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Looks more expensive than usp though still better than many...if I'm doing the comparison of products right (which I may not be).
 
chinacats said:
I buy the slurry in 1 micron and heavy concentration. Thinking next time of ordering both the 1 micron and the next smaller size down (~.25u) and mixing them. Prices seem much more reasonable then pre-packaged sprays. They are very helpful if you call with questions--I did the first time I ordered and was very satisfied with their help/answers/service. They also sell rouge and aluminum oxide though I haven't tried either.
The bottles don't have a spray attachment so I bought some good/inexpensive spray bottles from the bay that have worked very well.
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Having never used diamond spray - will the slurry spray through a standard spray bottle? Or do you need a specialized spray head?
 
I looked for ones called 'atomizers' that hold ~10ml--they are made of glass. They work very well and are not expensive.
 
Felt or leather, UNloaded. The compounds are a neat trick but the effect is temporary in my experience, not worth the trouble if I have to re do it after every other task.
 
panda said:
Felt or leather, UNloaded. The compounds are a neat trick but the effect is temporary in my experience, not worth the trouble if I have to re do it after every other task.
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But stropped edges are so much fun! I haven't reloaded my balsa yet, but its definitely not every other time I need to load the strops again with the diamond spray.
 
Mucho Bocho said:
Smooth bovine leather loaded w/ 1u diamond spray (I use HA brand) will bring a properly sharpened edge into scary sharp category.

I'm a very active and passionate home cook and insist that my knives are scary sharp at all times. So I usually strop before each cutting task, sometime inbetween tasks. Im a freak but if my knives slide at all when stroking a ripe tomato skin, then it gets stropped. I like my edges sticky with three finger test and very quietly push cut paper.

When stroppping alone fails bring it back that sharp edge, I run the edge over a HA Brand 1200 ceramic rod, then strop on loaded leather. When that ceases to bring the edge back, I strop on take out my highest grit stone (takenono 8K), then back to loaded leather. Sometimes my fingers shake before touching the blade cause they know better. Yep
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The atomizers I bought were plastic, 10ml, and work perfectly. I wish I'd have found glass ones lol. Mine came 12 to a package for like $6.

Mucho Bocho said:
Slide your fingers? I'm talking scary sharp, any movement up or down would unquestionaly produce blood, just the movement of actually touching the cutting edge is enough to leave a mark. If the edge is keen and I can move my fingers up or down the blade, then I grabe the ceramic rod cause the blade doesn't have enough bite. I like a toothy but refined edge.
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chinacats said:
I looked for ones called 'atomizers' that hold ~10ml--they are made of glass. They work very well and are not expensive.
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A very basic suggestion here, if you don't mind. A piece of leather painted with acrylic olive green artist paint. Pigment is Cr2O3, water soluble. Helps in recognizing the last burr remainings, and to remove them.
 
Or instead of paint one can buy one of those green waxy thingys and dissolve little bits of it in isopropyl alcohol but I think they are more like 3-6 microns then 1.

The green brick i bought for $10 on Amazon is enough compound to make solutions for a couple of hundred KKF members!
 
Mucho Bocho said:
Hard felt loaded with 1u Diamond spray.
I don't like the feel. Its spongy and hard to hold an angle cause the pad changes depending on how much pressure you poly.
Found it hard to really get the tip right.
Was not able to produce a tomato biting edge and I think it actually rounded the primary B that I could not correct even with using the Tatenono.
I know guys are very fond of loaded felt. Perhaps just don't have the technique of it. Those that are fond of this method, please share with me your approach.
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Is this felt from HA This Site Not Allowed Here.com? If so then it's the felt's fault, it's too mushy. If it's really true "rock hard" felt then it might be you but I hesitate to blame the user if the felt is truly rock hard because this stuff os so forgiving to improper technique. Plus, you're using leather without edge rounding so my guess is that you know what your doing here. So I'm back to guessing that the felt you have as being too soft.
 
CrisAnderson27 said:
This has been my exact experience with felt. The tip is awkward (it seems to bite into the felt or get hooked up), the feedback is zero, and nothing ever got sharper. As you said maybe its my technique, but it just didn't work for me.
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Cris, what type of felt are you using? In my experience only the true rock hard stuff from India works on knives, the industrial stuff we get here in the US is junk in comparison.
 
CrisAnderson27 said:
Wow...nice selection. I wonder what the differences between slurry and suspension are? Then MDP, RDP, and PDP lol. The PDP is PRICEY. RDP cheapest, with MDP being middle of the road.
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Slurry is for manual dispersion applications, requires shaking to mix, often times an uneven amount of abrasive is dispersed since the abrasive settles/separates from the solution carrier.

Suspension is meant for use in automated dispensing applications where shaking of the product can not be done, the abrasive particles are suspended within the solution, evenly distributed.

MDP = Monocrystalline Diamond - Single clump like structures that work great initially but slow down on cut rate as the particles begin to wear/round over.

PDP = Polycrystalline Diamond - Multi-faceceted sharp pointed structures with a fast cut rate that can remain, or even increase, in speed as the particles break down into smaller bits through fracturing thus exposing even more sharp edges to the work piece. Expensive for a reason.
 
Dave Martell said:
Cris, what type of felt are you using? In my experience only the true rock hard stuff from India works on knives, the industrial stuff we get here in the US is junk in comparison.
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You're probably 100% right. I searched and searched for what type felt to use...I ended up choosing F1 hard felt from Amazon after finding zero information.

I may have to try again :)
 
Dave Martell said:
Slurry is for manual dispersion applications, requires shaking to mix, often times an uneven amount of abrasive is dispersed since the abrasive settles/separates from the solution carrier.

Suspension is meant for use in automated dispensing applications where shaking of the product can not be done, the abrasive particles are suspended within the solution, evenly distributed.

MDP = Monocrystalline Diamond - Single clump like structures that work great initially but slow down on cut rate as the particles begin to wear/round over.

PDP = Polycrystalline Diamond - Multi-faceceted sharp pointed structures with a fast cut rate that can remain, or even increase, in speed as the particles break down into smaller bits through fracturing thus exposing even more sharp edges to the work piece. Expensive for a reason.
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Excellent! So what I made from the paste is a slurry. Good to know...and also good for future purchases. Thanks Dave.
 
Dave Martell said:
Slurry is for manual dispersion applications, requires shaking to mix, often times an uneven amount of abrasive is dispersed since the abrasive settles/separates from the solution carrier.

Suspension is meant for use in automated dispensing applications where shaking of the product can not be done, the abrasive particles are suspended within the solution, evenly distributed.

MDP = Monocrystalline Diamond - Single clump like structures that work great initially but slow down on cut rate as the particles begin to wear/round over.

PDP = Polycrystalline Diamond - Multi-faceceted sharp pointed structures with a fast cut rate that can remain, or even increase, in speed as the particles break down into smaller bits through fracturing thus exposing even more sharp edges to the work piece. Expensive for a reason.
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Very helpful info Dave--Thanks!
 
Is anybody selling the good hard felt with magnetic backing then?
 
Seb said:
Is anybody selling the good hard felt with magnetic backing then?
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I ordered self adhesive magnetic backing from Amazon and did it myself (I did the same with my balsa strops...having them stick to my DMT plates is incredibly useful). I think Marko sells felt strops with magnetic backs though...but don't hold me to that.
 
Dave you busted me. Dam it, do you always have to be right :D

Dave Martell said:
Is this felt from HA This Site Not Allowed Here.com? If so then it's the felt's fault, it's too mushy. If it's really true "rock hard" felt then it might be you but I hesitate to blame the user if the felt is truly rock hard because this stuff os so forgiving to improper technique. Plus, you're using leather without edge rounding so my guess is that you know what your doing here. So I'm back to guessing that the felt you have as being too soft.
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I just lay it flat horizontally on prep table and use moderate pressure, unloaded. Angle of approach is that of higher than the edge, I'd guess 5-10deg more. Starting at the tip and sliding on a bias ending with heel.
 
Panda, Thanks. I loaded mine with 1u Diamond spray. Tried raising the blade above sharpening angle but it just rolled/polished the edge. Given the you've had success, probably means my technique needs work. I'll give it another try.
 
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