Thread: To Paste or not to Paste. Explain why.

Here is a post i did on pasted strops that might help http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ugh-guide.html

The other consideration if you want to try pastes but not risk your strops is order an extra piece of secondary material from SRD (.. or whoever you may have purchased from..) then paste and use it on a table top. SRD's price is like $6-$16 depending on which strip you order so not risking much... And, I imagine you could do the same thing with just used denim... Take a torn up pair of jeans, cut enough of the material sans seam to wrap around a 2by4, 1by4, 'whatever' then staple/tack in place and paste on the user side then strop away. If it doesn't come out the way you want you just take it apart and throw away the denim or hand wash and re-use. You can also find balsa fairly readily at Hobby Shops and the same approach would work without being out a bunch of $$$ or messing up your normal gear.

Whatever damage a beginner can do on leather they can do tenfold with abrasive mediums. Learn to use your strops au naturel first then consider pates ,honing , etc.

Originally Posted by Siguy

Hello all.

I have my first strop. A 3" Big Daddy.

I've seen opinion for and against spraying or pasting the felt side of my strop. I've heard some new str8ters have had good results in tuning up their blades with CROXd strops. I was becoming convinced that paste/spray could only help.

Please can you take a minute to weigh in pro/con and why?

Thanks all.

Con: You can never un-paste a strop. <-------- IMPORTANT.
Con: Changes the draw of good leather.
Con: Paste that is fine enough does not sharpen (more later).

Pro: It can calm a too sharp edge (tame a harsh edge). Sub-micron paste only.
Pro: It can sustain a shaver for a long time.
Pro: After honing it can add that little bit to the edge. <--- after honing there is value....
Pro: Sub-micron abrasive is gentle enough that some have used
pasted strops for months with no rounding and good shaves
as long as the tester had the patience to keep the test going (glenn).
Pro: Some strops are gummy and have "too much" draw and
a dusting with something like 0.5 micron CeOx (cerium oxide)
can free up the draw. This has value when someone applies odd stuff
or excessive strop dressing and rubbing with brown paper does not
help. Draw is necessary so removing too much draw is trouble.

BTW: An old strop will have auto pasted itself. Natural iron oxide, common
dust and traces of hone dust will paste a strop over a decade.
A well cared for leather strop will get better and better with
over time. Only the smallest applications of strop dressing are needed.
No new strop will match your old friend if you slice or loose it.


Recommendation #1: Stick with 0.25 or 0.5 micron spray and apply
in small amounts over time. I have no problem with applying 0.25 micron
diamond to the fabric half of any strop. If the leather is good just say
no to paste.

A paste that is fine enough for a daily shaving strop is not abrasive enough to make
a dull edge shave.

Yes it is possible to apply graded modern pastes to a four sided leather covered
"strop" and hone an edge. There are fine honing solutions that use leather
on a stick and use a progression of paste from six micron down to about
one micron. It often works for a shaver but not for a honemaster. These
old school paste solutions are not as good as modern water stones.
They do work with modern pastes....

Recommendation #2 Have a professional honemaster hone your razor at least once
perhaps more. He has $thousands$ invested in hones and has honed thousands of razors
over years to develop the touch to get it right.
The current prices are a bargain...

Review Lynn's video as referenced above on maintaining a razor that has been
previously honed correctly. He covers the pasted strop nicely.