Which Micron Diamond Spray After Using Spyderco UF Ceramic Rod?

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What micron diamond spray would be best to use on a leather strop after using a Spydero UF ceramic rod?
I have the Sharp Maker and just ordered the 204Ultra Fine Rods, but I want to step it up with some diamond spray.

Also, does anyone know what the ultra fine rod would equate to in grit?

I've been reading its 2,000/ 8,000 or even 10,000 grit?

I'm thinking a 1 micron spray would benefit more than a .5 micron spray? Unfortunately the budget only allows for 1 spray otherwise I would get both. I have no experience with diamond sprays I a just assume logically 1 micron would be best as its not a huge gap in stepping.

1 micron= 30,000 grit
.5 micron= 60,000 grit


Thanks for any help/advice guys and gals.


EDIT: This would be my sharpening regimen when needed. I would go Sharp Maker with Medium, Fine, UF rods to a strop man leather strop with white compound on the course side then to a 1 micron diamond spray. Or like posted go from ultra fine rods to a 1 micron diamond spray?
I had no idea how many options there are?!
I just want to get a system down that makes sense as far as stepping goes and just stick with it so I can get better.
 
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Wanted to add that I'll be using the spray on a 8" paddle strop.

Can anyone who has used the diamond spray chime in and say what type of strop they get good result on?
Course, fine, smooth side of leather, kangaroo?

All I need is to figure out the diamond spray situation and also to pick me up a new strop to use it on. Hopefully I'll be content with this set up for a while.
 
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Follow up post:

Just came across a post hear regarding the SM rods in reference to microns.

* Coarse 15 microns, fine 6-7 microns, ultrafine 3 microns.

Does this sound about right?

If so, would make sense to go with the 1 micron diamond spray. Makes more sense as far as stepping goes.
 
Check United States Products Co. for diamond compounds. Get 1 + 0.5 + 0.1um for price of a spray. Put 1 & 0.5 on balsa and 0.1 on any smooth leather.
 
Bear in mind that the "grit size" for the Sharpmaker rods is wildly theoretical. They are, from what I've been able to read, all made of the same material and it's the surface finishing steps after the rods are complete that gives them the different "grits".

The Cubic Boron Nitride abrasives are also very good.
 
Hey bluntcut,
you seem to have the lowdown on the US Products diamond abrasives. What would you recommend as a direct replacement for Handamerican's 1 micron diamond spray? Their slurry or their compounds? Also, any idea if what they call 1 micron is similar to Handamerican's 1 micron?
Thanks for the insight!
 
J.Vervoorst said:
Hey bluntcut,
you seem to have the lowdown on the US Products diamond abrasives. What would you recommend as a direct replacement for Handamerican's 1 micron diamond spray? Their slurry or their compounds? Also, any idea if what they call 1 micron is similar to Handamerican's 1 micron?
Thanks for the insight!
Click to expand...

USP 1um is fairly close to HA 1um grade. USP slurry = HA spray, note: first, I drained 70% of USP slurry oil/water (make sure diamond precipitate at bottom before draining - yup, by let it sits still for a few hrs first) then put slurry in a spray bottle I bought from Michael's (or any craft) store. Other finer grade are quite inexpensive, so might as well grab 0.5 & 0.25um if you want to ensure finer upper-bound grit.

USP oil base is kinda stinky for a week or so but it works better than water-base.

I also bought a wide range of CBN slurry from them - lol I drained 70% oil for these too, reckon - I like high concentration . CBN yields finer & smoother edge/surface.
 
Thanks for the info on US Products bluntcut. I've just soaked in tons of info.

I ordered 1 & .5 micron diamond spray. I know without propper stepping you won't be able to achieve maximum results.
 
Not all compounds are very similar. You usually get what you pay for.

I've been thrilled with HandAmerican, and Precise Sharpening compounds. They actually tell you the concentration, and quality control is fabulous.

1 micron can mean anywhere from 8k grit to 15k grit. Different companies use different grit designations, but when you start talking about the fine stuff, guys usually go by the Shapton grit scale, where 1 micron is 15k grit, 0.5 micron is 30k grit, etc.

I have a bunch of different compounds, but I don't normally use anything less than 1 micron, except on straight razors. Actually, my favorite compound is 4 micron poly diamond. 4.5 micron CBN works really well too.

I know it's "only 4k grit", but it's the sharpest 4k grit I've ever run across.

It will give you a tree-topping, phonebook paper pushcutting edge, with Serious tooth.
 
Keith (Hand American) and Ken (Precise Sharpening) are where I get my compounds, actually.

I use 1u Boron Carbide and .5u Chromium Oxide from Keith, and a variety of products from Ken, most recently his 4.5u Cubic Boron Nitride paste compound to go on some linen belts for my Kalamazoo belt grinder. They are both excellent sources, and their products are of the highest quality.
 
I ordered the Hand American diamond sprays. Pretty expensive but like mentioned, I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.
I'm honestly not sure if ill stay using the .5 micron spray as it may just create an apex/micro bevel that's just to fragile?

We'll see once I get to put it in use.
I don't have a Wicked Edge or anything but feel pretty confident that with my set up, I'll achieve pretty good results.

I'll be using the sharp maker with Ultra Fine Rods then using a Stropman HD Strop with a white compound on the course side and the 1 micron diamond spray on the fine side. For me, anything more than this is just for looks. I guess I could go with a green .5 micron compound if I wanted more. I think this may be finer than the .5 micron diamond spray as the diamonds would create more of a toothy finish over the green .5 compound.

I know there's even more finer results that can be achieved like .25 diamond spray on Roo. I'm just not sure if ill need that. I think 1 micron diamond spray would be more than enough for me. Heck most people are fine with the sharp maker medium and fine rods. I'm going 3 steps further! I'm also sure that there's people out there who even go 3 steps further than me. Crazy to think what that edge would look like?!
 
Oh yes, yes there are. Ken has (and regularly sells) diamond sprays down to .025 micron. That decimal placement is correct.
 
I bought a few liters mono & poly diamond suspension and 35grams of diamond compounds from the same wholesaler where Ken (maybe HA too) sourced his stuff. Particle size distribution for these are more/less covered the same range as USP products. off-topic: I suspect, Ken had to pulled his diamond plates (from CKTG) because of channel conflict.
 
bluntcut said:
I bought a few liters mono & poly diamond suspension and 35grams of diamond compounds from the same wholesaler where Ken (maybe HA too) sourced his stuff. Particle size distribution for these are more/less covered the same range as USP products. off-topic: I suspect, Ken had to pulled his diamond plates (from CKTG) because of channel conflict.
Click to expand...

If we order from the same wholesaler they now require a $250 minimum purchase of CBN products. Everything else is a $100 minimum.
 
i use DMT dia-paste on my strop at 1m it works wonders (i use it after the ultra fine to get that nice pop on the mirror edge)
 
Hi! Lots of familiar faces! Not too sure what the rules are here - been a long time. If there is a problem with what I write, please delete it. Anyhow, the diamond plates are a different technology and I still carry them but not at CKTG. No channel conflict involved. Unfortunately for people who bought the CBN and mono/poly slurry products advertised by a certain individual as 'the same' as my product, the concentrations are MUCH more dilute than what I carry. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is. The concentrations were designed for applications other than knife sharpening unlike my products. So if you like the watered down stuff, you'll love it at the right concentrations :) Sadly several folks got taken by this misinformation. Hopefully this will save a few folks from this happening to you.

My personal preference here would be the 0.75 micron grit - 24000 grit. More than a large enough jump from the ceramic stones.

---
Ken
 
ksskss said:
Hi! Lots of familiar faces! Not too sure what the rules are here - been a long time. If there is a problem with what I write, please delete it. Anyhow, the diamond plates are a different technology and I still carry them but not at CKTG. No channel conflict involved. Unfortunately for people who bought the CBN and mono/poly slurry products advertised by a certain individual as 'the same' as my product, the concentrations are MUCH more dilute than what I carry. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is. The concentrations were designed for applications other than knife sharpening unlike my products. So if you like the watered down stuff, you'll love it at the right concentrations :) Sadly several folks got taken by this misinformation. Hopefully this will save a few folks from this happening to you.

My personal preference here would be the 0.75 micron grit - 24000 grit. More than a large enough jump from the ceramic stones.

---
Ken
Click to expand...

Thanks! I agree 10carat/2oz concentration is at least 2x higher than most other offers. Indeed a brand-name buyer might gets less value/product, however even with double squirts, it will takes a long time to use up 2oz worth of those stuff. btw - awesome belt grinder!
 
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