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Honing with a Paddle

Seems I am dulling my razor instead of sharpening it. What is the pressure to use? Also What kind of grit is recomended?
 
Hopefully an admin will move this to the straight razor forum...

The grit to use depends on how dull the razor is. Paddles aren't really suitable if you've got a really dull razor. If the razor is just pulling a bit then they will do fine for a touch-up, but asking them to do more is asking too much. Where paddles excel is that they are easier than hones, and much cheaper than really fine-grit hones. A tube of 0.5 micron diamond and a paddle is about $60, but a comparable hone will set you back at least $300, and I've heard of some going for 4 figures.

Most guys that use paddles seem to use several different grits. Usually the coarse one is something like 1 micron diamond or boron carbide, and the fine one is 0.5 micron diamond or chromium oxide. Some guys get more extreme and also use the 0.25 micron diamond for the final step. There are even finer abrasives available - I've got a tube of 0.1 micron diamond though I'm not certain that it at all useful, since just about anything you put it on is likely more abrasive than the paste itself :001_unsur

As for pressure, by the time you get to the sort of grits you use on a paddle you shouldn't be using any pressure at all. Just lay the razor on the paddle and drag it back and forth. Hold it by the end of the scales if you need to, just make sure you don't use any pressure. pressure = dull. It is easier to keep the pressure low if you only put an extremely small amount of abrasive on the paddle. My paddles are so lightly pasted that they have only a faintly splotchy greyish or greenish hue.
 
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