15 Carat .5 micron Diamond Spray, or other Diamond Sprays. I got some coming with my order of goodies I expect very soon. Any thoughts on the various Diamond Sprays and there effectiveness?
Chromium Oxide gets a lot of fan fare but what about...
- Thread starter David John
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i don't have the spray *(altho i hear they work awesomely on a felt strop)..... i DO have .5micron paste and liquid slurry *(in a thin oil base)....
they work really good... i use the paste on a length of seat belt material and i use the liquid *(~4 drops) on my chinese 12k as a finisher....
the only thing that could be a negative is the diamonds make a very very sharp but slightly harsh edge....
so after the diamond strop i will hit it ~10 passes on a seat belt material with cerium oxide *(with NO pressure) then to the leather strop........ charp as chit mang.....
they work really good... i use the paste on a length of seat belt material and i use the liquid *(~4 drops) on my chinese 12k as a finisher....
the only thing that could be a negative is the diamonds make a very very sharp but slightly harsh edge....
so after the diamond strop i will hit it ~10 passes on a seat belt material with cerium oxide *(with NO pressure) then to the leather strop........ charp as chit mang.....
I use a .5 micron spray on a short piece of tooling leather if I feel the edge needs it. It works fast & well. What's not to like? It won't cure a poor honing job or make coffee for you in the morning, but it doesn't hurt a good bevel. CrOx, on the other hand, I've never seemed to get consistent results with, but that is likely my fault. It came into my arsenal late and is like an answer without a question.
Just rub some green paste on a non leather side of your strop and wipe off the excess paste with a damp cloth..just a light layer will do..go 15 laps...at some point your razor will not respond to the green paste and the "tug n pull" will tell you need to rehone .... point 5 (.5) I believe is diamond paste...
Everyone has different opinions and experimentation is the way to find out what you prefer.
I'm not a big fan of CrOx. It's okay, but doesn't do much to touch up a blade (IMO) and it seems to need something after it.
Diamond pastes, in lower grit; such as .5, .25 do leave an edge feeling harsh. Personally, I don't like the way it feels.
.125 CBN is the only spray I've found that I really, really like the way it feels. 3 or 4 strokes after your finishing stone puts an amazing feel to the edge on there. Some do a progression of pastes up to the .125.
As far as pastes on the back of leather, I've never liked this idea. The surface is too rough and not going to make even and accurate contact with the blades' edge. Leather is smooth, stones (higher grit) are smooth surfaces. That's just my thoughts.
I'm not a big fan of CrOx. It's okay, but doesn't do much to touch up a blade (IMO) and it seems to need something after it.
Diamond pastes, in lower grit; such as .5, .25 do leave an edge feeling harsh. Personally, I don't like the way it feels.
.125 CBN is the only spray I've found that I really, really like the way it feels. 3 or 4 strokes after your finishing stone puts an amazing feel to the edge on there. Some do a progression of pastes up to the .125.
As far as pastes on the back of leather, I've never liked this idea. The surface is too rough and not going to make even and accurate contact with the blades' edge. Leather is smooth, stones (higher grit) are smooth surfaces. That's just my thoughts.
I have always liked the diamond abrasives and used them exclusively for years. Back when I sold shave ready razors from stock I only used diamond pastes on a leather 4 sided paddle to achive the edges. I started with a 9 micron, then 3 micron, 1 micron and finished on 0.5 micron. While these were pastes and not sprays the end result should be the same. I have used chromium but it was not a favorite of mine.
I also used fine 0.5 and 0.25 on hanging strops to refresh and egde instead of going to hones with good results.
Tony
I also used fine 0.5 and 0.25 on hanging strops to refresh and egde instead of going to hones with good results.
Tony
I like crox. I've been honing on coti followed by 20 laps on crox and 20 on feox (.3 micron and 1. micron respectively) and I prefer the edge to that straight off the coticule, I've been interested in trying even finer diamond sprays but I can't justify the purchase just yet!
When you get ready, you may find it cheaper than a tube of CrOx paste.
http://www.lapidarysupplies.net/cart/description.php?II=1161&UID=2011111219110468.106.227.138
I have a bottle of that and it looks like it will last years. Looking at picking up some 100k soonish.
I prefer .5 diamond to CrOx.
Edit - the key to using .5, .25 and even .125 diamond pastes/sprays is restraint. For example, I have an excellent Tony Miller leather pasted paddle strop. One side is .5 and the other .25. 10 laps on the .5 and 5 laps on the .25 produces a very sharp, very smooth edge. Any more than that, especially on the .25, does indeed produce a harsh edge.
Edit - the key to using .5, .25 and even .125 diamond pastes/sprays is restraint. For example, I have an excellent Tony Miller leather pasted paddle strop. One side is .5 and the other .25. 10 laps on the .5 and 5 laps on the .25 produces a very sharp, very smooth edge. Any more than that, especially on the .25, does indeed produce a harsh edge.
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If I use pastes or spays I do like .25 diamond on hard felt.
here is what i bought.... the price is right.......
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_k...ng+Lapping+Paste+Grit+#10000&_id=200633971745
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_k...ng+Lapping+Paste+Grit+#10000&_id=200633971745
+1...restraint is key and I find it difficult to believe that just 5 laps will do ANYTHING, so I give it a few more...then I pay for it later LOL. Since moving to CBN I find I can strop needlessly all I want without the overcooked edge. But YMMV.
Good point, it's very easy to overdo it with fast cutting stuff like diamond sprays/pastes. Used right, they can indeed give you super sharp, yet still smooth edges.
I am definitely a fan of Chromium Oxide. I always hated the diamond sprays, but the substrate makes a big difference. I had someone touch up a razor for me on diamond sprayed felt and it was a different animal.
I'm a bit confused about cerium oxide. It tends to be 3-4 micron particle size doesn't it, and so much larger than other pastes active particle sizes ( though diamonds cut 'deeper' even when they may be 'finer' etc etc) which makes me wonder.
Is it the shape of cerium oxide particles that make it effective even though it's bigger...?
Is it the shape of cerium oxide particles that make it effective even though it's bigger...?
CBN.. the only downside is 'Stiction' the edge is so smooth it sticks to your face and does not want to glide.. avery shallow angle is needed to get a smooth shave from a wicked sharp edge.. search DR Matts videos on it.
I use a diamond on balsa progression of .5u, .25u and .1u. The .1 seems to smooth every thing out and leaves a comfortable edge (to me) and no problem with stiction. I tried CBN for a few months to finish but found no improvement over diamond.
I use a diamond on balsa progression of .5u, .25u and .1u. also, just did a W&B wedge best shave ever.
been bring all my straights up to .1 and every one is sharp, keen and smooth no harshness
been bring all my straights up to .1 and every one is sharp, keen and smooth no harshness
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