I'm officially done with Chromium Oxide

No matter what I do, ChromeOx dulls my blade, or at the very least makes the edge very irritating. I keep going back to it every once in a while to try it again but I keep getting the same results.

I have the old CrOx from Hand American (gritty paste) which I applied to a Tony Miller leather bench hone.

I don't know if I have it on too thick or what but the shaves are awful after using it.

So, since I can continue great shaves indefinitely with just my strop and a Swaty barber hone, I'm considering my efforts to use CrOx done.

 

Have you tried to thin out the CrOx with oil and then wipe of the excess with a clean rag? That might help if you applied it to thick. CrOx shouldn't be any thicker than a thin thin layer that sits in the nooks and crannies of the material and not "on top" of the surface.

But you probably already knew that. If you don't want it any more you can PIF it to someone that might want to try it

 

I don't get very good results with it either, which is why I quit trying. I get perfectly sharp edges and great shaves without it. I use a little diamond spray on balsa for touch-up between honing.

 

I tried thinning it out with water but it didn't thin out too much.

 

What did you wipe the water of with? You need something quite absorbent and also slightly abrasive to get enough of. You really don't need much on it at all.

 

Paper towel I believe. You know, if you want, I can post a picture of the piece in question. Maybe you can tell me if I have too much on it.

 

Please do that. It would be much easier than just guessing.

 

when i first started uesing this i had the same problem, i used nets foot oil on paper towles to remove the excess crox. i got it down to a verry pale green tent, and tried it again ,and what a diffrence it made, i ues it all the time now when i need a touch up now.

 

But isn't more fun

Alright, tonight when I get home, I will take a picture and post it. Perhaps it is that I have too much on the leather still.

Thanks.

 

Sorry for the delay in posting this picture. I had left the card at work.

Here's my crox strop.

 

That looks very green! Maybe a bit too thick Steve.

But, I kind of agree with you on the usefulness front. I have been experimenting with some CrOx I obtained from a pottery supply shop (they use it for green glaze). Compared to my Japanese stone (nakayama asagi) the edges are not as "crisp". I've tried it both ways: Asagi followed by CrOx = duller blade than asagi alone; CrOx followed by asagi = sharper blade than CrOx alone.

Bottom line for me is that the Asagi is a finer grit than CrOX. I think the CrOx still has its place, but I'm sticking mainly to the stone as a finisher.

James.

 

Yep. Even on my knife sharpening, I'm sticking with stones. I tried fixed angle rods, diamond plated hones and other stuff but I keep going back to my King 1k/6k to get the best edges on any of my knives. I think I'm a stone guy with straights too. Not even too keen on the diamond paste anymore.

 

I kind of quit using it too. If I need a touch up, I go back to my Chinese 12K stone. I never could tell any difference with or without CrOx. It wasn't really worse in my case, but it wasn't any better, either.

 

Removing more of the CrOx from the strop wont hurt since it seems that it's still quite a thick layer.

 

How? I've tried using water and paper towel. Didn't seem to thin it out much.

 

That doesn't surprise me since the oil in the strop binds the CrOx to it now so you will need an oil to thin it out rather than water. The water will just bounce of the thin layer of oil the got sucked up into the CrOx particles. Try neatsfoot oil or another oil that wont damage your strop.

 

OK, I'll try that and see what happens. Thank you.

 

There is a lot of paste on that strop. I would say lighten the amount and use a hanging nylon or cotton strop lightly coated with it. I do not think CrOx is necessary, but I do use it. Usually coming right off the hones with nylon, cotton, and leather I get a good shave for 6-8 months because I have a rotation. For me CrOx is great for maintaining the smoothness factor.
At the same time I think the Dovo pastes work fairly well too. Just remember, (IMO) a razor that will not shave fairly well right off the hone needs honing. CrOx and pastes work well, but they are more for refinement and should not be seen as a primary tool for making a razor shave ready.

 

I agree. My primary tools are my 4k/8k, a Swaty, linen strop and leather strop. With these, I get great shaves that I'm very happy with and can keep my razor sharp. I just keep trying different things once in a while and this is one thing I've never gotten good results with. Certainly I don't need it but half the fun of shaving for me is trying new and different stuff.

 

I use a hint of CrOx ( stick form) and 0.5 dia spray on a cotton strop with excellent results.
Then I finish stropping on plain leather with a light coat of graphite ~ 100 passes. The graphite does not cause damage to the strop and be be wiped off with a damp cloth any time. The result is a wicked smoooth edge...
For daily stropping I do ~10-15 passes