Thread: .25 Diamond on Hard Pressed Wool Felt

I use .25 Diamond as a refreshing paste, not finishing.

You can calm a Diamond edge down with Chrome and Cerium Oxides, or linen and leather or the best, .50 or .125 CBN.

Cerium and CBN are the best finishing paste I have found and can be used daily for maintenance, with Diamond used once a week or as needed if the edge begins to flag.

Diamond to sharpen, CBN, Cerium and linen for smoothness.

Diamond is tops at cutting steel. I forget if it's in a sharpening book I have or if I saw this somewhere else, but electron microscopic images of steel edges honed with diamond are very interesting; think jagged sharp peaks and valleys with a side view like this: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ translating to edges like that as well. Diamond can be harsh on the face for that reason but will also lay whiskers to waste. I can not shave with a diamond honed edge taken only to a leather strop. Too harsh for me. Not pleasant even if wickedly sharp.

Microscopic pictures of Chrome Ox edges are very different than diamond and much smoother: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Diamond on steel is like broken glass. Chrome Ox on steel is like modeling clay. Weird comparisons, but they work.

ChrisL

Originally Posted by ChrisL

Diamond on steel is like broken glass. Chrome Ox on steel is like modeling clay. Weird comparisons, but they work.

Lying on a bed of nails vs lying on ball bearings.