Thread: How often do you Crox?

So, here's the deal. I Have a Bridle strop with the Webbed backing. I have a TM horsehide with the webbed backing, and a TM Latigo with the Wool Felt backing. A while ago I visited with Mr. Abrams, and left with a bag of goodies, and a whole lot of learning. One of these goodies was a Crox Crayon, and one of the learnings was that Crox + webbed fabric = success. Apparently the Webbing is great for Crox'ing. I also learned that Wool Felt and Diamond Spray get along just peachy. So, I am going to get Diamond spray (.50 Micron, also my Mr. Abrams recommendation, which I regard very highly by now *brownnose*) for my Wool Felt strop. Which leaves me with Bridle, Horsehide and Red Latigo for regular stropping, and Pasted TM nylon, plain SRD nylon, and diamond'ed TM wool felt. I use the SRD nylon for every day pre-stropping, and then rotate -based on mood- the Latigo and Horsehide, or the Bridle, sometimes bridle and horsehide.

My question is, to improve optimum time between honings, how often do I want to use the Crox Nylon, or the diamond Wool felt. I know this answer is mostly "when the blade feels dull, or catches, it needs a refreshing. When the crox/diamond doesn't cut it anymore, it needs a honing." I just want to know, personally, how often do you crox/diamond, and which do you prefer of crox/diamond... any reason for that preference?

Thanks, guys.
Cheers,
Jeremy

depends on the razor, the steel, personal pref, etc.


on most of mine, I used a CrO pasted strop every half dozens shaves for each razor (i have a big rotation, each razor gets used 6 times about every other month).

or if i feel the edge and it's not quite there for whatever reason, i'll hit the CrO. mostly just do it when it's needed.

Oh, something I forgot... How many laps is good with Crox/diamond spray? Like, can you "overhone" with just the pasted strops, or is that not much of a concern? I think someone told me that 10 laps is sufficient, and if that doesn't work, give it 10 more, up to 30, then it needs rehoning if that still doesn't do it.

Sound about right?

There is no set formula; paste when your razor feels like it needs it. Try 10 passes, then strop and shave. Do 10 more if you need it. Limiting yourself to 10 will prevent you from overdoing it, which is very easy on diamond and pretty easy on chrome.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

There is no set formula; paste when your razor feels like it needs it. Try 10 passes, then strop and shave. Do 10 more if you need it. Limiting yourself to 10 will prevent you from overdoing it, which is very easy on diamond and pretty easy on chrome.

Alright, that makes good sense.... but... What's the difference between the Crox and the Diamond?

I'm not experienced with straights at all, but from what I understand from tool/knife sharpening, Diamond anything tends to cut MUCH faster than anything else.. Though, I don't have any experience with Chromium Oxide, so I wouldn't know how to compare the two, but still I imagine that the Diamond will still hone faster. Beings that it's at .5 micron, my suggestion would be to also pick up some .3 micron just to see how it works for your stropping style and your blade(s), especially if you find that the .5 diamond is working too fast, and that way you don't have to worry as much about over-honing and/or "convexing" your blade too much. But, then again, the .3 might work way too slow for you too, it all depends on the interaction between your style, the steel, the strop, and the powder/spray/paste/etc... All things aside, from what I understand, the .3 can give the bevel a nice smooth finish anyway, so it might be a good idea anyway..

I can tell you that some guys, me included, irritate from Diamond pastes and sometimes sprays when you get to the .25 level. Me, personally, I can do .50. Crox is a lot tamer on my face, it doesn't irritate me. I think the .25 makes the edge too keen. As previously stated, try 10 passes. Continuous use of any paste will ultimately lead to a rounded edge...So, do it sparingly. For me, when my blade starts to dull, I may use the .50 diamond spray on wool felt, or crox. the next time that razor dulls, it's hitting the rocks, for me the level would be a J-nat and see how it feels..

What's a J'nat?

Also, one thing I've seen... Diamond is generally preffered -this is from a demo I watched, so YMMV- as a followup to honing, and then crox is for maintenance in between honing... Is this viable, or is it mostly personal opinion/preference?

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

What's a J'nat?

Also, one thing I've seen... Diamond is generally preffered -this is from a demo I watched, so YMMV- as a followup to honing, and then crox is for maintenance in between honing... Is this viable, or is it mostly personal opinion/preference?

A Jnat is a Japanese natural hone. As for when to use which paste, I don't really know. I do know that Lynn uses the diamonds after honing, and I'm sure that he has a reason (other than the bling factor). At Lynn's I used his honing routine and, no surprise, it worked extremely well. Today, I was feeling a little curious, so I tried some Chrome Ox after finishing 15 blades on my Asagi (a Japanese natural). I quite liked the edges, and Chrome Ox definitely works. I can't compare it to the diamond I used at Lynn's, though, because the hone progressions were totally different.

My understanding, which could well be wrong, is that diamond gives a more "aggressive" edge whereas chrome ox is a little "smoother." If I was to compare my edges today to those from at Lynn's (which is not a good comparison, as mentioned above), I would say diamond is more aggressive and chrome ox is smoother. But that's really not a great comparison.

I'd say the best thing to do is try both the diamond and the chrome ox on a bunch of blades and see which you prefer for what.

I'll work on it.. But, as of now, I only have a Dovo best quality, and a Gold Dollar :/