Hi Ken, you already told me about poly diamond sprays versus mono diamond sprays: poly has more cutting surfaces which results in a faster cutting rate. Can you tell me how CBN fits in there?
I tend to use CBN most often of the three. The finest I can get CBN is tenth Micron, so past there I use Poly. I do carry poly in tenth and finer (0.050 and 0.025) but also coarser grits up to 4 microns. For straight razor usage, CBN tends to feel smoother, yet when going past quarter microns, especially 0.1 and beyond poly is quite comfortable too. Some of my customers prefer poly over CBN and will pay the additional cost of Poly – easily the most expensive of the 4 choices.
I find that there really isn’t any steel I’ve come across that CBN won’t cut. There is the theoretical consideration that CBN doesn’t interfere with the carbon content of steel that diamond does, but this really only applies at higher temperature. CBN is second only to diamond in hardness. Although more expensive than mono diamond, I find it very effective for all knife steels, with the poly giving a bit more of a toothy edge.
So the combination of affordability and good results over a wide range of grits make CBN my first choice. I do carry monocrystalline diamond in 0.025, 0.050 0.1 for those that prefer mono, but don’t carry coarser mono since good quality mono is already available in these sizes.
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Ken
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