Thread: Cerium Oxide for smoothness

Is it best to use these on hard felt? Where is that found? I'd like to try it out.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Is it best to use these on hard felt? Where is that found? I'd like to try it out.

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SRD might still sell felt.

Cerium is at the top of the heap in lapidary circles for polishing hard stones. Usually, it's used in a vibrating lap which is basically a tray with a felt pad and it sits on a motor that vibrates the tray. The felt is loaded with the Cerium and then saturated with water and then you start it and run it for days on end.

I am thinking why not use some compounds on a hone or maybe a like 8k dmt. Would the surface of say a very fine dmt be suitable for a layer of cbn, crox, cerium? Or any other hone, say a phig, as I don't think a phig would absorb much and could be lapped to get it clean again. Or how bout lapping a hone with a 120 dmt and using the compound to fill the scratch patterns and kind of supercharge the stone? Yes no maybe, anybody try it? If so did it work? Very light laps maybe? It would be like a j nat but with compound instead of stone dust. Or maybe a tomonagura with some cbn or other compound. I know cbn comes in different grits so a .1 micron might be too fine for a 12k hone, maybe a .5 micron. Anybody? Thanks.

There was a bit of experimentation done years back with CrOx, CBN and even Diamond pastes work on some of the hones..

IIRC working some stuff on the Spyderco UF bench hone.. Even some experimentation on polished marble with Nagura and the pastes to see if a hone was even needed

haven't heard much about it for quite some time..

I have experimented with paste and high grit stone without any great success. One of the problems I encountered is the limitation of the grit size of the hone.

The medium the paste is stropped on makes all the difference in results. With high grit micro pastes the hone grit is much courser than most paste, negating the paste and what you are using it for which is polishing, except possibly with very high grit friable stones in the hands of an experienced slurry builder.

In the end you are introducing more variables to the process, as it is we really can’t see exactly what is happening at the bevel and edge. It is better to hone the edge to the highest grit and finest finish, then paste to polish the edge on substrates that contain no grit, so you are using just the paste/spray to its full potential and control as many variables as possible.

I do not think a properly prepared bevel stropped on a grit free strop with a progression up to CBN .125 or .10 can be improved much for simplicity, keenness and comfort.

I can tell you from experience that .3 micron super cerium or .1 micron iron oxide slurries on a Spyderco UF with a very delicate amount of pressure won't do your edge any harm. The Spyderco UF should only be used for polishing.

Hi all,

It it available as a dispersion in 0.5 micron. This is primarily marketed at the electronic materials and optics folks so I dont know if this is available in the more general sense but it does exist. The other nicety about electronic/optical grade abrasives is that the particle size distribution is very, very good. That means when you order 0.5 micron you dont get any 2 micron boulders thrown in as a freebie

An inexpensive felt strop substitute can be had from Wally Mart or any craft store. They sell felt 1mm thick in 9X12 sheets, some with peel and stick backing. Plain sheets can be glued with spray adhesive or wood glue brushed to the substrate.

Cut into 3 inch strips, stick to a ¼ in MDF and paste and spray way. They usually cost about a buck each.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

An inexpensive felt strop substitute can be had from Wally Mart or any craft store. They sell felt 1mm thick in 9X12 sheets, some with peel and stick backing. Plain sheets can be glued with spray adhesive or wood glue brushed to the substrate.

Cut into 3 inch strips, stick to a ¼ in MDF and paste and spray way. They usually cost about a buck each.

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I'm wondering if that type of felt is firm enough to hone on. I have some felt from SRD and two other sources and the surface is a bit firmer than the Wal-Mart stuff. If anyone has had success with the W-Mart felt, please post.