Where to buy inexpensive Chromium Oxide Paste?

Dear Fellow Razorheads- Am wondering if I can buy the small block of Chromium Oxide and shave it into a powder and mix with water, prior to applying to my Balsa strop? I bought a water based Chromium Oxide paste, but it's difficult to work with being so runny and it's a very small amount for the $, IMHO. If not the block of Chromium Oxide, does anyone know where I can buy the Chromium Oxide powder to mix with water? Moderators, please move if in wrong section. FWIW, I have the Norton 3 stone set incoming, bought an inexpensive Jap Nagura stone at Woodcraft, have the Big Daddy Strop, the Balsa Chromium Oxide strop and have the felt strop incoming that takes the diamond slurry paste. Touched up the Balsa Strop after lightly sanding with 320, as it had some gray streaks on it-Gearhead

You can check out almost any of the vendors that sell honing gear and most of them sell the CrOx powder.

Cheap CrOx usually means Un-pure CrOx

The stuff SRD sells is made specifically for what we do, and you might also think about at least making yourself a leather strop for the paste

The Balsa was really never meant to be used all the time they were recommended years ago as a cheap test platform for trying out different pastes before committing a leather strop to a single type of paste..

Fascinating! So I should buy an inexpensive strop and coat it with Chromium Oxide paste then?-Again, any feedback on the Chromium Oxide blocks? Still searching-Gearhead

gearhead222

You would be wise to pay particular attention to Glen's reference to "un-pure" CrOx.
Many years ago I made the mistake of buying a bar of CrOx from a woodworking store and it was a waste of money. Then I discovered Hand American which sold .5 micron paste. Great stuff because it is pure .5 micron. SRD can fill your needs. I believe there is also a .3 micron version out there somewhere.

Bottom line is make sure of the quality before you spend bucks for inferior stuff. Ask questions.

Jerry
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I think that Larry at whippeddog.com will sell small quantities of CrOxide powder (0.5 micron), if you can't find it elsewhere.

I've been using a block of "Veritas honing paste" from Lee Valley Tools. It may be impure, but I can shave off a strop pasted with it. A bar of that stuff should last about 3 lifetimes.

. Charles

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Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

I think that Larry at whippeddog.com will sell small quantities of CrOxide powder (0.5 micron), if you can't find it elsewhere.

I've been using a block of "Veritas honing paste" from Lee Valley Tools. It may be impure, but I can shave off a strop pasted with it. A bar of that stuff should last about 3 lifetimes.

. Charles

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+1. A tablespoon of powder is basically a lifetime's supply. I bought mine from whippeddog, very inexpensive. I use it exclusively for touch up.

Did you use the balsa strop and then notice the gray streaks in it? If so that is normally as use it tiny steel particles will come of the razor and get onto the strop. Eventually it might become pretty much black and still work fine.

+1 on the veritas honing compound from leevalley. Anything from Leevalley is usually high end, especially tools made by veritas. It is a different formulation but seems to cut very nice and is stated to be a .5 micron compound.

You should probably look through the forum and search out the old posts on the Blocks from Lee Valley and from Woodcraft..

Some of the guys went through the trouble of finding the actual Matraials handeling sheets to find out that they contain, trust me that the search is worth the effort..

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

You should probably look through the forum and search out the old posts on the Blocks from Lee Valley and from Woodcraft..

Some of the guys went through the trouble of finding the actual Matraials handeling sheets to find out that they contain, trust me that the search is worth the effort..

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Thank you for stepping in and making me/us aware Glen. Its a good read and has made me reconsider a few things. Here's the link Gents.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-bars-not.html

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

The Balsa was really never meant to be used all the time they were recommended years ago as a cheap test platform for trying out different pastes before committing a leather strop to a single type of paste..

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Hi,

I'd like to know more about this statement. This didn't pop-up during my searches on the forum. My understanding was that I should keep the leather strop clean and use the canvas/linen/silk/felt part of the strop for the finishing/refreshing paste. I'm asking because I just ordered a balsa wood bench-strop along with chromox powder and I was planning on using this instead of the felt part of the strop I ordered with it.

Gearhead, if you're in Canada, classicedge.ca is the only place I found (so far) chromox in dry powder form this side of the border (its the 3oz package from Hand American, for 16$ I assume it's a good deal(?)).

Cheers.

Ok let me explain the "Genesis of the Balsa Expolsion" on the shaving forums :rofl2:

Pastes have been around in sharpening razors for the entire time straight razors have been used, they are not new, they are old school..
The new pastes are however "Better" at what they do and basically more pure more uniform etc: etc:

Now for years people on here used pretty much their old leather strop for pastes and their new leather strop for plain leather. (you needed 2 strops)
Which paste was the best paste for your face was always a big question on the forum, somebody made a suggestion that was a flow over from a Woodworking background (much like the Magic Marker Test is) to use a Balsa strip as a test strop.. You could try the CrOx the Diamond The CBN the Dovo and TI pastes and never permanetly impregnate a leather strop.. basically a cheap dirty way of testing many pastes :)

Of course several of the guys decided this was a good market for Dumb Newbs to waste money and stated promoting "Balsa Strops" (you needed 1 leather strop now) next thing was the "Too Harsh Explosion" using pastes went from a good thing to everyone saying "OOOOOoooo pastes are too Harsh" the only change was the balsa :hmmm:
Over the years many newer inovations have hit the strop market like Felts and Bench style strops, and Pastes are now coming back strong as people are using softer media under the pastes and getting excellent results..

Pastes change effectiveness not only with grit and type of particles, but also with the bed they are used on, Balsa is a "Very Effective" surface in fact it might be a bit "Too" effective for some pastes and some razors..



IME

Effectiveness from High To low

Balsa
Linen
Leather
Felt

So if you want a nice S M O O T H edge you want to use Leather or Felt for your pastes if you need more cutting power then you want to use Balsa or Linen..

Of course this is followed by the YMMV statement for the inivitable next post that says "I use Balsa and I like it" :p
And if you like the effect of Balsa then all you need is $1 and a Home Depot, A "Balsa Strop" is a piece of wood :thinking:


"And now you know the rest of the story"
TY PaulHarvey


Ps: There is a trend toward a Micro Fiber "Strop" used for CBN that I have not used enough to make a recommendation about.. So if any one has used it, and the other medias, could rank it in there I would appreciate it :D

Thanks! Much appreciated.

No problem brother, sitting at Starbucks waiting for the wife to finish her shopping, hehehe would much rather be doing this then following her around :rofl2:

Hey! "I use Balsa and I like it" :p

I'm another guy who pulled the trigger on economical CrOx before I knew any better. I ordered the big Formax 6 oz. bar online, pasted up the backside of my Tony Miller linen strop, and went to town. I have no doubt that it contains some over-size particles, but I've been using it for over two years and getting mirror-bright, hair-popping edges, especially when followed up with 60 polishing strokes on the Latigo. I'm too cheap to get rid of it, and as another poster said, it's enough for several lifetimes. But I'd get the fine stuff if I had it to do again.

Wow! What a great variety of responses! Thank you! I will have to reread these posts several times to derive full benefit:)
FWIW, I have a water based Chromium Oxide mix that I use just on my Balsa strop. I ordered some Chromium Oxide paste from SRD for around 20 clams-it's the .5 micron paste. Have a really nice Bridle/Latigo leather dual strop and plan on applying the Chromium Oxide paste to the Bridle Leather, as I already have a Bridle leather Big Daddy Strop, but no Latigo Leather strop. Also bought a block of .5 micron Chromium Oxide from Sharpening Supplies.com. They call it their "green honing compound". Any feedback on either of these products is greatly appreciated-Great forum!:)-Gearhead

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Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

I think that Larry at whippeddog.com will sell small quantities of CrOxide powder (0.5 micron), if you can't find it elsewhere.

I've been using a block of "Veritas honing paste" from Lee Valley Tools. It may be impure, but I can shave off a strop pasted with it. A bar of that stuff should last about 3 lifetimes.

. Charles

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The CrOx they sell at Whipped Dog is repackaged from Kremer Pigments (Chrome Oxide Green - Mineral Pigments - Kremer Pigments Inc.), where it's sold as pigment for artists' paint. You can get 100g for $7.80US. That's enough to last several lifetimes. I've been using it on the balsa I got from Whipped Dog with their Poor Man's Strop kit and, along with the Iron Oxide on the other side, it's kept my razor nice and sharp.

I've been using SRD CrOx on a linen strop with great touch up results.

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Ok let me explain the "Genesis of the Balsa Expolsion" on the shaving forums :rofl2:


Of course several of the guys decided this was a good market for Dumb Newbs to waste money and stated promoting "Balsa Strops" (you needed 1 leather strop now) next thing was the "Too Harsh Explosion" using pastes went from a good thing to everyone saying "OOOOOoooo pastes are too Harsh" the only change was the balsa :hmmm:

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I don't get why you infer its hilarious dumb newb territory to use balsa in the first place? What's up with balsa + less aggressive paste?

Despite (or in spite) of what has been said denigrating balsa, and the fallacy that its use was promoted comparatively recently, I beg to differ.

It has been around for a considerably long time. Much longer than this forum has and much longer than its members - unless any ae 100 plus years old.

I believe the genesis began with an age old tradition of sharpening table knives on a long wooden board sprinkled with a fine cutting medium. This of course was too coarse for fine implements like razors, so a small paddle, often 'sprung' was used. Most of these span the late 1800s or earlier right up to the 1930s. Some of you may have seen them and wondered what they were, why they had parallel longitudinal grooves in them, why they were so worn.

They were used to sharpen razors. The grooves allowed a good charge of sharpening paste to be applied.
The Hamon company (started by perHamon in France in 1818, later known as freres Hamon) made pastes and paddles for this purpose. Examples still abound, so they must have been prolific. At some time, probably post 1900, balsa was used as a carrier for their zeolithe no.1 sharpening paste.

German firms made use of green paint at around this time. It had been known that green painted timber could sharpen knives for some time, the reason being that chrome oxide was the pigment used in green paint. From wood it made its way to leather as witness the prevalence of the small continental bench strops of the 1900s to 1940s that consisted of a small leather strap fixed on a wooden frame and painted green. Solid green. With oil paint.

I have two examples of a 1940s - 50s english paddle strop, 4 sided, with a carton of pastes and replacement panels. One panel is grooved timber, showing that the Hamon thinking was still sound. Another panel is balsa. The pastes are green and red.

So no, balsa was not dreamed up during the life of this forum, rather it is a long standing tradition. It worked in the past, it works now - how long would it have survived if it did not? Many people still use it with chrome oxide - as I do, and find that it works extremely well.

Denigrating it now is part of a tradition that is also very old - the one that states that old is bad, new is good. Very Orwellian, if you ask me.

Regards,
Neil

I can't comment on history, but as a beginner in straight razors, I found the 'aha' moment when I started finishing on balsa with Chromium Oxide powder. In fact, I started using it as a finisher on my hunting knives, etc, and it has not let me down, whether it be in a deer or on my face.

New, old, trendy, whatever it is -it is effective. It's also what The Classic Edge here in Ontario uses and recommends as a finisher, and Phil has quite a bit of experience in honing razors, and plenty of more expensive, marketable options he could use and recommend instead.

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Originally Posted by The Classic Edge

Some may say that using Chromium Oxide on Balsa for your Straight Razor is an option, but we believe it is a NEED. So after you are done honing your razor on a finishing stone like a Belgian Coticule or a Synthetic stone like a 12K Naniwa you should do at least 10 passes on the Chromium Oxide to refine the edge to it's best potential. You will find out quickly that passing the Hanging Hair Test has just become 100% easier.

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Strictly out of curiosity, what is it about Balsa wood would contribute to a "Too Harsh" edge vs leather? At the end of the day, the abrasive size is constant between the two, and balsa is not hard enough to abrade the steel. If you strop on leather after, I can't understand why there would be any difference except for price.

I find the statement "a good market for Dumb Newbs to waste money" interesting, considering the block of balsa wood and chromium oxide are the two cheapest honing materials in my collection. At the same time, I also find it silly that some people are willing to spend $100's of dollars on a leather strop, I ended up making one myself out of 3" saddle leather straps, and it does the job just as well as the russian leather strop that came with my first razor. Maybe I'm just not refined enough of a shaver to know (or care).

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Originally Posted by TrqTTS

I can't comment on history, but as a beginner in straight razors, ).

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Perhaps the easiest answer is for you to read the articles on the forum from the archives and see as all this happened... Me telling you is not going to change your already formed opinion, only you reading it and trying it yourself might do that...

As to the cost factor I think perhaps you mis-read what I wrote

here

"And if you like the effect of Balsa then all you need is $1 and a Home Depot, A "Balsa Strop" is a piece of wood"

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Originally Posted by IndispensiBill

The CrOx they sell at Whipped Dog is repackaged from Kremer Pigments (Chrome Oxide Green - Mineral Pigments - Kremer Pigments Inc.), where it's sold as pigment for artists' paint. You can get 100g for $7.80US. That's enough to last several lifetimes. I've been using it on the balsa I got from Whipped Dog with their Poor Man's Strop kit and, along with the Iron Oxide on the other side, it's kept my razor nice and sharp.

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DO you buy iron oxide from the same source? (they seem to have quite a range - are any of them appropriate for honing?)

Personally, I have never "seen" FeO as a honing medium. it's jewelers rouge designed for polishing very soft metal like gold and silver not steel. I think there are much better alternatives for razors. However like CrO you need to look for pure stuff. Many of the lapidary shops sell it but it's often times with with other compounds.

I have bought and use both Kremer pigments Chromium oxide 0.3 microns and Ferrous oxide 0.1 microns on my DIY balsa paddle
I use after the 12k hone at about 10-15 strops on the Chrox then similar on the Ferox before hitting the leather strop
I did a post in the hones forum on the DIY balsa strop with the part number etc

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...addles-oz.html
Here's the link

Anyone ever use the 1lb bar of CrOx from Amazon? probably royally screwed up with strop with it. i tried to use it like an oversized crayon on a whipped dog poormans strop after i got a good one from SRD, but I dont think I did it right or even got the right stuff.

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Originally Posted by KLOOB

Anyone ever use the 1lb bar of CrOx from Amazon? probably royally screwed up with strop with it. i tried to use it like an oversized crayon on a whipped dog poormans strop after i got a good one from SRD, but I dont think I did it right or even got the right stuff.

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Do you, perchance, mean this:

Amazon.com: Woodstock D2902 1-Pound Extra Fine Buffing Compound, Green: Home Improvement ?

From page two of this thread, this may be worth a read: http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-bars-not.html
Since the advert itself describes the product as a 'buffing compound' - you may well have bought an item which is not pure chromium oxide. The linked thread suggests that the grit size may be suspect and not necessarily 0.5 microns which is going to lead to unpredictable results.


Lynn Abrams made a good Youtube video detailing how to treat a strop with various strop pastes - definitely worth a look, although it sounds as if you were more or less on the right lines by using it like a giant crayon on the strop. The key thing is that a little goes a long way and simply adding more paste to the strop won't make it better than a thin coating. You can cut a pair of denim jeans into strips and use them as a backing for the chromium oxide, if you wish to save buying another strop - use them like a normal hanging strop.

SRD sells pure Chromium oxide - it's probably a good idea to go down this route. There may be other places that sell it but are you sure that the product is pure? Being sure about this removes an element of uncertainty from the honing and stropping process, which is worth its weight in gold.


I did purchase the very cheapest chromium oxide powder from ebay, a yer ago now and have been using this on a strip of denim. I've noticed that the results seem to have got gradually better over time but I'm not sure whether this is a result of general improvement in honing and stropping skill or whether the CrOx has broken down into a finer grit size (Is this even possible with CrOx?? A good example of why buying from a reputable source is a good thing - I honestly have no idea what exactly I coated my strop with!