Thread: problems with felt and diamond spray

I recently got a SRD felt strop which I treated with .5 diamond spray and have attempted to use it as the last step in my honing progression. I will get my edge to where it is passing the HHT but after I use the felt with diamond spray the edge will no longer pass the HHT. Any idea why it appears to be dulling the edge? When does everyone else use a diamond treated felt strop?

Just a supposition, but perhaps the edge off the hones has a bit of tooth that catches the hair, and the pasted felt is smoothing that a bit. If you would shave after stropping on an untreated leather, than try it again for another shave after stropping on the felt, you'll have a better idea of whether it is helping or hindering the edge.

I use my diamond sprayed felt on rare occasions to touch up an edge I'm shaving with that isn't quite as keen as I like. After which I put the razor aside for honing. I'm sure other members have their own procedure,but that is what I do.

Felt has quite a bit of give, so it is possible that you are slightly rounding the edge with the abrasive. I tried diamond spray on felt, and did not like it at all. For me it worked better on leather and a paddle strop to keep a firm back and give me a nice edge!

I find it is common for new guys to use too much pressure to “polish” the bevel. If as said you use too much pressure on felt (or any strop) you can bend/roll or even dull the edge. A pasted strop is an abrasive strop and can dull as easily as it can polish.

.50 diamond works best on leather or paper, but will work well on felt, just watch the pressure. I find .50 diamond will refresh an edge but is harsh, Chrome Oxide or lots of stropping can smooth it out.

So the other question is what are you after, pasting post honing, keenness or comfort? It is not just about grit size, grit shape and substrate play as large a part in performance, more importantly is what is the goal?

Are you determining dulling purely by an HHT? Did you try shaving with it after the .5 diamond? You didn't say how many strokes you used on the felt, but I normally do around 5 after honing up to a 12K using weight of the blade pressure only and then strop and test.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by Quixoticshaver

I recently got a SRD felt strop which I treated with .5 diamond spray and have attempted to use it as the last step in my honing progression. I will get my edge to where it is passing the HHT but after I use the felt with diamond spray the edge will no longer pass the HHT. Any idea why it appears to be dulling the edge? When does everyone else use a diamond treated felt strop?

So true, hht can have nothing to do with how it will shave, but just for grins…try flipping the razor and doing the hht going the other direction. You may have just bent the edge so it just slides off the hair or just strop it on leather.

A .50 diamond cuts hair pretty well for me, on a properly honed razor.

My first time using CrOX, I used to much, and it was screwing up my edge. Maybe you have too much diamond on the felt?

Thanks for all the input. I am determining dullness by the HHT and by uncomfortable shave. The stropping on felt comes after finishing on the 12k. I have experimented with laps on the felt between 10-30... Sounds like maybe too much. I have been using light pressure, but could probably go lighter still. I will try again soon, incorporating some of the advice. Thanks again.

Are you looking at the 12k edge with magnification to make sure it is fully set?

Also look at it after stropping on Diamond. HHT is very subjective and must be calibrated to the hair you are testing. There are many reasons an edge will fail a hair test. It can have its uses, but really all it means is that it can cut the test hair. It says nothing about if the edge is fully set or sharp, there are chips on the edge or if it will or will not shave well.

Typically when there are issues, it is because of an incompletely set bevel.

Originally Posted by Quixoticshaver

Thanks for all the input. I am determining dullness by the HHT and by uncomfortable shave. The stropping on felt comes after finishing on the 12k. I have experimented with laps on the felt between 10-30... Sounds like maybe too much. I have been using light pressure, but could probably go lighter still. I will try again soon, incorporating some of the advice. Thanks again.

When I was shown the diamond spray and felt I was told not more that 3 laps. This has worked for me. I only us the felt and spray on rare occasions when my 20k and leather didn't pay off.