Thread: How do you use your Cubic Boron Nitride

I use the CBN on felt exclusively right now. I have used in on a bench felt pad, hanging felt strop and paddle felt pad. I have also tested it on poly webbing, cotton canvas, leather and balsa and find that the hard felt simply provides the best and most consistent results right now. I find that the .5 CBN results are similar to the .5 diamond on the felt for both touch up and finishing after honing. My jury is out on the .125 and .25 as I find them to be hit and miss for touch ups and after the .5's. I normally will use only 5-7 strokes with any of these, but have tested them also at 10, 15 and 20 strokes. I think you would also be surprised with how well 3-5 strokes in lieu of the 5-7 too for both refreshing and at the end of the honing regiment. Very light pressure is key for me.

One thing I notice with CBN, Diamond Spray and Chromium Oxide is that when they hit, the sharpness to comfort ratio provides for a really nice shave.

Have fun.

I use an interfacing woven fabric, thinner that hard felt, but with the same properties, will take being wet and dries quickly.

CBN works best when lubricated with a fine mist of distilled water. The CBN hanging strop is sprayed with .50 on one side and .125 on the other. CBN will polish a bevel and make it gleam.

Stropped on Chrome Oxide first and then on a MAAS pasted hanging nylon strop will remove 80-90% of the stria on the bevel, polish and refine the edge. Then stropping with CBN at .05 and .125 will remove all the rest and leave a stria free bevel viewed at 100X, a super keen, yet comfortable edge.

A hanging strop will give you a convex, boat hull shaped bevel that will be stronger and last longer that a thin super sharp CBN paddle stropped edge. An edge stropped as above will last at least 2 weeks of daily shaving before keenness begins to fall off. 5-10 laps on the .125 will bring it right back.

CBN .125 is rated at 120k grit, provides the speed and sharpness of diamond with the comfort of an old Surgical Black Arkansas stone.