Thread: Diamond Spray on Stones: Your Techniques

Just wondering, for everyone who's tried this, what brand of diamond spray you've used & what stone you've sprayed it on.

For stones, I've tried it on both sides of a les Latneuses coticule, a black arkansas & a Jnat. Cutting is much slower than I expected--I'm either getting some type of slurry dulling or the bevel is just not being brought into shape off the 1k. Certainly not what I've been told to expect.

For spray, I'm using Graves 0.25 & seriously thinking of picking up either HA or SRD instead. I'm noticing what looks like particle agglomeration in both the bottle & on the stones (clearish crystalline-looking stuff), which would explain the lack of sharpness. The spray cuts only when concentrated w/ a bit of pressure on the stone. With water & next to no pressure (the recommended way), it does next to nothing.

Your thoughts, gentlemen?

I tried 50 X strokes on a CNat with .125 diamond spray which resulted in a very sharp but equally harsh edge. That was the end of my experimentation.

I'd be going to my 0.1 CBN after, but yeah, I've heard that can happen. I talked to RW himself about it (he's a great guy & very generous w/ his time!) & he also recommends following w/ a pasted strop of some kind. Sounds like a great system when I get it working, but pretty sure it's the spray @ this point.

Originally Posted by Bayamontate

I tried 50 X strokes on a CNat with .125 diamond spray which resulted in a very sharp but equally harsh edge. That was the end of my experimentation.

would 50 passes have been way too many?

Confirmed it's the spray--particle agglomeration. You can actually see the diamonds--they're now the size of sugar crystals. The vendor was great & refunded my money, but I'm once again looking for a 0.25 spray to be used on a stone. Leaning toward the SRD stuff, but have heard great things about HA as well. The deciding factor for me would be whether it works w/ tap water w/o congealing. Anyone used either on a stone, diluted w water?

I've had good success with SRD CrOx spray onto a Spyderco UF that I'd lapped the grooves out of. Keen and gentle. Superb finish for New York steel, in my experience.

Originally Posted by globaldev

would 50 passes have been way too many?

Could be, I'll take smooth over aggressive any day of the week.

Have you tried going to a pasted strop after the diamond slurry? That might work to smooth it out a bit more. Just out of curiosity, what brand of spray were you using & how much water did you add?

Tried it once on a very hard Iwasaki western. 0.5 SRD diamond spray on a lapped Spyderco UF then finished on my Asagi. Happy with the results but haven't needed to use it on mere mortal razors.

Interesting concept...why don't you pick up some balsa and spray it for your diamond spray. I only use my SRD .5 micron spray on a leather paddle strop personally.