Pastes or sprays?

[Wid]

For those who hone razors, your own or for others, who uses a pasted strop of some sort after finishing on stone? I have been using a Cr0x pasted strop on my razors after a C12K.

Doing a bit of reading of old posts, here and elsewhere, and it SEEMS quite a few do use the pastes or sprays for the final progression.

One reason I ask is; if this is your final stage then how important is the stone used prior to using the pastes or sprays?

 

[danjared]

When I used chromium(III) oxide and 0.25 micron diamond spray (not necessarily on the same razor), I found that the stones I used before didn't really matter all that much so long as the bevel was well-developed. Now I almost exclusively use coticules (with the occasional Nakayama and rarer Arkansas usage), even though I have a nearly full bottle of Hand American chromium(III) oxide. Personally, I find that it makes no sense to use such nice (and expensive) hones, only to finish with a paste. I can understand that this is not an issue for others, though.

 

[SliceOfLife]

When I used chromium(III) oxide and 0.25 micron diamond spray (not necessarily on the same razor), I found that the stones I used before didn't really matter all that much so long as the bevel was well-developed. Now I almost exclusively use coticules (with the occasional Nakayama and rarer Arkansas usage), even though I have a nearly full bottle of Hand American chromium(III) oxide. Personally, I find that it makes no sense to use such nice (and expensive) hones, only to finish with a paste. I can understand that this is not an issue for others, though.

+1, but since my opinion no doubt inspired this opinion polling, I'm more interested in seeing who feels differently and what stones they use. Should be a very interesting thread.

I used to use a Swaty followed by a Balsa ChromOx paddle. Every since I got my Jnat, then an Escher, then a Coticule, I've retired (and sold) it. I find the shaves off a stone then clean strops to feel better without sacrificing much if any keenness. For me pastes are a cheap way to avoid buying a $50+ finishing stone. Of course, this coming from a guy who just picked up another $25 Thuringian two days ago.

 

[Legion]

Personally I think it is all about progression. As long as your stone or paste removes the scratches of the one before, it is going to work. There are better stones than a C12k but it is finer than an 8k which is what I use before it so it makes the edge smother. CrO puts on a finer edge than that (for me) so that goes next. As long as the stone does what it is supposed to, in its place in the progression, it is a good stone, IMO.

 

[Bart]

I've used Dovo red paste and Handamerican Chromium Oxide.
Both provide a nice shave, in my opinion, an worked well to get that extra bit of sharpness that my edges used to lack coming of the hones. When my honing improved, I stopped using these pastes. They offer me no further improvement.

I also find the longevity of an edge finished on a hone, considerably better than the edge finished on a pasted. With pasted edges, I ended up doing a few laps on the pasted strop every second or third shave. A hone finished edge, I can keep going for much longer than that.

Kind regards,
Bart.