To paste or not to paste...that is the question.

[dabrock]

with all the types of stones available these days I see no use for pasting a hanging traditional Strop.

used to use balsa strops.

like natural stones these days.......preference which varies greatly by our members here.

camo

I used to think DE shaving had so many individual variables, and then I discovered straights...

 

[camoloc]

I used to think DE shaving had so many individual variables, and then I discovered straights...

very true.....

then you can debate even further what is best on each stone depending upon type......

slurry, no slurry, thin slurry, oil, water only, glycerin and water, soapy water, oil only, dry burnished, etc......the list goes on!!!!!!

camo

 

[luv2shave]

I used to think DE shaving had so many individual variables, and then I discovered straights...

Definitely much more complex than blade exposure, blade gap and rigidity variables for DEs.

 

[thp001]

I use a chromium oxide crayon on a linen strop to help take down harsh edges a bit. I don't think the traditional pastes such as jeweler's rouge actually sharpen since they actually rather course with green being about 800 and red about 1500 tops. AFAIK they are just for polishing and smoothing small imperfections to remove harshness.

Traditional, high quality jewelers rouge which is pure FeOx is somewhere in the 1-3 micron range so very fine. Sadly most of the bar compounds sold today actually have predominately AlOx as the primary abrasive and are blended with the other abrasives. They are unsuitable for razor stropping since the particle distribution is much wider than we would like. Good ones can be found but you need to look at the MSDS to see if it is pure FeOx, CrOx, etc. Or make your own by purchasing metal oxide powders from somewhere like Kremer Pigments.

 

[thp001]

I find pastes are a crutch and abandoned them early on. While the will make a razor very sharp I find them excessively harsh and without soul. Once my razor starts to tug back to the natural stones it goes.

Sent from my KB2007 using Tapatalk

Pastes are no more of a crutch than anything else. They are simply a tool.

 

[dabrock]

Traditional, high quality jewelers rouge which is pure FeOx is somewhere in the 1-3 micron range so very fine. Sadly most of the bar compounds sold today actually have predominately AlOx as the primary abrasive and are blended with the other abrasives. They are unsuitable for razor stropping since the particle distribution is much wider than we would like. Good ones can be found but you need to look at the MSDS to see if it is pure FeOx, CrOx, etc. Or make your own by purchasing metal oxide powders from somewhere like Kremer Pigments.

Thanks, I might look into that then.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Before I learned how to hone, and I was just using a straight to shave my neck and edge my beard, I used crox on a canvas strop to refresh the edge. It was ok. Now that I have been honing, it feels like a step backwards, so I don't use it. I just touch up on films or ILR.

I also just this week got my diamond/balsa strops setup, which so far has been a successful experiment and I'll probably use for some of my edges. But for hanging strops it's only clean leather for me nowdays.

 

[Frank Shaves]

When I started, I used diamond paste on balsa because it was the only way I could get an edge sharp enough to shave with. As my honing improved, I made less use of the diamond paste, and now mostly shave with a stone edge, and I am happy.

 

[global_dev]

I enjoy the feel and diversity of non-paste experience. However, i do once in a while try pasted.

 

[Jnatcat]

I actually this past year started using a pasted paddle strop, I honed all my razors the first of this year and now whenever I’m done with a shave I do 10-12 light laps with .5 CrOx and it seems to keep things going but I have noticed the edges are slightly less keen then when first honed but still acceptable, I doubt the edges will last all year but it’s been a good test.

 

[Ice-Man]

No sorry just clean ole leather here no paste of any kind I'm happy with my stones, I did try a pasted strop and it was a harsh shave so just a clean strop here.

 

[steveclarkus]

I use diamond pasted balsa but I don’t believe you are referring to that. I rinse and wipe my razor before going to clean leather. I’m very careful not to contaminate my strip with any type of abrasive.