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.