Thread: Chromium Oxide paste

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

All this chromium oxide talk has convinced my to do one up for myself! So far I have always used diamond paste but at the 0.5 micron level it is nice to have a choice. I'm gonna do a wide 2 side bench strop with handle, 0.5 diamond on one side and 0.5 chromium oxide on the other.

You may not see as big an improvement as the rest of us. TI's have a special fondness for diamond for some reason. I don't use .5 diamond on mine anymore, but I'm not sure they're much sharper with chrome oxide than they were with .5 diamond. They do seem to have a stronger edge though.

Have you tried the .1 micron diamond paste?

I use the 0.25 and while it creates a wicked sharp edge I feel it is not as durable an edge. I find myself needing to refresh more often if I finish with the 0.25 instead of the 0.5. I fear the 0.1 will be even worse. Both are probably overkill really and I am trying to get more in the habit of using stones again simply because I have strayed from them a bit lately.

I think I read that you got yourself a Tam O'Shanter hone now (sorry I forgot to send mine for a trial). How do you like it? Mine is so far unused.

Tony

The tam o shanter has largely replaced the 8k side of my norton. Sometimes I go from the tamoshanter directly to the boron carbide or chrome oxide, lately I've been going to the 15k shapton because I'm concerned I've been leaning on the paddles too much. Other than the necessity of a slurry it reminds me of a really fine arkansas. My Wacker loves it, and shaves great straight off the tamoshanter.

Excellent! I'll have to give mine a try and see how it does.

Tony

I indeed got mine from Tony. It arrived in, I don't know, three days or so. I have real respect for (not to mention envy of) the DIY ethos among SRP members, but in terms of money saved, it can't be much given Tony's low prices and impeccable craftsmanship.

I agree with dylandog. Making my own bench hone was fun, but it's not as nice as my paddle from Tony, and I probably "saved" about $10 while putting in two or three hours worth of work. It was fun, though.

Josh

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

I think Dylan may have bought one of mine last week. Thety are instock and take a day to paste and let dry before shipping. Some of the guys make their own too but not sure if they saved any money or time in the process <g>

All this chromium oxide talk has convinced my to do one up for myself! So far I have always used diamond paste but at the 0.5 micron level it is nice to have a choice. I'm gonna do a wide 2 side bench strop with handle, 0.5 diamond on one side and 0.5 chromium oxide on the other.

Tony

Tony, can you also supply chromium oxide paste/liquid or whatever form is used for refreshing the hone in the future?
--Dave

Dave,
I probably could but mixing, bottling, etc.... takes time which I have little of right now. There are sources already for chromium oxide so no point in reinventing the wheel......not just yet anyway <g>

Tony

I think the point to remember when using either the green paste or diamond pastes is that the sharpness really comes from the hone and the glide or smoothness is much improved with the pastes depending on the razor.

Lynn

Originally Posted by adjustme69

I think the point to remember when using either the green paste or diamond pastes is that the sharpness really comes from the hone and the glide or smoothness is much improved with the pastes depending on the razor.

Lynn

Exactly, while pastes are an easy way for a beginner to get started and have a near 100% suces rate they do not replace a hone, especially for creating that initial sharp edge. Once created on the hone one can go right to a hanging strop or further refine the edge with either pastes applied to a variety of tools of on finer hones like barber hones, Belgians, Eschers and Thuringens.

There is no single tool that will do everything as Lynn's DVD points out. Each razor, each user has different succes rates with each tool. Eventually it would be nice to learn to use and own one of each....Norton, finishing hone (Belgian or Thuringen) and some type of pasted paddle type strop to get the best out of each razor. A hone (Norton, etc...) is probably the only one you can get around not owning but you will still need it's services as supplied by one of the honemeisters here by sending off your razor a few times a year.

Tony