Thread: Chromium Oxide vs. Diamond Paste

I've read alot about chromium oxide and diamond paste. It seems alot of members here prefer the the chrom ox over the diamond paste as it results in in a smoother, more comfortable shaving edge. I'd love to hear some more opinions and details about this. In terms of shaving performance, how is a .5 diamond paste going to differ from a .5 chrom ox? Also, I'm interested in how many people drop all the way down to the .25 diamond paste. I have heard that this results in an edge that is too sharp for many, but that the edge can be calmed down a great deal by stropping on newspaper. I'm interested if this has any validity. One more question, what is the best source for chromium oxide?

-Hank

First I usually take my razors down to a .25 diamond paste. However, I find them a bit harsh. I have tried newspaper but find it a bit cumbersome. The best thing I have found is to use 0.5 CrO as a finish before stropping. While it is not as fine as the diamond paste, it seems to give a finer polish. It is wierd but it seems to work for me.

All things are not created equal.

Diamonds are very hard, crystal structures with very sharp edges, Chromium oxide is not as hard, nor does it have the knife like edges of diamonds, thus the two cut differently even though the particle size is the same. There are even different kinds of diamonds, monocrystalline and polycrystalline, and they behave differently as abrasives. This variation exists throughout the wonderful world of abrasives and the hones made with them and thus a source of constant mix and match usage amongst us straight shavers. As has been long known by those in the grinding and metal polishing industries, each metal/material is optimally cut/polished by some abrasive or combination of abrasives that won't necessarily work for another. Grit size is only one small part of the equation.

As for a source of Chromium Oxide powder, you can check with Japanese Knife Sharpening (scroll to the bottom of the page) as it appears they still have the Hand American lifetime supply tubs of the stuff. I'm not sure if Hand American is still packaging it though, so if you want it, I'd grab it asap to be on the safe side. I know the HA liquid stuff is no longer available which is a shame because I liked it quite a lot.

Regards

Kaptain "Chromium Oxide Powder brings a whole new meaning to *green thumb*" Zero

The CrO just puts a different kind of edge on the razor so its hard to compare. The .25 is harsh however that only lasts a shave or two. The diamond is very fast as a cutter and you have to be careful because if you go whole hog with the stuff you will wind up with a wonderfully kean edge full of microchips.

On most razors the .50 Cr is going to give the overall best, and smoothest results.... Some of us use a combonation on the razor, with a .50 Diamond followed by the .50 Cr
Now to be fair there are certain razors and certain steels that really shine from a .25 diamond paste, they will hold that fine of a edge, and not mircochip, or breakdown too fast.
But in general, and for most people, the .50 Cr is a perfect finish......

Since we are on the topics of Chromium and Diamond pastes how does the Shapton 30000 do in comparison to the pastes. I have used diamond pastes since I started shaving and they have worked very well for me. I am looking to expand and am wondering if the 30K ceramic will give me a lot smoother and long lasting blade.
I like the 0.25 paste but I do recognize the harshness that one gets.

Thanks,
Richard

Well, there you go, no sooner do I mention that something is no longer available and someone else jumps in and says it's back.

It appears that the liquid Chromium Oxide has made a comeback as noted in this post on the knifeforums. Rest assured, my order will be in as soon as it's available... it just worked really well for me when pasting bench strops for the first time.

Regards

Kaptain "Moan, and ye shall receive.... again?!?!" Zero

After honing and finishing with the 16K Shapton glass hone, I generally follow up with 5 strokes on a .5 micron dp pasted balsa paddle strop, then 5 strokes on a .25 micron dp pasted balsa paddle strop.

At this stage, I then give the razor around 10 passes on a leather strop pasted with .5 micron dp.

When I'm ready to shave, the razor gets 20 strops on the clean linen followed by 50 strops on leather.This has been giving very smooth,close and comfortable shaves with all my razors.

One thing I have learned from others here is trying to avoid the temptation of "touching" the edge to determine sharpness. For the longest time, I have repeatedly done this-and now I'm certain this has disturbed the edge. YMMV, but it has worked for me-so much so,that I (now get ready for this statement) finally have been satisfied with my honing.

I swear.

it shows available now
JapaneseKnifeSharpening.com

I'm a newb, so Im sure Im screwing up here, but I have pasted my cowide strop with .25 diamond paste I give it about 10-15 strokes and then 60 on the Latigo, I'm not getting the type of edge I like, I want a super sharp but smooth edge. My edge seems a bit rough, and I get some razor burn from it. I'm not sure though as I have only shave 7 times with a straight so far, but I'm def getting razor burn. The edge is sharp though, not snagging any hairs, but not smooth either. If that makes sense to everyone. I'm going to try newspaper or .50 CrOX. I just bought a barber's hone maybe to take the edge down a bit to a lesser fineness. I'm not sure if I can do that, I'm kinda lost a little here with this stuff. I bought a prehoned razor, but now I feel the honing is really the coolest part of this whole thing. Ok thats my 2 cents on .25 diamond paste.

Oh I have the .50 diamond paste, not sure if that's any better of an edge over the .25 per se, I mean I was looking at the mircoscope images of the edges in the wiki, and it seems the CrOX and the Spyderco provide the best edges to the razors.

cheers
D