Thread: Chromium Oxide vs. Diamond Paste

hi at first welcome.
Now your blades should be sharp enough at first then you can use pastes.What i am trying to say.if your blade dull and you are trying to sharpen with chr02 it will take way long time to do so.What type hone you bought?name of it please.if this is barber hone you can it to keep edge sharp enough and use chro2 smooth it up.hope this helps

Hi hi_bud_gl, you should know the barber hone, I bought it from you lol.

Our Very Best

Ok sounds like good advice, I gave it 5 passes on the .25 diamond tonight and about 80 on the leather.

cheers
D

on the strop the CrOx is smoother than the 0.25 micron diamond, but on balsa or a peice of paper, they seem about equal. The 0.1 micron diamond is the smoothest.

Interesting old thread here.
I just bought some .25 diamond spray and some .5 CO paste made by handamerica and sold up here in Canada online at classicedge.ca to try out.
I applied the CO to a balsa stropping board, and the diamond on a felt board.
To my magnifier and eye the .5 CO seems to shine the edge up better than the .25 diamond which surprised me.
I am waiting on a microscope add on for my iphone which will hopefully give me the ability to actually post the different edges I am getting so far as I get into this aspect of SRs more than I expected to.
Chasing a perfect edge seems perfectly logical to me now..
;-)

Forget about which shines better. It's about which gives the smoothest shave. I'd bet on the CrO.

a good edge is not done with paste or dimond sprays IMO thay only make it sharper as in thay only make the edge more agressive. you can make a scratch "free" bevel like this. it will give you a sharp edge but not smooth.

Shapton 16k


Here is same bevel, applying a jnat finish and it looks like this and feels 10 times better IMO.

JNat

It gets pretty subjective above 16k. For me it's about bringing the best out of the razor & that's not always on a jnat but it's often a good start.

I think what you will find is that diamond edges will tend to be slightly harsh and has an uncanny ability to cut you if you are using any kind of scything motion. In my personal experience diamonds cut extremely well but the problem is that all the particles are of the same geometric shape and cut grooves that leave a slightly "toothy" edge. This can be mitigated by dropping to 0.1 micron but still the smoothness of the shave will not compare to an edge like the one pictured of the J-Nat matted pattern. I am to impatient with Chromium. I know that it works for a lot of people but, for me, not so much.

There is another alternative and that is CBN (Carbon Boron Nitride) and it cuts extremely fast. The pattern that is seen on the bevel very much mimics a J-Nat pattern but is able to polish to 0.1 micron (about 160,000 grit) and leaves a diamond white reflection with a matted pattern. Excellent, but very keen edge.

Concerning the reflection of the bevel. I have read some articles that indicate that Japanese masters look at the reflection and gauge the smoothness of the edge by using that visual clue. One must however realize that the reflection is only part of the story, the other being the pattern on the steel that is giving off the reflection.

Good luck with your journey! I though that you should be aware that diamond edges can cause some problems that will come out of the blue. Like......sh-t.....why that cut? I would hate for you to go down the long road that I did when I was in my "Diamond" phase because cuts suck!

Great insights gents thanks..
My finest hone currently is 12k and after that I have balsa, felt and leather I will be filling on boards as well as hanging with the diamond and CO respectively to test.
I'm searching for a charnley forest or Jnat finisher on eBay but for now have the tools and time to test my edges and techniques.
Cheers..

Originally Posted by riooso

I think what you will find is that diamond edges will tend to be slightly harsh and has an uncanny ability to cut you if you are using any kind of scything motion. In my personal experience diamonds cut extremely well but the problem is that all the particles are of the same geometric shape and cut grooves that leave a slightly "toothy" edge. This can be mitigated by dropping to 0.1 micron but still the smoothness of the shave will not compare to an edge like the one pictured of the J-Nat matted pattern. I am to impatient with Chromium. I know that it works for a lot of people but, for me, not so much.

There is another alternative and that is CBN (Carbon Boron Nitride) and it cuts extremely fast. The pattern that is seen on the bevel very much mimics a J-Nat pattern but is able to polish to 0.1 micron (about 160,000 grit) and leaves a diamond white reflection with a matted pattern. Excellent, but very keen edge.

Concerning the reflection of the bevel. I have read some articles that indicate that Japanese masters look at the reflection and gauge the smoothness of the edge by using that visual clue. One must however realize that the reflection is only part of the story, the other being the pattern on the steel that is giving off the reflection.

Good luck with your journey! I though that you should be aware that diamond edges can cause some problems that will come out of the blue. Like......sh-t.....why that cut? I would hate for you to go down the long road that I did when I was in my "Diamond" phase because cuts suck!

Any links to the articles?

I don't like the edge diamonds give either, hard to keep the blade on the outside of the skin.