Thread: chromium oxide

I'm debating the use and effectiveness of chromium oxide
I have applied a paste on leather and a crayon on a threaded strop
I got a dull edge a couple of days ago and I did 20 passes on the threaded strop and then 50 passes on leather with crayon
I saved the leather with paste for later in case I need it.

What is the expert's take on chromium oxide? Is it good? What is the best way to apply it.
my paste is drying up. what can I use to make it into a paste again instead of a solid film?

Thank you for your help.
I trust so many of you that are experts in sr. I have just been doing it about 4-5 years, but I love it.

Try using the search box, there are a multitude of threads on CroOx.

Basically it's great stuff, when used correctly. It can be applied to a number of substrates: cotton, hard felt, balsa or even cardboard. The trick is not to use too much and gently clean your bevel and spine after use so as not to contaminate your finishing strop.

Folks have kept well honed razors going for a long time using CrOx on a pasted strop and proper stropping technique on leather.

I second the advice on not using too much paste on the strop. A little goes a long way. A small jar or bottle will last a typical shaver a lifetime.

Here’s a video about loading a balsa strop - https://youtu.be/l2AD9ehKuVw

I have only had to add paste to my balsa strop twice in over 5 years.

Originally Posted by mitmitzoom

I'm debating the use and effectiveness of chromium oxide
I have applied a paste on leather and a crayon on a threaded strop
I got a dull edge a couple of days ago and I did 20 passes on the threaded strop and then 50 passes on leather with crayon
I saved the leather with paste for later in case I need it.

What is the expert's take on chromium oxide? Is it good? What is the best way to apply it.
my paste is drying up. what can I use to make it into a paste again instead of a solid film?

Thank you for your help.
I trust so many of you that are experts in sr. I have just been doing it about 4-5 years, but I love it.

Chromium oxide is very useful and indeed has been used for hundreds of years. For it to be truly effective you razor has to be already very sharp and shave ready. It’s good for squeezing a few extra notches of sharpness if you find you cannot take it there on the hone.

You said you a got a dull edge. If dull means it doesn’t shave at all, then you need to set a new bevel and hone it before hitting the chromium oxide.

Less is more with the stuff, if you do too many laps you can end up with a harsh foil edge.

DZEC, and Badgister hit the nail on the head for me, read; “well honed”, and “shave ready”, before you even think about CROX. Chromium oxide is the last thing I use after stones, And before stropping. You will not revive a non-shaving edge with any amount of reasonable stropping in pasted strops. You’re better off resetting your bevel and starting with a 1k edge. IMHO.

sorry, I was not clear
to me dull in this case, meant that it didn't shave well. Perhaps it needed some refreshing.
I didn't want to go all the way to the stones if I could avoid it. Sometimes you can't.
I learned from you guys that I should not strop it as many times as I was doing it.
Also, that I should leather strop it after the chromium oxide.

See? It is good to ask questions. That is how you learn.
Thanks to all

When I go to stones, I normally put some sort of tape on the edge to prevent honing to show over time.
I have some of my original razor that show hone wear and I have tried to avoid it by taping the edges.
Any comments on this?
Thank you

By the edge I think you mean the spine.

Most of us tape the spine when honing. It is not a one and done thing. The tape must be replaced when you see wear from the stone. This is particularly true with the lower grit stones.

I like Scotch 33 vinyl electrical tape.

I tape all of my razors prior to honing except for a couple. 3M Scotch 700 here.

If you use high-quality CrOx, it can do a great job. If you use low quality CrOx, you might make your edge worse. If you purchase from places like Harbor Freight or Amazon, many of the CrOX crayons do not tell you the grit size. Amazon sells CroX with grit sizes ranging from a low of 0.3 micron, which should be great to 5000 grit, which will ruin your edge. If the grit size is not noted, as with many green polishing compounds, you have no idea what you are getting. As long as you purchase CrOx that is in the 0.3-0.5 micron range, you should be fine. Product that is suitable for polishing glass or chisels might not be fine enough for polishing the edge of your razor.

Although they might be somewhat more expensive, you can get pastes and spray of either diamond or Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) abrasives which are high quality. I have 0.5 micron CrOX, but I also use 0.4, 0,25, and 0.1 micron CBN.

I will only use tape if I need to do some bevel repair on the 1k stone. After the bevel is fixed and set I remove the tape and sharpen and finish on coticule without tape.

Bevel work which requires more pressure and lower grit stones is what eats up the most metal on the spine. Once you have a good bevel you will likely never have to reset it during its lifetime of use and will only need to maintain it.

Edge maintenance only requires a fine hone or pastes, which removes very little metal. Given that I have about 20 razors in my rotation, I’m not worried about any unsightly hone wear occurring during my lifetime.

With practice you also learn to focus your honing stroke on the edge, thus putting less wear on the spine.

As beautiful as my razors are, I consider them to be tools and use them as such.