Thread: 12,000+ grit stone, or pasted paddle

Hey seniors,
which would be better - a 12,000+ grit stone, or a pasted paddle with 1um (and/or 0.5um) diamond cutting paste?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=4920


Certainly I'd never need to buy new tubes of paste, and I like the idea of something that won't wear out. But would a finished edge be put on better with a hard stone, or a soft balsa wood / leather paddle???

One tube of paste should be enough for a lifetime of personal use and the paddle would be quicker, easier to use and less messy. With that being said, I'll probably invest in a few fine finishers when the cashflow becomes better lol.

I honestly don't know.

I use a fine barbers hone and have been looking at a bench hone and pastes lately to see how they compare.

At that price for that size stone, if their grading is accurate it would be a good buy just to try it out, I'd like to se it compared to the Coticle(sp).

Actually I just saw the price and it's REALLY cheap. I'd get the 8x2" not b/c of the price but because 2" is easier to work with on a fine finisher. Still, you'll already be paying for shipping from Tony or you could get both

I use the 12K Woodcraft waterstone (larger of the two) and follow that with one of Tony Miller's 0.5 pasted paddles. This combination makes for a very sharp blade but I'm told by some of the honemeisters here that the Chinese stone cuts slower than most others. I don't mind this at all but probably wouldn't go for it if I was honing razors every day.

A lot of guys have been raving about chrome oxide paste and say it makes a silkier edge than the diamond paste, you might want to consider that instead.

The chromium does do a nice job and I have been doing a number of paddles with that too. I have not experimented with longevity though so cannot be sure how long one can ge before repasting is needed.

Tony

I use leather pads on my bench hone after using the Norton 4/8K. One pad has Boron Carbide paste (11K grit), and the other has Chromium Oxide paste (60K grit I think). It was inexpensive to purchase; and the small tubs of each paste may very well last me a lifetime. I am a complete novice when it comes to honing. I just got my honing stuff this past Christmas. I was able to take my first dull razor to super shave sharpness. The pasted leather pads were extreamly easy to use since it uses the stropping motion. It is possible one day I may use high grit finishing hones like the Escher or Shapton. Currently as I develop my honing skill on the Norton; I think will stick to finishing blades on pasted leather for quite some time due to its ease of use.

I've got diamond, boron carbide, and chrome oxide paddles and they're awfully convenient and effective. Maybe someday someone will come out with a sintered chrome oxide hone.

I don't think we can honesty answer which is 'better'. That likely falls into the 'preference' category. Each honer will find what works best for them.

Personally I use both a 12k stone and Cr2O3 as well as 0.25µ diamond paste. I find the Cr2O3 needs to be reapplied almost twice as often as the Diamond paste, but use about half as much when I do. Of those three, the 12k stone and the 0.25µ paste get spare use compared to the Cr2O3

X

sorry to jump in like this gentlemen but those of you who are using the boron carbide,how long is it lasting on your strops? I have one of Tony's balsa wood bench strops treated with it and it just never seems to quit. With diamond paste you can at least see a visable change in color. You know its taking steel. When the regular diamond turns very black or stops cutting well its time to treat the strop with fresh paste. The boron carbide is much more difficult to judge. At least for me any way. I guess what I'm trying to say is does the trapped steel particles in the boron carbide have an adverse effect on the razor being sharpened. How often should we look to freshen up the strops if this is the approach some of us are taking to finish a razor. Once again I'm sorry about the thread hijacking.