Thread: help decide what diamond paste i should try.

I decided I want to get some diamond paste, I have 0.5 chromium oxide already and wanted to try the diamond too see how it compares, so if it's not exactly the micron size listed I'm not too worried, but I don't really want to spend the full $22 for the spray so I've been looking around the internet for different options, I narrowed it down to a few I think would warrant consideration, mostly price if it turns out I don't like the feel of a diamond stropped edge it won't be too big of a deal but at the same time if it turns out to work fine I would like to figure out which is more economical a paste, a spray, or a powder.

TEMO 0.5 Micron 1 pc 5 gram syringes diamond compound polishing paste - Amazon.com

while only 5 grams it's the only supplier who has any feedback, even if none of it is about use for razors.
Amazon.com: Diamond Powder 50000 Grit 0-0.5microns -25cts.,= 5 Grams: Arts, Crafts & Sewing

Amazon.com: Diamond Powder #1/2 Micron (60,000 Grit) - 25 Ct Vial: Industrial & Scientific

while it doesn't have any feed back or reviews the shear amount of powder diamond is interesting, being twice the amount of what's in the SRD spray. so if this one if legit I would surely be set for a long time with this.

10 Gram W0 5 10000 Grit Diamond Polishing Lapping Paste Compound Oil Based | eBay

at 10grams its twice as big as the first paste and the brand does seem to have an established product in industrial diamond grind wheels and other abrasive products so it has a little more weight than some random non brand name paste out of china (most of these are from china anyways)

Diamond Compund Polishing Paste, 0.5 Micron, 10 gram - EQ-MW05

out off all of them I think this one has the most potential to be what it says it is, another member of the forum has a thread about buying this and said it worked well and seeing how it can be traced directly to a manufacturer who also makes other "research and engineer equipment" makes it look pretty legit, but also twice the price of the other stuff

(http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...tml#post251809)

so in conclusion I'm having trouble on which one I want to pick, so I wanted to see what others think.

You might also check out Thiers-Issard's diamond razor sharpening paste in crayon form at Classic Shaving & several other online suppliers. It's made by a name brand razor company. I'm thinking about trying it but have not yet used it. I've been using a 12K Naniwa or Coticule finishing hones followed by stropping on 0.50 micron Chromium Oxide sprayed on balsa wood. Straight razor shaving is a hobby whose enjoyment comes from not only the mastery of the skills of shaving or from close comfortable shaves but also from the pleasure of discovering new untried products and methods from the huge variety of options available that enhances the pleasureable pursuit of this hobby. Good luck in your pursuit-Have fun

after some more searching I found a thread I missed, talking about using diamond powder. from my understanding it was basically a success. and at about $7 for 10 CTS seems like a good price to test it at. so defiantly considering the powder now, but still need to do some more research on application, what to suspend it in and what ratio of diamond to suspension medium.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...r-0-1-2-m.html


http://www.diamondtech.com/products/...1a/&1244716636

" 0-1/2 Micron, 60,000 mesh, 10cts. per bottle. Used for final polishing and effective in applications where a super polish is required. 0-1/2 micron is the finest micron powder used in lapidary applications. Perfectionists looking for that ultimate polish may try 0-1/2. Cubic Zirconia polishers often use 0-1/2 diamond for a final polish."

hmm I wonder if they mean just their brand of diamond grit or the whole lapping field in general, if it's just their brand then why not make 0.25 if you already offer all the other grits and if your competition makes it. and if it's the industry as a whole then that about the people that claim to have 0.25 micron diamond? are they lying? or is the description wrong or just outdated? I guess its irrelevant to my current quest.

When it comes to diamond powder or paste price is not the important consideration. What makes one sample more expensive than the other is how well it is sorted. if you buy a certain grit and 30% of the contents is another grit you are going to have problems while another sample may have 90% or better sorting. That is what you pay for so instead of comparing price you need to find out how uniform the grit is throughout the product.

Yep what he said

Purity is the most important aspect of Pastes..

I look for 99.99% purity/uniformity ratings nothing is worse than doing all that great honing to get a beautiful edge and bevel and to find a huge scratch in there after stropping on cheap paste

"Optical Grade" is a good search parameter to put in your Google search

SRD has really good spray... not sure who is stocking the high quality Paste any longer been years since I bought mine Classic Shaving used to have it

I'm all but settled on this powder, it's cheap, has one other member on the forums that has used it with success, it comes from an American partner company, comes from a pretty large and established site, and unlike the eBay stuff that just has "diamond" in its description this product explicitly cites its use for optical applications as well as recorder heads. over all this seems like the best option outside of a premade spray from a vendor.

"Recommended applications:
Polishing - carbide/diamond wire drawing dies, precious/semi precious gemstones, metallographic specimens, and, optical lenses
Lapping - ceramic/carbide valve seats, wear parts, and glass components.
Super finishing - watch jewels, semiconducting crystals, ferrite type recorder heads, and numerous electronic components, gemstones."

so I ended up buying the .5 micron powder, I plan to use a balsa strop, now I just have to figure out what to mix the powder with and how much.

I was thinking mineral oil, and I read the mixture from chromoxide powder is 50/50, so maybe ill try that, but it seems like it would be pretty thick as 15 carats is all that's in 8 oz of filler for the SRD spray and most people have said one or 2 pumps is enough to charge a balsa strop, and diluting the paste with more mineral oil just seems like it would gunk up the balsa.

someone also said isopropyl alcohol but not too sure about that yet, it would make sense as it would evaporate and leave just the diamond in a thin layer, but not sure how well the powder will suspend in the alcohol.

it was also mentioned that you could make a oil, iso mix but havnt looked into that too much yet.

there is always the option of just brushing it on and smashing it into the wood like they did in the other thread, but that seems like the powder would rub off with no binder. guess I need to do some more digging.

(I don't know if anyone is actually reading this anymore, and I kind of answered my own original question, so this thread has kind of become more of a journal on what I've read what I plan to do and eventually results and final conclusion)

so looking threw a few metal working, gem cutting, knife, and woodworking forums a few people have said they mix there powder with straight denatured alcohol which must mean the diamond particles suspend well in it, at least long enough to spray, I would like to not use a spray as it seems kind of messy, you seem to get just as much off your strop as you get on it.

I've also read a few drops of oil prevent the diamond particles from sticking together, so it looks like I'm going to try go with a mixture mainly of mineral oil diluted with some 99% isopropyl alcohol. the mineral oil will act as the main carrier and the alcohol will act as an evaporating diluting which I hope will prevent the balsa from getting gummy or over oiled, and because its diluted it should be easier to apply to the balsa in a thinner layer.

so now it comes back too how much of each, I'm thinking 1 part diamond powder, 1 part mineral oil and 2-3 parts alcohol. more or less depending on how it interacts or how thick it ends up.....maybe reduce the oil by half since its filler (assuming the powder does indeed suspend in the alcohol and don't need the bulk oil) . I could use a crappy paint brush to paint it on and let it dry the oil should help hold the powder to the wood.

Originally Posted by keokitsune

someone also said isopropyl alcohol but not too sure about that yet, it would make sense as it would evaporate and leave just the diamond in a thin layer, but not sure how well the powder will suspend in the alcohol.

it was also mentioned that you could make a oil, iso mix but havnt looked into that too much yet.

there is always the option of just brushing it on and smashing it into the wood like they did in the other thread, but that seems like the powder would rub off with no binder. guess I need to do some more digging.

Particles of this size do not "rub off" easily. The key is to have a very thin layer, and this is most easily achieved with a spray. I would suggest the IPA - it should be obvious whether the particles suspend in the liquid.

got my balsa strop and diamond powder today, tried a quick test on a knife, dint seem to do anything at first so I put a little powder on a cotton ball and used it to rub the side of an old kitchen knife, it didn't seem to do anything at first so I tried my chome oxide the same way...same thing, but I know my chrome works so I pressed harder and rubbed longer eventually it lets the area slightly shinier then it was before, the same happened with the chrome so at the very least it seems to cut as well as chrome oxide, so I tried come on the balsa with the knife, it took 20 rounds one side of the knife but at the end one side had a mirror finish so it does seem to be working so far, it's just the diamond doesn't make any noise like it does in the videos and didn't feel or seem to really cut any faster than the chrome oxide. but I don't have any of the name brand sprays to compare it too, unless I see a noticeable difference in the end results I might just stick to the chrome. I still have to apply the mixture to the whole balsa and let it dry before trying my razor on it.