Thread: My First Post

Hi Everyone. I've just joined SRP having looked at the site many times and found the level of advice, help, tutorials and enthusiasm just great. I started using an SR about 3 months ago and am now at the stage where I rotate my collection of 4 daily.

I could do with some advice regarding fine tuning - having read good reports about diamond paste I made a leather bench strop with TI 0.25 and also a balsa strop with Chromox. After touching up on a 10k Naniwa I did about 20 laps on the diamond and 10 on the Chromox which resulted in something less than smooth edge although a touch aggressive. My question is, as the balsa is very slick would I be better pasting Chromox onto a leather rather than balsa paddle? Or, can anyone advise whether it would be better to invest in a finer stone to get a more refined edge?

Welcome,

One thing is to make sure your coating of diamond paste is not too thick on the balsa. You really only just want to see it a little vs. caking it on. The other thing is that in my opinion, 20 strokes is a lot. You might want to try incriments of 5 strokes next time around, strop and then test the razor before doing any more. The diamond paste can be pretty agressive and mess up an edge when too many strokes are used. You may also want to try the .5 before going to the .25 and see what results you get. Another important point is that you should be using no more pressure than the weight of the blade when refreshing like this. You can try a little of the diamond paste on the back of your leather strop and see where your preference falls out.

I normally do not use use both chromium oxide and diamond paste or spray although if the test is a little coarse after the diamond, a few strokes on the chromium with usually help. By few, I mean 3-5.

Have fun.

Lynn, thanks for the advice, I'll see how it goes next time. My real question is whether the Chromox would be better on a leather paddle - I'me using balsa at the moment with no residue, but it seems very slick, so I'm wondereing whether it is not toning down the diamond spray.

Last question, would I be better off using a stone and forgetting diamond paste and Chromox altogether?

The diamond paste dries pretty hard so it will feel a little slick. Especially if you have a lot on the strop. The chromium oxide works pretty good on leather, but It will work on most surfaces depending on application. I normally recommend that folks use the pastes or sprays at first for refreshing, but a finishing stone is always good. Some use just the stone and some follow up with paste or sprays after it. It will be what preference you develop.

Have fun.

Welcome to SRP. I like diamond spray or paste on balsa and felt, and chrom-ox on leather or felt. Truth be told I haven't tried chrom-ox on balsa but it would probably work well. Not a substitute for a good finishing stone IMHO but a good adjunct.

I have used chrome ox on both leather & balsa and find I prefer a very light coat of cr-ox on leather best.
I have tried diamond on leather and find it to aggressive. It seems that a lot of guys prefer the diamond on felt the best. Not as aggressive from what they have posted about it.
Pay attention to Lynns instructions as to the number of laps to use.

Hi Jimmy, thanks for the advice - I have read lots of articles about finishing stones and am quite confused as to which is best, so I would appreciate your and any other opinions. If I use the 10k stone for refreshing the edge what is a good stone to fibish off with. I appreciate that this is a very personal area, and given the scarcity of original stones in the UK, I would appreciate your advice on the modern alternatives.