Thread: Where to find different grits of chromium oxide

I am attempting to make a balsa strop. I have 3"x3"x12" block of balsa and a handle. What I need now is the chromium oxide. I have done some searches online and I am having a hard time finding different grits. Is it something you make yourself or purchase?

Well I am a little confused. CrOx if it is the good stuff for razors, as in pure it should be one grit. If you are looking for a progression of grits I don't think that CrOx by itself is hat you are looking for. I am not sure why you would have a bunch of different grits. Typically it is just CrOx after honing or to to refresh is all that is needed. There are a ton of other products out there, like diamond that coms in carried particle sizes. To each their own. Look at SRD for CrOx or diamond. I'm sure there are a lot of other places too, but that one is close and reputable.

Originally Posted by RezDog

Well I am a little confused. CrOx if it is the good stuff for razors, as in pure it should be one grit. If you are looking for a progression of grits I don't think that CrOx by itself is hat you are looking for. I am not sure why you would have a bunch of different grits. Typically it is just CrOx after honing or to to refresh is all that is needed. There are a ton of other products out there, like diamond that coms in carried particle sizes. To each their own. Look at SRD for CrOx or diamond. I'm sure there are a lot of other places too, but that one is close and reputable.

I was thinking the same thing, but I don't follow the latest developments, and didn't want to insert my foot in my mouth. IME a very little chrom-ox goes a very long way, so buy as small a quantity as you can find.

This is something I've thought about now and again, but I don't have any real answers.

Chromium Oxide is considered a single grit.

Aluminum Oxide is available in a wide variety of grits.

Both are used for grinding/polishing metal, both are metal oxides, so why is one available in differing sizes and the other seemingly only in it's finest grit size?

By the way, I was checking a grit manufacturers website, and you can order Chromium Oxide from them, but the minimum order is 1 Ton! Me thinks that would do a couple razors! <grin>

Regards

Kaptain "My wife says I shouldn't let my mind wander.... it's too little to be left alone" Zero

Thanks!

Stropping compounds

So, only the green would be chromium and the rest are different abrasives?? Forgive me if I sound like a noob. I don't want to get the wrong thing! Also, I found this link after I posted my original question.

You will notice they do not call the green compound, Chrome Oxide because it is not. They also do not tell you what is in it and what the grit or grits are.

It is made for polishing tools and carving knives not razors. It will leave a harsh, micro chipped edge.

Chrome Oxide only comes in one grit, .5um, about 30k grit. A couple years ago some were claiming to have a finer grit Chrome Oxide, but it was never proved that it was in fact finer.

The Chrome Oxide Crayola from SRD is the easiest to apply, and a lifetime supply, it is not expensive. Apply in 3 inch X’s about a ½ in wide. Be careful using balsa as a substrate, if you use too much pressure it can make an edge harsh.

A piece of cardboard use at the edge of a table or counter makes a great substrate for experimenting with paste and performs very well.

Gentlemen, Chromium oxide is most commonly used as a glaze in the pottery-ceramics industry, applied prior to firing the ceramic it is applied to. It as Euclid440 points out is atypically a half micron. It's true you can buy crayons, sprays and the like, but I have found that Potter's supply factories/retailers sell the actual product cost me $8 for 150grams. (Enough for hundreds or more strops.) When you walk into the shop they look at you like your a dope, when you tell them what it's for.
Good luck, seek out a pottery supply company save you a buck.
Bob

It isn't about grit it is about purity

You want the most pure you can find..

If you want powder, Kremer Pigments, $7.80 for 100grams (3.5 oz).

Kremer has been the source, for years to strop razors, they also have other Oxides that work exceptionally well and are known for their purity. There are several threads with the stock numbers and reviews, of each of the proven pigments if you do a bit of research.

Yup that is what you are buying is purity, so if it does not tell you what is in it, it is not pure.

I have the Thiers Issard cr ox paste, all I can say is that it works.