My TI 6/8 extra hollow was dragging so I gave it a few laps on .5 diamond on TM cotton, and a few on crox (other side of the cotton) and it sharpened right up. Figured I'd give my TI 11/16 1/4 grind a touch-up too but after it didn't seem better, maybe even not quite as good as it was prior so I gave it a 3 more laps on the diamond and a half dozen on the crox and now I can say for sure it's dragging. (It's shaving and it will still give a good stinging nick but it seems like more work than usual. Might not have had enough beard prep but I'd only just stepped out of the shower.) Not sure what I did or didn't do. Do heavier grinds need more pasted stropping then finer grinds or maybe I simply rolled it just enough to dull it some? Can I get it keen again with more pasted stropping? Thanks!!
Edge seems duller after paste
- Thread starter tezza
- Start date
I am new at this - but I have heard those TI blades are made of a tougher steel so they require a bit more work than the average razor to get an edge on them. As for making a good edge duller - I am already an expert at that. I'd say go easy but do 3 or 4 times as many passes with the TI as you do a regular razor and then check your work. My 1 cent from a newbie.
- Thread starter
- #3
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I am not a fan of abrasives with hanging strops. get a nice 3"wide 12" long balsa block and lap it nice and flat to 600 grit and paste one side with .5 or .25 diamond, the other side with .1u diamond. For a dullish razor go about 4 dozen laps on the coarse side, double that for harder steels. then 2 or 3cdozen laps on the .1u. For maintenance, go 4 dozen on the .1u side only, after each shave. Light pressure. Really light. If you know your technique is good then keep going on a dull edge until it is good to go.
If you don't catch the edge before it truly degrades to "dull" stropping on higher grit sprays won't help much. At the first sign of the edge starting to degrade I take it to the sprays.
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- #6
+1 on what he ^^ said, it is way to easy to dull the edge on pasted hanging strops of you technique is not top game.
++1 on what Kentos said.
Also, too much stropping with diamond impregnated hanging strop will eventually round your bevel and create a harsh shave. Slash has a good idea - use balsa or a paddle strop, which will help preserve that bevel.
I personally use diamond paste on a hanging canvas strop, but I know that, after I refresh a razor on that 3 or 4 times, I will create a harsh edge and need to go back to my 4k hone and work up from there (since I'll have then rounded my bevel).
Also, too much stropping with diamond impregnated hanging strop will eventually round your bevel and create a harsh shave. Slash has a good idea - use balsa or a paddle strop, which will help preserve that bevel.
I personally use diamond paste on a hanging canvas strop, but I know that, after I refresh a razor on that 3 or 4 times, I will create a harsh edge and need to go back to my 4k hone and work up from there (since I'll have then rounded my bevel).
- Thread starter
- #9
I actually prefer hanging leather for my sprays but YMMV.
I tested razors with hanging strops and pastes quite extensively before giving up on it. The guy that sent me the strops applied CrOx, CeOx and 2 grades of CBN down to .125.
He had images of 'boat hulled' blades and told me that my edge would soon look like this too. It didn't affect my shave negatively at all.
I am not following your post- are you saying pasted strops are good or bad or neutral?
Brian
Brian
They worked for me and I used them until I procured this fancy thing everyone keeps calling a JNat. I find the edge just as sharp as one I used on a treated strop but smoother.
If you can strop without paste without issue, then you can strop with paste without issue.
Seriously - hangnig pasted strops have been around a long time - they work fine.
Technique - please don't make this out to be some kind of atom-splitting event. It's stropping.
As for what pastes do - or liking/disliking them - that's another story. Same for liking/disliking hanging strops.
Personal choice rules over all.
Another idea here - the minimal stropping on the diamond may have caused a burr that's now getting in the way.
I've had it happen here - the edge will cut but not as well as it should. Seems counter-intuitive at first but once the edge's condition is known - action can be taken.
If that's so - then continued stropping on the diamond 'may' clear it off. Trick is to keep going until you hit the sweet spot but that's another discussion.
Some people don't mind convex edges- some prefer them - that's another personal choice.
Seriously - hangnig pasted strops have been around a long time - they work fine.
Technique - please don't make this out to be some kind of atom-splitting event. It's stropping.
As for what pastes do - or liking/disliking them - that's another story. Same for liking/disliking hanging strops.
Personal choice rules over all.
Another idea here - the minimal stropping on the diamond may have caused a burr that's now getting in the way.
I've had it happen here - the edge will cut but not as well as it should. Seems counter-intuitive at first but once the edge's condition is known - action can be taken.
If that's so - then continued stropping on the diamond 'may' clear it off. Trick is to keep going until you hit the sweet spot but that's another discussion.
Some people don't mind convex edges- some prefer them - that's another personal choice.
- Thread starter
- #16
Just did a bunch more laps on the diamond and then shaved. No sharper, but it scraped the heck out of my face. Had to give up on it, and switched razors to finish up. Will try more laps to see if there's any improvement - can't do any worse - but won't be able to shave for a few more days. Will let you know if additional laps clean it up or not.
I actually don't use CroX - I bought a piece of balsa with it on it a while ago and tried it out but opted for the diamond spray for one reason or another. What you are saying, that no amount of CroX will result in a harsh edge - may be true for everybody or just you, I don't know. I'd like to try it out though - time to buy some CroX! LOL. But with .5 micron diamond grit on canvas, I can say that any razor that I shave with (I use a 21 razor rotation for myself) after a few refreshers on the diamond, I get a nasty harsh edge, and that is with every razor I shave with regularly.
Btw, a cool thing somebody showed us in another related thread is that a 200nm edge, after stropping 10 times with diamond paste, created a foil edge which then broke off with stropping and formed a 100nm edge, pic below. I don't know how to interpret that, as an edge half as thick will of course be much sharper, and I know that too much diamond creates a harsh edge for me. So, sharper is not better for me, at least in regards to diamond spray. I just realized that I would love to see a side-by-side of the following diamond spray stropped edge and a CroX stropped edge, stropped 3x more than diamond, as it offers a mellower cut, so 3x I'm guessing would give it a more even amount of wear on the edge. Anybody out there have a pic like that???
Btw here is that pic below - edge with foil edge created from 10x strops on diamond impregnated felt:
View attachment 344312
Daflorc, I think it goes back to a materials ability to cut steel rather than just move it around. Diamond particles seem to have lots of jagged edges while the CBN I used was apparently engineered to be more round.
Your results there remind me of what I found to be a jagged foil edge on several of my razors. You may be facing another scenario, anything is possible.
Here - I experimented with doing 150 laps and Then testing the edge.
After trial/error, my normal regimen with .25 um Spray was in the 200 lap zone. I used stropping X-strokes on a rough leather paddle strop. I used linen too, and a loom strop for a while also. Had pretty much the same results across the board.
When I nailed it - the edge was crazy sharp with only a bit of bite. When I missed, I had to add laps in sets of 25 to try and get 'there'.
I never enjoyed crox really - I used it as a crutch in the beginning but it was creating more problems than it solved so I left it alone. Diamond spray was more fun, and I did get results I liked - but not consistently enough.
I've also been wondering about pastes/spray etc.. lately. I've tried to experiment with a few different setups but its not easy to isolate all variables. For sure, last time I tested some laps on a felt strop sprayed with diamond, it helped after 5 laps. The result was an edge that passed HHT easier than before (was that edge better to shave with? not sure yet). I've also had some trouble with my pasted balsa with crox. One thing which I think might be my fault is that when I reapplied some crox on it, I might've put too much.. The result was that when I use the balsa it doesn't seem to help the edge much anymore, I often get an edge which is rougher (but I still need to test more).
One interesting point, when I was stropping on the felt alone of the big daddy strop, it would dull the razor. I've tested it a few times and was careful about it, but it still dulled the razor. However now with sprayed diamonds it seems to help, although I haven't yet tried anymore than 5-6laps.
Not sure if it helps, but maybe you overpasted your strop?
One interesting point, when I was stropping on the felt alone of the big daddy strop, it would dull the razor. I've tested it a few times and was careful about it, but it still dulled the razor. However now with sprayed diamonds it seems to help, although I haven't yet tried anymore than 5-6laps.
Not sure if it helps, but maybe you overpasted your strop?
