That's bizarre to me as well. Mixing the powder with a light oil ends up making a very thin paint that IME has taken days to wear off my fingers.
Chris L
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I have been using the liquid from Hand America and being water based it works really well. I put a few drops on my paddle strop, wet my finger with the kitchen faucet and spread evenly over the balsa. Water rinses off my finger easily. The paddle is dry in a couple hours but I have used before it drys and have had no problem.
bj
It's easy. it's mixed with a detergent. It conditions leather just fine, doesn't dry it out. When it's on your hands, it's basically green soap.
Sorry,about the power and liquid CrOx from Japaneseknifesharpening, mentioned above, can you use either on its own, can the powder be used on its own (or does it have to be made up into a paste?)?
Thanks
The powder can be used on its own. It's so fine that it rubs very easily into leather in a nice "self limiting" way. Meaning, a light tint is all that's needed for optimum results. The goal with chrome ox is NOT to slather or heavily apply it. For balsa, I do prefer mixing the powder with a light oil such as mineral oil. It soaks in a bit better. I don't "paint" the entire balsa surface but instead I "paint" a big "X" on the surface. The razors spread it around a bit more.
Chris L
Ben325e beat me to it, but yep! From japaneseknifesharpening.com:
And yup, the liquid can be used on its own, I like it much better than the powder.Quote:
Detergent based Liquid Chromium Oxide in a convenient squeeze applicator.
This is HandAmerican's "Original Formula" that they've been producing for many years. It's packed with so much chromium oxide that it could almost be considered a paste. Great to use on smooth leather either by itself or in combination with our pure dry chromium oxide powder.
Contains detergents for ease of cleaning from hands and clothes and also contains conditioners to help keep the leather pad supple.
How does Livi do to get that nice thick green finish on their stops then? 2mm thick coat? :D
I've always wondered about that, because if you listen to the general advice, he's got too much on there!
...but he's a razor-making genius, so I don't know.
Maybe he uses a mix of liquid and dry chro-ox, like Dave does