge with magnification, straight down on the edge. If you see shinny reflections, it’s chipped.

It usually does not take much time on the hone to re-finish the edge. You also might want to step up your refresh schedule on paste to stay ahead of the edge.

Depending on what you see when looking at the edge, you might try the 1um, you have nothing to lose at this point. Just watch your pressure with Diamond paste.

Here is what you want to look for.

(Second Try at Honing).

It is a bit long, but post 42, page 9, Photos 4 & 5 (upper right-hand corner) show and edge that is close, (not fully set). Post 51, page 11, first photo, shows a fully set bevel.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

For me, if .50um paste, Diamond or CBN will not bring an edge back, it gets a touch up on a finish hone.

But first, take a look at the edge with magnification, straight down on the edge. If you see shinny reflections, it’s chipped.

It usually does not take much time on the hone to re-finish the edge. You also might want to step up your refresh schedule on paste to stay ahead of the edge.

Depending on what you see when looking at the edge, you might try the 1um, you have nothing to lose at this point. Just watch your pressure with Diamond paste.

Here is what you want to look for.

(Second Try at Honing).

It is a bit long, but post 42, page 9, Photos 4 & 5 (upper right-hand corner) show and edge that is close, (not fully set). Post 51, page 11, first photo, shows a fully set bevel.

Thanks, what magnification would you recommend for looking at that edge?

Pretty much any magnification will work, or even just holding it under a strong light and rolling the edge back and forth, it will catch the light, if there are chips.

The best magnification for new guys is either a 30x lighten loupe 2-5 buck on line or a Carson 60-100X $0-15. I use both and they are LED lighted.

There are many posts on using magnification and these are the most popular due to cost. You can buy better quality, but you just want a quick look.

Another trick you can try, is run a QTip lightly along the edge, even a micro-chip will catch the cotton fibers. You can do much the same with a sharpie and ink both sides of an edge at the same time.

Paste works fine. But you have to know that eventually you will have to visit a stone. Stropping generally has a tendency to shorten the edge somewhat. which makes for a more comfortable edge and longer lasting one. Touching it up at that point would require imo at least a 4k stone to efficiently remove enough metal to make a rounded edge a v edge.

Originally Posted by Bill31521

Paste works fine. But you have to know that eventually you will have to visit a stone. Stropping generally has a tendency to shorten the edge somewhat. which makes for a more comfortable edge and longer lasting one. Touching it up at that point would require imo at least a 4k stone to efficiently remove enough metal to make a rounded edge a v edge.

I use diamond spray on the hard felt side of a wood paddle strop and CrOx on the balsa side of the same strop. I think the edges stay keener and last longer using pastes/sprays on a hard medium than they would on a fabric strop.