Most people like to do things that they know work. They like to avoid risks, and not put themselves in unknown situations. Me? I'm a THRILL SEEKER!!!
Well, not really. But in my little obse...hobby here, I like to play around with things and see what works and what doesn't. So when I was talking to a representative at Naniwa Abrasives about some of their products, and he mentioned that they have abrasive powders up to 3000 grit, I was very intrested.
Now, a lot of people use abrasive powders in honing razors, but usually only in finishing--for example, .5 micron Chromium Oxide powder, or .5 or .25 diamond, suspended in a paste or spray. These are used to put the final polish on a razor's edge, but I was thinking, what about the REST of the process? If they work at the end of a honing session, why not the beginning. So I requested some samples of the powders, and I was generously given some.
I got samples of 400, 1000, 1500, and 3000 grist White Alumina and Green Carbon. I decided to start with Green Carbon (Silicon Carbide) as it is VERY hard, close to diamond, and I thought this would be a good stepping stone to the diamond pastes used in the finishing stages. I got some wood (medium density fiberwood--Daiso saves the day again!) and made a thin paste with cutlery oil.
I applied this to a pice of the board and had a nice 1K hone!
I repeated the process with the 3K, and then got some 1micron, .5m and .25m diamond paste to use as finishers. The jump from 3000 grit to 1m is pretty big--3000 is about 4m--but since diamond is a pretty fast cutter, I felt it was an ok risk to take.
My first razor was the Rongin was whining about before. I had had tons of trouble setting a bevel, so I thought I'd try the pasted wood. Using a mix of pasted wood strop and diamond plate, I was finally able to get the bevel set. Then I moved up to the 3K, and it was AWESOME. The hone really put a keen, smooth edge on the razor, it was popping hairs an inch off my arm--off the 3K!!!!
The diamond pastes finished up the job, and I shaved...and it was an awesome edge. These pasted hones are really something else. I'll continue to experiment, especially with full bevel setting, but I think this is pretty cool--a full set of hones for less than $10. Maybe not perfect, but pretty darn neat, I think.
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