Thread: First Paddle or Bench Strop

Hey, Ilija. I own a regular carbon steel Dovo right now but what if in the future I would own a stainless steel razor ---how does Chromium Oxide handle stainless steel. I guess a general question would be: What are the limits of different abrasives when sharpening different steels? thanks,

Justin

You've got to remember - Ilija has stock in sandpaper and chromium oxide companies

All joking aside, I can't speak to the chromium oxide though my arm's been twisted enough that I have a tube on its way from HandAmerican.

I'll agree with Ilija if you're just trying to maintain the edge, from what I hear the best way to go is ChromOx.

I just got my 2-sided bench hone from Tony today. Simple but elegant and functional. Guess what's going on one side of it I haven't decided on the other.

I have a paddle with the diamond pastes in various grits and they all work well but I think I like the edge better off of a Norton. I'm told that diamond is very hard and can actually leave micro-chips in the blade edge and while microchips are good in electronics - not so good on my face. I'm looking forward to using the ChromOx next time I want to touch up the blade so I can make a comparison between the diamond pastes, Norton and green paint.

I don't know how any of this works with stainless, remember I just a young'un in the shaving world.

Chromium Oxide is a good idea, but I'd go two sided and get tan leather and balsa to see which works best.

X

Ok, Mr. Xman , what's the deal with the balsa? Fill me in, eh.

Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Ok, Mr. Xman , what's the deal with the balsa? Fill me in, eh.

Balsa wood is used as a surface to hold honing compounds like Chromium Oxide, just as you would with leather. Those that use it as an abrasive surface seem to like it a lot. I'm interested in giving it a try myself and don't think I can hold out too much longer. I'm broke and unemployed right now so I have a good reason to put off buying a balsa paddle.

X

Thanks to X , Steve, and Ilija. Appreciate it fellas.

Justin

Put me down in the "those who use balsa like it a lot" category. I have two abrasive setups: a paddle strop with leather and two pieces of pasted balsa.

I haven't had nearly as much success with the pasted leather as I have with the balsa. I think it's because the diamond grit embeds deeper into the balsa than the leather, making the balsa cut slower. I tend to overhone edges when I'm using the leather, but I haven't had that problem with the balsa. The balsa edges also feel smoother to me, again possibly because of the slower cutting process.

The jury's still out, though, since I have a few more combinations that I'll be trying out soon...

Josh

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Hey, Ilija. I own a regular carbon steel Dovo right now but what if in the future I would own a stainless steel razor ---how does Chromium Oxide handle stainless steel. I guess a general question would be: What are the limits of different abrasives when sharpening different steels? thanks,

Justin

Justin, in all honesty I have no idea. My only inox has been waiting for a re-scaling for a while now (longer than I've been using Cr2O3 ). Got too many real goodies on the project bench lol.
Chromium Oxide has 2 purposes:
1) To get you over the hump when you're ALMOST there
2) To give a shave-ready edge an extra-smooth polish
I try to make my own life easier and avoid #1. I did an experiment with a Swedish Frameback that Ivo gave me (thanks Ivo ) and tomorrow's shave-test will determine the role of 1000 grit sandpaper in bevel establishment and the value of my 3m stock