Jende nanocloth strops

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Has anyone tried/had any luck with nanocloth strops in place of pasted balsa? I’m new to SR shaving and looking for a way to maintain my razor. I had it honed by a reputable guy and love the edge he put on it. I’ve read the pasted balsa thread and am curious about other similar methods to keep the edge as long as possible.


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[bluesman 7]

Tried it once. Not impressed had to re hone.

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Thanks bluesman, do you prefer balsa? I’m trying to decide between that and CrOx and looking at other options as well. I’m still new and concentrating on shaving and stropping technique but want to maintain the edge as long as I can. I’m not ready to start honing yet


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[bluesman 7]

I don't use pastes at all normally and haven't used them enough to really give useful advice about them. I get long life out of my edges on just clean strops. Often over 100 shaves.

I do believe that if I chose to use pastes, I would be able to get acceptable edges. People have been using them for years. I just don't have the interest.

I have one razor that I finished on CrOx on cotton belting just as an experiment. It was a bit harsh at first but I was able to mellow it out with clean leather. The razor has since just been maintained with clean strops. A dozen shaves and counting.

I would recommend seeing how you get along with just clean strops, and then experimenting with pastes if your edges start to degrade. Trying pastes is very cheap so you can experiment until you find something that works for you. Pastes are generally easy to master, but none of the systems are foolproof as Slash's pass around proved.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Has anyone tried/had any luck with nanocloth strops in place of pasted balsa? I’m new to SR shaving and looking for a way to maintain my razor. I had it honed by a reputable guy and love the edge he put on it. I’ve read the pasted balsa thread and am curious about other similar methods to keep the edge as long as possible.


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The surest route to brilliant success is to stop thinking and wondering about alternate methods, and just do it according to The Method, like a soullessly dedicated but well programmed robot. Find alternatives and perform experiments later, after you have achieved success. It is better to march in step than to stumble blindly. Don't let curiousity distract you from the prize. All the various techniques and equipment can be fascinating and fun to use or try, but it is more fun to try all that after you have created your first truly legendary edge, and shaved with it.

Nanocloth had its moment in the sun. Some guys really liked it. Some still do. It does work. Does it work better than balsa? I have to say most likely not quite, unless you are comparing it to an improperly set up balsa, in which case the properly set up nanocloth will probably prove superior. Does it work at all? Can it improve an edge off a stone or lapping film? Yes I am sure that it can, if it is prepped and used optimally. The product had plenty of good reviews from guys who know what they are talking about. So nanocloth vs balsa boils down to pretty darn good vs pretty darn better. Which do you want?

There will be those who disagree with me. I can't help that. And nearly anything you read about here will work. It is just a matter of degree.

 

[Rugger007]

I have also used nano cloth and was not impressed at all. CBN on balsa is fantastic, exceptionally comfortable edge compared to diamond and well beyond CrOx.

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I’m sold on the balsa.


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[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

So I made a .1 diamond pasted balsa strop today and don’t think I put enough paste on it which I gather means I probably have plenty. I put tiny dots of it across the board and rubbed it in. My question is how do you guys store these?


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[Rugger007]

Just toss it into a plastic bag and your good, no special treatment is required.

Like you already said, if you don't think you put enough on, you have put enough on.

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Thanks rugger, out of curiosity where do you buy the CBN and is it spray or paste? I went with the diamond because it seemed considerably cheaper and I’m still a newbie. I saw some pics that Slash posted on the ‘balsa’ thread and just tried to make mine look like that


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[Slash McCoy]

Just cover to keep the dust off. Don't stack them. The balsa is too soft. You could construct a compartmentalized box out of plywood to protect them, too. I will do that "one of these days".

 

[Rugger007]

Thanks rugger, out of curiosity where do you buy the CBN and is it spray or paste? I went with the diamond because it seemed considerably cheaper and I’m still a newbie. I saw some pics that Slash posted on the ‘balsa’ thread and just tried to make mine look like that


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There is nothing wrong with the diamond, it's just my experience that CBN, for me, feels much smoother. I get my CBN from chef knives to go and you can get it in either spray or emulsion.

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

All I made so far was .01 diamond balsa, had a fantastic shave and did 20 very light laps on the balsa after and looks like I have a nick on the edge now, I tried to be as careful with it as I could, what’s wrong?!? My edge seems to be perfect now, great shave with on irritation, I’d hate to think I messed it up


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[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

First try on the balsa, am I missing something? I went as light as possible


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[Rugger007]

It is unlikely that the damage happened from the balsa strop. It either happened on your last stone prior to the strop, the effect of stropping caused a wire edge to break off leaving what looks like a nick or the angle of the blade, combined with the steel do not allow the blade to be refined to this level.
I have one particular blade which is a dream to shave with, however, if I use it with a fire hose strop rather than linen, it can cause micro chipping at the edge.

 

[Slash McCoy]

All I made so far was .01 diamond balsa, had a fantastic shave and did 20 very light laps on the balsa after and looks like I have a nick on the edge now, I tried to be as careful with it as I could, what’s wrong?!? My edge seems to be perfect now, great shave with on irritation, I’d hate to think I messed it up


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Where did you find .01u diamond paste? I have never seen it. Maybe you mean .1u?

20 laps on .1u won't do much. You must realize that this is roughly 200,000 grit. It should not be possible to chip an edge on it. It should also be pretty much not going to improve your edge. What was the razor finished on? From 12k or 1u you really need a three stage progression to get a .1u edge. And you can't build upon a crappy edge. If you have a fin edge or you ran through your stones or films too quickly then the balsa won't help you.

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Where did you find .01u diamond paste? I have never seen it. Maybe you mean .1u?

20 laps on .1u won't do much. You must realize that this is roughly 200,000 grit. It should not be possible to chip an edge on it. It should also be pretty much not going to improve your edge. What was the razor finished on? From 12k or 1u you really need a three stage progression to get a .1u edge. And you can't build upon a crappy edge. If you have a fin edge or you ran through your stones or films too quickly then the balsa won't help you.

The razor was finished on nanny 12k



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[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

The razor was finished on nanny 12k



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Yes .1



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[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Yes .1



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I lapped the balsa but it still seems harsh to me



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[Rugger007]

I lapped the balsa but it still seems harsh to me



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This is the reason I stopped using diamond, I always found it left a very harsh feeling edge. CBN is much smoother, but it left an edge that was just far to keen for my tastes. I moved to natural finishers for this reason and have never looked back. Pastes for me have been demoted for use only with knives.