Thread: The World's Cheapest 30k Hone

Originally Posted by majurey

You mean like in the photo below?

Yes, exactly..

Originally Posted by majurey

Perhaps it's the nature of the steel that allows for such aggressive paste stropping? The steel is Damascus (ATS34 and 440 folded together)

If I recollect correctly, those modern ATS-steels are the first steels that were actually developed for cutting applications. They're extremely wear resistant. (and for that reason equally resistant to the hones and pastes). Maybe that explains your observations.

Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

I believe you use it more preemptively than I do. I only touch-up on the CrO when normal stropping looses its ability to restore the razor to full keenness. If I understand correctly, you are in the habit of doing a few swipes on the CrO, every now and then, whenever you feel like it. (which might be much better than my approach).

Yes, that's it more or less. I do 5 strokes or so when the edge starts to feel rough. If I feel like I have to strop between passes for example that's a sign to me that five or ten licks on the chrome oxide are in order. When it pulls, on the other hand, I go back to the finishing stone.

Originally Posted by Bart

When you say 2-3 months, can you translate that in a number of shaves?

Probably between 25 and 30 shaves, depending on the razor.

I made one with slurry from a soft shobu-sougoroh(sp?) polish stone. Eh? maybe there is just not enough actual abrasive there, though i put n several coats and dried it with a heat gun. Or maybe just not enough laps.

Ever use left over slurry as a strop paste

I've thought about using slurry as a strop paste, Kevin but to date I have not decided on which medium would be best to mix it with. The only slurry powder I have is yellow coticule powder. I have about a solid tablespoon of yellow coticule powder I saved from lapping a bunch of vintage coticules in succession and evaporating the water from the clean rinse bucket I used to rinse off the coticule slurry. Chrome ox is so fine it mixes well with oil to make a paint. Coticule powder given the fact that it's coarser I would think wouldn't form such a thin smooth paste? Do you have some ideas about what to mix it with? The only reason I'd want to even try it is simply for experimentation sake.

Chris L

I have been folllowing this thread and researching others re: chromium oxide and strops. I still did not get a feeling of what the difference is between a paddle strop made of leather vs. balsa. It seems balsa is preferred for diamond pastes. Is there a difference for chromium oxide when used on a wood-backed leather or balsa paddle strop? (I intend to use it after a 12K stone. I use a linen then leather hanging strop before each shave.)
P.S. Tony did mention a different feel, more draw with the leather, but is there an actual different result in terms of sharpness, smoothness, etc. between the two?
Thanks,
Dave

I think a lot of the difference is that you can find balsa wood in convenient sizes in any hobby shop. Finding a nice piece of leather not so much. More than that, it doesn't take ANY skilz to glue a piece of balsa wood onto a piece of plywood or the likes (or you can even use it without backing). You might be able to screw up gluing leather to wood (probably have to put some effort into it though).

Not to try to hijack the thread or take away from the tension...but what about CrO on felt pads. Who out there uses felt as a medium?

Here is something with just a little twist to it..
My wife was recently in the city and I sent her to Lee Valley.. she picked up some Chrome Ox sandpaper
its a green paper that looks like it is on a plastic sheeting (mylar?) anyway I cut a strip of it to match my paddle strop and attached it with tape.. did about 20 stropping laps and checked the edge... polished to a high shine
tried a shave and it was very nice and smooth
not sure if I should attach it to a piece of glass with water as suction to hold in place or just keep using it on top of my leather paddle strop.
I had some Lee Valley contaminated CO and covered it over with the paper.. which should be true to its grit size

any input? anyone do anything like this before?

3M Micro-Abrasives for Sharpening - Lee Valley Tools
this is the link to the product.. I purchased a couple of each.. never tried the others yet.

"Hone" can be a verb or a noun. The use of wood with polishing compounds goes back a long way. Think of it as a trailing hone.