Changing Pastes?

Hi all. With the student budget and all, I am not ready to make any more purchases for a while, but I got to thinking and had a quick question...

...If you get a pasted leather bench hone (or paddle strop) with a particular type of paste (say 1.0 diamond and 0.5 chromium oxide) and decided down the line, once it seemed time that more paste was applied, do you have to stick with your original choices of pastes, or can you switch. My initial instincts would say that mixing the leftover residue of 1.0 diamond and some other paste that is not diamond and/or is a different grit would not be a good idea at all. On the other hand, I would think there would be a way to do this without having to puchase another bench hone.

There is no rush b/c I'm not making a purchase, but figured someone out there in SRP Land would know the answer.

Thanks in advance for any info!:tu

Keith at HandAmerican.com recommends using GOOP automotive hand cleaner to clean pastes from your strop. Make sure it is original, plain old GOOP and not some citrus-based product. GOOP also contains lanolin so it will condition as it cleans.

I'm sure you'll receive a few more responses. There are a variety of thoughts, ranging from it's possible to it's impossible, as well as several different methods folks have either tried or read about.

I used saddle soap lather to clean .5 diamond paste off my Tony Miller paddle strop. Tony doesn't endorse this, but it seemed to work fine for me. I applied Cr3O2 over the tiny bit of diamond residue that was left. Good results to date.

If you have a balsa strop, you can just lap it on sandpaper to get a fresh surface to work with.

Josh

Not trying to hijack my own thread here, but as a side question, what is the difference, if any, of using a balsa strop over a leather bench hone, or leather paddle strop? Advantages, disadvantages, etc.?

AFAIK there hasn't been a whole lot of experimenting with this, but IMO harder and denser the stropping surface the slower it works and the sharper and stronger the edge that is produced.

I'll second mparker on this one. Leather strops seem to cut a lot quicker than balsa ones. I started using pastes on little strips of balsa, and when I got my leather paddle I was overhoning edges by doing the same number of strokes. On balsa I do 20 or 30 strokes on 1 micron and 20 to 30 on chromium oxide. This is after the 8K Norton.

With leather the abrasive sits on top of the surface more, so it's more exposed and cuts faster. The balsa grain seems to soak up the paste and lessen its cutting ability.

Josh

If you were using leather would you reduce your strokes to about 10-20 on each?

Would you just do 8k, 1.0, 0.5, then strop - or would you actually use somewhat of a pyramid when on the bench hone doing something like a 3/3, 1/3, 1/5?

So many questions.....so little time....:rolleyes:

I haven't settled on a routine for leather yet, since I tend to grab my balsa paddle. But I'd probably start with 5-10 strokes on the 1 micron, then maybe 15-20 on the chromium oxide.

If you're not sure where to start, a pyramid approach would be good. Maybe a 1-5, 1-5 then test shave. Do that a few times until you figure out where the razor stops improving.

Josh

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Razorburne

If you were using leather would you reduce your strokes to about 10-20 on each?

Would you just do 8k, 1.0, 0.5, then strop - or would you actually use somewhat of a pyramid when on the bench hone doing something like a 3/3, 1/3, 1/5?

So many questions.....so little time....:rolleyes:

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Since I've gotten my Tony Miller two-sided leather bench strop (1.0 diamond, 0.5 chrome oxide), I do a 1/3 then 1/5 followed by 35-40 on plain strop; I do this every 5-7 shaves. I'm finding that less is better, may have to do with the leather vs balsa difference. Coming off of the 8k Norton, you may want to do 3-5 on the 1.0...experiment & have fun!

Bob

Pyramids are annoying on pastes, because of the risk of cross-contamination.

I don't do pyramids on pastes either but the less is more approach is best. I do 10-12 on the 1.o and 15-20 very infrequently on the 0.5 whether diamond or chromium. I use leather most of the time as I just like the feedback it gives when used. The balsa, to me at least give less sensation of draw even when cutting well. I like to feel what the blade is doing on the paddle.

Tony

I think I heard that paste on the strop lasts from 6 mo. to 1 year. When the paste is no longer good, what do you do? Can you apply more paste right on top of the old or should you sand the old off then apply more paste... I don't even have a pasted bench strop yet but hopefully getting one soon. Thanks for everyones help!

With leather, you can just apply new paste on top of the old. With balsa, you can do that or lap off the old stuff and start over.

Tony's point about feedback is a good one. You get some draw from the leather strops and very little from balsa. I like the smoother stroke because it helps me use less pressure. One exception to this is my chromium oxide paddle, which I treated with Cr3O2 powder mixed with mineral oil. Right now this strop has some draw, but I suspect this will lessen as to oil soaks into the wood.

Josh