Best way to use diamond spray

[superbleu]

I have never really used a pasted strop much, but want to try some diamond spray.
What are some of your favorite ways of using this.
I have a few different options: Hard felt, seatbelt material, denim, Glass, Lapping film that comes with the hand america modular bench strop (thanks Keith), balsa, and leather that I can use for a substrate for the Diamond spray.

Looking for suggestions on which way to go before I start spraying everything I see down with diamond spray. Also should I be using a dust mask with this stuff?

 

[Jim]

I like it on horsehide, then Cro-ox on the felt.

 

[professorchaos]

I like diamond pastes on leather and pressed wool. I have a paddle with .5 and .25 pastes applied. It quickly creates a very sharp edge. .25 on pressed wool is rather mild IMHO and leaves a very smooth edge.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

I have a hard wool felt strop from HandAmerican I use with their diamond spray.

 

[azmark]

I like it on pressed wool and haven't really been a fan on leather. I do like diamond paste on leather though.

 

[ouch]

Careful, though- some diamond sprays can leave the surface of the leather a bit too crinkly. That could cause more harm than good, especially at the ultra-fine level of sharpness you're trying to obtain.

 

[superbleu]

Thanks for the replies.

I ended up using the felt, I figured if I didn't like it, I wouldn't be out a whole lot. If I sprayed a leather strop with the diamond spray, I figured it would be on there for ever and I would be down one expensive strop.

I did 10 passes with a Bengall I honed the other day but didn't seem up to snuff.
After the passes on the diamond spray the razor shaved much much better.
I think I might sell off all my high end finishers except my Thuri. This was really eye opening, in a good way.

 

[huracan]

Thanks for the replies.

I ended up using the felt, I figured if I didn't like it, I wouldn't be out a whole lot. If I sprayed a leather strop with the diamond spray, I figured it would be on there for ever and I would be down one expensive strop.

I did 10 passes with a Bengall I honed the other day but didn't seem up to snuff.
After the passes on the diamond spray the razor shaved much much better.
I think I might sell off all my high end finishers except my Thuri. This was really eye opening, in a good way.

I found the same thing, the felt somehow takes away the harshness that the same spray on leather had on a blade, using the same amount of passes I mean. The felt works really well.

 

[Loric]

You see a lot of balsa wood strops for diamond sprays, are these a good option? I'v been having a hard time finding a horse bench/paddle strop the combo that seems to get the most recommendations.

 

[superbleu]

Loric, SRD and Handamerica both make modular bench/paddle strops. (if you can't order directly from Handamerica, you can get it from Mark at Chefknivestogo.com)

I just made some strops using some seatbelt webbing and it's working quite well. see this thread for pictures

Haven't tried Balsa yet.

 

[sfcablecar]

I've tried a lot of combinations and in my experience pressed wool or felt works best with diamond spray. YMMV.