Thank you he makes some lovely razors..I have been using the CrOx and I really quite like it with just a few strokes on a sprung paddle but I also picked up some Iron Ox a little while back but only just given it a go again only a few strokes and I really like it..I haven’t tried any diamond pastes I did think about ordering some a while ago just for some variation to try but to be honest this seems to be working really well for me and as they say if it ain’t broke don’t try fix it..I have heard a number of people say they find the diamond a bit too harsh but others seem to really like itNice. Your Koraats are quite lovely! What paste? CrOx? I've been maintaining my recently acquired vintage Baurmann with 0.5/0.25/0.1um diamond on balsa. Can't decide what to think, its not as good as when I got it, but better than it would have been had I relied solely on my linen and leather strop. It's a weird feeling, it's so 'comfortable' I start to wonder whether it's sharp enough, yet it seems to get the job done and shows little mercy if you lose concentration.
Yeh I’m not saying I would never try the diamond maybe further down the line I will give it a go. Again I have heard some people say they find the CrOx a little harsh too and I believe it’s used more so for coming off the stones or perhaps very sparsely between shaves. I believe the Iron Ox is more for keeping and edge sharp between shaves and CrOx for refreshing and edge that’s gone off a little between honing before taking it back to a finisher or at least that’s my understanding but I’m fairly new to it all myself. The balsa would be fine I guess with the Iron Ox to save costs..I just use a paddle strop with interchangeable beds purely because I find it really nice to use but it’s certainly not a necessity. The Iron ox is lovely and smooth to shave from I really like it..I will put a link I was given for itYep, and a dedicated strop with a rub of green is still cheaper than £60 on acrylic bars, £10 on balsa, and probably the same on diamond sprays (I have 1 mic diamond too, which I used to successfully sort out a ding on my Bracht Tennis). OK so CrOx has a wider particle size distribution but people have been using it for years with good results. In all honesty I probably should have got another strop and some green Dialux and kept the rest for when I think I am ready to try honing on a Naniwa 12k but I naively thought the diamond strop would be easier (hey maybe it is, but easier isn't the same as easy...).