Thread: Diamond paste revisited

DIAMOND PASTE

Recently I noticed an increase in the selection/vendors of Diamond Paste and substantial reduction of price. So, I picked up some cheap eBay paste 50k, 100 & 200k grit.

I was impressed by the aggressiveness or the paste and at the higher grits the smooth shaving edge they delivered on a Poly/nylon strop.

I would like to test other vendors and grits. I recall recently others had been experimenting with inexpensive diamonds but could not recall who. An advanced search was no help.

So, if you have been testing, diamond spray and pastes please post here so we can compare results. I will see if I can locate the vendor I purchased from and post for others. So far impressive results with 50k and 200k grits from an 8k Snow White stone.

I used to use some water-based diamond paste after the barber hones back in the day.
There was .5 and .25 at the end. You could overdo the .25 easily.
How would these grits translate to yours, Marty?

Here is Ken Schwart’s micron/grit chart

.50um is about 30K grit and .25 um about 60K . I am finishing on what is claimed to be 200k grit which would be about .10um.

It is a very comfortable edge. The 50k .25um strop will refresh a tugging edge in 10-15 laps.

Available CBN Abrasive Sizes from Ken Schwartz
Abrasive size in microns (μ) Grit Size (JNS)
80.0 #180
45.0 #320
30.0 #500
15.0 #1,000
4.0 #4,000
2.0 #8,000
1.5 (1 1/2) #12,000
1.0 #16,000
0.75 (3/4) #24,000
0.50 (1/2) #30,000
0.25 (1/4) #60,000
0.125 (1/8) #120,000
0.10 (1/10) #160,000

It actually worked quite well. Naniwas and Nortons were not as talked about when you were not on a forum!
I had been using the fine side of a knife hone through an India and through a few barber's hones. Took forever!

I got to where I could do well off my BH's and a pile of stropping, but the diamond paste after was a game-changer.

The 1.0, .5, .25 on balsa strops got them blazing. Did not take much either.
Often a bit raspy edge. Lots of stropping, CroOx cured that.


Then, I joined the forum and had to have a 1k, 4/8, 12k Naniwa and Escher. Much more consistent.

About a year ago, I started experimenting with diamond pastes and got very keen, but not quite smooth enough edges.
Hence I still feel the need for Chrome Oxide pastes.

Sometimes, I doubt whether I need a diamond paste at all, or could rely on my 12,000 grit Naniwa and 20,000 Gokumyo stones instead.

As honing takes more effort and preparation however, I use the 0.25 diamond paste right now when Crox doesn’t cut it anymore and I want to extend the period before I take the blade to the hone.

As a sidenote, when using diamond pastes I also get a feeling like tiny glass shards on my fingertips. Not entirely pleasant and requires a good scrubbing and a bit of hand cream to remove.

At the moment, diamond pastes are for me a work in progress, subject to review, and I am not entirely sold on their value.


B

Fact is, you do not need diamond paste. I have not used it in years. Good hones to the end and something lighter than diamond paste is the way to go.
Good old CroOx will often make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Just me.

I’m talking about Diamonds in much higher grits in the 100 -200k grits that have really come down in price and are very affordable.

They also have some very large range in terms of reviving and finishing an edge. I recall someone posting about it, don’t recall who and wanted to compare vendors and results.

Smoking result from 200k eBay Diamond paste from a 8k Naniwa Snow White edge. Not the harsh edges most equate with Diamond Sprays.

I have (2) bottles of .25 and .50 diamond spray from SRD back when I got their paddle strop but haven't used them but once. To me, the method was about as exciting as watching grass grow, so I put them away for good and worked on perfecting my honing skills instead.



Edit - And after getting the Suehiro Gokumyo 20k last year, I am very content with my honing setup and the HAD has vanished. However, it's the strops that have all my attention it seems. It's always something down in the rabbit hole.

Yup, the SG 20 is a game changer, but it to can be too much, I find the edges a bit harsh. I usually go to paste or natural finisher from a SG20 edge.

200k is a long way from a .25um/ 60k edge. Apples and Avocados. I too find .25um Diamond harsh.

Woops. Forgot to mention that I do a few passes on a CerOx board strop before the usual stropping. Glen was kind enough to fabricate a couple for me since I procured some fine leather scraps from the guys at White's Boots.

One's rough side up and unpasted which is great for kamisori he tells me (just beginning to break my BB kami out this year), and the other smooth side up pasted with CerOx. I've almost always found that what works well for him, works well for me also. After post-honing with and without CerOx, I've found those passes preferable as they take any harshness out of the 20k edge*.

(*edit - ditto for post 12k previous to the 20k purchase)