Thread: Chromium oxide on denim any good?

Hello!

So, I've got some 0.5 chromium oxide powder on the way which I'm thinking about mixing with some mineral oil either Lansky or Wahl clipper oil (I already have both of these oils).

I don't want to use my expensive leather strops. Instead, I'd prefer to paste a balsa bench but I was also considering the option of making a DIY paddle strop with some wood I've got in my backyard then glue some old Levi's denim on it. The I'd apply the chromium oxide & mineral oil mixture to the denim.

Do you think that'd be good for my razors?

I can anyway go the balsa bench way. But I'm curious if anyone here has some experience pasting denim? Any good results that way?

Kind regards,
CoffeeAddict24

I can't say for denim, but I personally have made a paddle strop with canvas on one side (with CrOx) and leather on the other side. It worked out well. Go light on the CrOx! Less is more.

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

I can't say for denim, but I personally have made a paddle strop with canvas on one side (with CrOx) and leather on the other side. It worked out well. Go light on the CrOx! Less is more.

What brands or models of SRs do you get good results that way?

Thanks a lot,
Kind regards,
CoffeeAddict24

Originally Posted by CoffeeAddict24

What brands or models of SRs do you get good results that way?

Thanks a lot,
Kind regards,
CoffeeAddict24

All of my razors (32 of them). You just have to pay attention to how you strop. They will tell you when they have had enough. It's a certain sound they make and it's hard to describe. But, you'll know when you hear it! Stop at that point, clean the blade, and take it to the leather.

As I recall we had a discussion years ago about just stropping a razor on denim you were wearing and some thought it worked well.

Personally I think canvas is a better idea and linen if you can get it. Denim might not last long and then if you glue it you got a mess to clean up.

Denim is similar to canvas. I don't see why it would not work. You might try it and let us know how it works. Then you could be the one to instruct.

If you're looking to blend chromium oxide with olive oil, I would suggest using vegetable-tanned belting cut to the desired length and sanded with some 120x garnet sandpaper to give the leather surface some tooth.

Hopefully, the Chromium Oxide you have is "razor quality" rather than tool grade. For best results you are looking for something that has a low level of impurities and a very tight particle size distribution around the 0.5 micron average.
Many of the green polishing compounds will have a blend of abrasives and will have a larger particle distribution. While that works well for polishing metals and tools, a few larger particles can ruin the edge of a razor.

If your razor hones stop around the 1 micron level, then using chromium oxide on denim, canvas, sail cloth, leather or microfiber strops can produce an even sharper smoother edge. But why stop there. There are microcrystaline diamond and cubic boron nitride abrasives that are even smaller. I have a tough beard and sensitive skin and found I get even better edges when they were stropped on 0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 micron CBN. I use strops of microfiber cloth backed by glass
plates. When I first got the 0.1 micron CBN, I doubted that I would be able to detect a significant difference between that and the 0.25 micron, but I was mistaken. It did make a difference.

I have a hanging Cro Ox coated leather strop that works great.

I bought a really cheap Macs leather hanging strop from Amazon, it cost somethikg like $20 Canadian. It definately isn't a strop I would risk my razors on but to use for Cro Ox it's just perfect.

I have Cr0x on a felt strop. It worked well back when I used it.
Less is more. That is a biggie.
On denim, I'm thinking it would work, but you need to be sure it's clean denim, or you're just going to be scratching the bevels with dirt/dust and that makes pits in your edge. Also, I think the denim will wear out and fray and then not work as well. But this is just a guess. Stropping on materials that are clean is the biggest part in my opinion.