diamond Paste Vs. Chromium Oxide?

[Garrett]

Can you please tell me the difference between the two products and what the advantages of each are? I need to put some on a strop but do not really understand the difference and which is better to use. Thanks.

[crankymoose]

this here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=347334#post347334) will explain it better but generally diamond paste come in different microns or coarseness and you can use them as needed from 3.0 all the way down to .25 to touch up an edge, I believe the chromium oxide is about a .5 micron, however some feel the chromium oxide leaves a smoother feeling edge on the blade when shaving versus the diamond paste which feels sharper but more rough again its a ymmv thing.

I typically use 1.0 and .5 diamond paste then go to chromium oxide all on paddle strops whenever I touch up any of my straights.

[professorchaos]

All other things being equal, the short story is that they cut the steel differently. Diamond paste cuts quicker, thus the abrasive material is more acutely angled. Cr2O3 cuts slower. These are not rules to live by, just my observations.

Perhaps the most important difference is that .25 micron (~60K grit) is easy to find while Cr2O3 is .5 micron (30K grit). Yes the Cr2O3 is the smoother of the two, but I prefer the sharper edge from the diamond pastes - which I never found to be harsh.

[Thebigspendur]

In the end even if the .25 diamond leaves the edge a little harsh that only lasts for the first shave or two. The diamond is basically hard xtls while the CrO is rounded particles, that's why the difference in feel. many times I'll use .5 diamond and then go to CrO. Some razors do better with .25 diamond than with 50K CrO.

[Garrett]

Thanks for the info. I think I now have an idea of how to proceed!