..................... As Stitch says, industrial diamond isn't that expensive - you're paying for the grading and shipping (and markup).
One of the first things a student working on an MBA learns is that 'advertising' can make or break sales. Having a good name for a product is the key to marketing.
Sexy, exotic, adventurous, and magical l will always outsell
drab, local, mundane, and ordinary. A local jeweler here is advertising rings and pendants made with slices of
genuine meteorite! He sells out as soon as he makes them, and he charges an arm and a leg for them.
Hey! It's genuine meteorite! And people never stop to think that the meteorite he's using is exactly the same as a chunk of iron ore out of the bottom of a furnace in Pittsburgh. How many would he sell if he advertised it as "ordinary iron ore slag?"
When a very reputable knife sharpening supply dealer (who's compound products
are some of the very best available and at good prices) decided to sell glass butcher/meatpacker's steels, he didn't offer 'glass butcher steels.' Instead, he advertised "
Borosilicate Glass Butcher Steels!" And priced them at about $70 each. Most folks had never heard of borosilicate glass, and knowing that this company did produce excellent products, figured these must be pretty damn good! And they are! Borosilicate glass is perfect for use in the kitchen before cutting up meat or veggies, used exactly like any metal 'steel.' But.....
.... Borosilicate glass is dirt cheap. It's cheaper than the glass used for your kitchen drinking glasses. It's cheaper than window glass. And most likely,
each and every one of us already has some in their house! You can buy a borosilicate glass pie plate, meatloaf pan, measuring cup, etc., etc., in every neighborhood supermarket, Dollar Shop, home center, department store, in just about every country in the world. You know borosilicate glass by its common name....'Pyrex.' Look at the bottom of the glass baking dishes in your kitchen. Then touch up your edges on the rim of the dish... and save $70. I had a local chemical supply shop make a borosilicate glass rod for me shaped like a regular steel. (Most laboratory glassware is made of borosilicate glass.) Took two days and cost about $5. Maybe it was $8... It was many years ago. I wrapped a handle around one end, and have been using it in my kitchen for years.
Hey, if you're rich and don't mind wasting money, go for the $70 glass rod instead of the $5 one. It won't work better, but you get bragging rights.
If you don't mind spending $60 on a small bottle of diamond compound because it has 7 karats of diamond rather than the $10 bottle with only 4 karats, go for it. You might be able to save 2-3 strokes on your stropping for that $50. But you do get bragging rights. We've already discussed spending the extra money for Siberian Snow Leopard leather rather than cowhide...
As long as the grit size is uniform, and the shape is the correct one for the job, (i.e mono vs poly) the diamond spray/paste/powder is going to work. Then it's a matter of how much you are willing to spend for roughly the same stuff. (Note that I said 'roughly.' The difference might be a few extra stropping strokes.) $60 or $10. With the glass rods, $70 or $5. And the glass is exactly the same... $65 more for the exotic name. But you do get bragging rights.
Stitchawl
