Is there any detriment to doing 15 laps on Chromium Oxide every 3 or 6 shaves to keep the blade at its best, even if it doesn't seem to need it?
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Is there any detriment to doing 15 laps on Chromium Oxide every 3 or 6 shaves to keep the blade at its best, even if it doesn't seem to need it?
I don't know but it is an abrasive. You're removing metal and it adds up. IOW, if you use the same one or two razors and do the chrom-ox that often eventually, it seems to me, you would wear the blade prematurely. :thinking:
CrOx should not be used that much. Maybe once a month if you are using your razor daily. I would suggest that you work on stropping the razor. Practice with a butter knife, look at the videos and watch what other guys are doing. If you have an SRP member near your home, go see him and have him help you. This is a great hobby and you never stop learning.:banghead:
How are you applying it? If it is on a yielding surface like leather, then in theory at least you will eventually round the bevel. So by CrOX-ing more frequently you are hurrying that process along. Whether rounding the bevel is in itself bad, or whether it just means more work on the hones (eventually) is a matter for more theoretical discussions. On top of that, I have not seen any experiments suggesting the average rate of rounding-degeneration until edge failure, so who even knows if it matters at all?
So I guess I'd say it is your razor, do as you wish with it.
James.
When answering a question like that, it should always be prefaced with 'In my opinion' as each person will have a preference.
Now, my 'preference' is that 15 laps is too much. You can really make an edge harsh doing that many laps on CrOx. I use a balsa paddle strop covered in CrOx myself. I do 5 laps on it when I finish honing a razor just to put that final 'sharp' feeling to it. Then when I think a razor is not quite up to par, before I simply re-hone it, I'll give it 5 laps on my CrOx paddle and try it again. It usually harsh'es (I know that's not a word, heheh) the edge back up. I like an edge to feel kind of 'crispy' on my face, and 5 laps usually makes that happen. 15 laps might be a little more than is necessary.
There shouldn't really be any 'detriment' to your blade. I tended to do too many laps in my earlier days and found the edges just a tad too harsh, I lean a little more toward smooth these days.
It's really all just personal preference. I don't believe it can really harm your razor though. Try fewer laps, you might find you just don't need 15 to get the same feeling. :)
Good luck!!!
M
It's easy to overdo it like that. The better you get at stropping, the more you'll stretch that time frame out. I don't think you'll do any long term damage to the edge though. You'll just have to hone for corrections, a lot!
Using a very light touch on balsa is probably OK. However, I concur that you can get too much of a good thing with CrO. It is an abrasive. Stropping with CrO once per month is probably sufficient for a daily shaver.
If it works for you, go for it! I would say every 6 shaves would work but different razors might not work as well, if your new to this eventuallyQuote:
Originally Posted by TheLegalRazor
you will figure out what works for you.
I find 15 to be too much. For touchups, I do 7 passes..
-2 with a bit of pressure (still reasonably light.. you don't wanna press down hard)
-2 with less pressure (normal stroke)
-3 with just the weight of the razor
Every 5-10 shaves for my facial hair, ymmv on the frequency.
I don't love my razors as much as my shaves, so I overdo it cuz I just love a "freshly pasted razors edge." I prefer the Dovo Green Paste over my crox, but the fact still is that I hit it up on balsa every three shaves or so. Like I said, I love the shave it generates. Heck maybe that's why I tend to hone my razors a bit more (due to the rounding), but it's all good.
I figure my boy will still get good razors as my rotation seemingly grows when I am not looking, so I worry little with respect to metal loss.
But that's just me.
It depends on who you ask :p
Myself if I were you I would ask the guy in the Mirror when you are using the razor, his opinion is really the only one that counts...
Glen - I did enjoy following your past experiment with diamond spray which concluded that it does not round out an edge. That's what got me thinking about the frequent use of Chromium Oxide.
Thanks.
I was going to link that thread to you earlier, I was really trying to destroy that edge, I was expecting some type of failure, but was surprised with smooth close shaves for either 70+ or 90+ shaves and finally gave up from boredom.. Glad you had already found itQuote:
Originally Posted by TheLegalRazor
It depend on what you like but you did say "even if it doesn't seem to need it?". Most people just hit an edge when there is a drop in performance and being able to determine that take experience. You may need a bit of a keener razor because of your beard, I know that I do. If you really like that "just honed" kinda shave that would change things but Chromium comes in at 0.5 microns which is 40 to 60K grit. There may well be other finer pastes that may suit you better.
Changing over to a finer paste would change things a bit. I use 0.1 micron CBN and I would think that the question of removing metal would be a mute point considering that the grit rating comes in at 160,000. If I am wrong I appreciate the correction. I use it every 3 or 4 shaves on felt for about 10 laps depending on the razor and that keeps my razor going for about three months of great shaves.
Take Care,
Richard
As Richard says .1 CBN is great stuff,you are not going to do much damage with it.For me 15 strokes on a latigo Loom brings an edge right back to perfect.
Just a thought. But now a days razor hones aren't as popular as they perhaps once were but they may be a great option to consider for your case. They put little or no wear on your blade but freshen it nicely. 5 laps on a razor that was tugging and pulling can make all the difference. Try it out if you haven't already.
John
We're talking about wearing out razors here, but what razor are we talking about? Are we talking about something common like a dovo special? If so, I wouldn't worry about it at all, do whatever it takes to make your shave comfortable - if you're not that experienced, eventually you will stretch use of the chromium oxide further apart.
If you are, and you're using a common razor, I still wouldn't worry about it. It will take years and years to turn the razor into something that doesn't shave any longer, and you'll have had all of those years of good shaving.
If you're using an ultra rare razor, then maybe you want to add another more expendable razor in until you can stretch it. My shaves a year ago were such that I was touching up the razor once per week. Now I schedule to do it once per month (only bare leather between touch ups), and I just wrapped up 2 months of leather only (horse leather) without touching an abrasive - I think I could probably have gone another two months, but I just wanted a fresh edge. It was still a decent shave. For me, the key to stretching the razor out between abrasive sessions was getting the right leather (some finally worn in horse butt instead of cowhide, though I'm sure there are good settled in cowhide strops that would be fine, I just don't have one).
I use a rare razor, I wouldn't care about stretching it out if I didn't.
Given the 50K grit of CRox, I don't think dulling the blade is going to happen with the application of light and well applied strokes on whatever medium the CRox is put on.
If you have a slopy technique then you will dull the edge, or round the edge, no matter what type of spray you use.
IMHO, That is.
tinkersd or SRP!