Thread: Finishing Stone vs Pasted Strop

I'm getting good shaves off the 4/8 Norton, but I hear you guys talkin' 'bout the BBS shave. I guess I need to finish off the honing process. Can I start a discussion regarding pros/con of above title? This isn't for everyday preshave, but finishing up a honed razor. I've been sharpening knives and broadheads for 30 odd years and this straight razor stuff is a completely new venture. God, I love it!

From my limited experience I've had more success finishing off honing with a Belgian coticule than with a pasted strop. My one experience with a Dovo strop with red paste was disastrous: blunt blunt blunt. Probably more to do with my technique than paste itself since many more experienced people here have a lot of success with a paste. But there's something about the coticule which just feels right to me.

If the blade needs freshening, I take it to the coticule for 12 strokes and it's shave ready again.

Both methods work well, some of us prefer one over the other, some use both on different razors, some use both on the same razor.


Pastes work best on a hard surface like a paddle or bench hone or strop, not on hanging strops which would tend to round the edge. Using a pasted paddle is easier than learning to hone but that does not make it better or worse, just different. I use both hones and pasted paddles depending on whether I am doing a quick, couple of stroke refresh (paddles) or sitting down to sharpen a new or multiple razors (hone). You will find that some razors work out better on one tool over the other.

Tony

Some guys consider the pasted paddles cheating, because they're easier to use and seem to produce a slightly weaker edge than stones do.

They do go up higher in grit though (unless you want to shell out hundreds of dollars for a high grit Shapton). After a lot of experimenting I've found that an edge finished on a 12-15K stone isn't sharp enough for my beard. I need to at least go up to .5 microns, which is in the 30-50K range if I recall correctly.

I'd say start with the pasted paddle, because you'll probably want one later anyway. Then get a more expensive finishing stone if you feel the need.

My situation is pretty unusual, though, and I'm hoping that someday I'll be able to use an edge that's finished to a lower grit.

Good luck,
Josh

Pasted paddles or bench hones would be better to start with for their ease of use. Once you know what sort of an edge you're supposed to be producing with that particular particle size, you can get a corresponding hone (up to 30k grit or close to 0.5 micron).

I know there's a lot of people saying that you shouldn't use a hanging strop for paste, but I have been doing this for the past several months with great success. After my Kitayama finishing hone, I take my razor to 3 hanging strops in succession: a 1.0 micron, a 0.5 micron, and a 0.25 micron. I have been getting surprisingly good results from this. A caveat though: your stropping form has to be very sound, so this may not be the way to go for relative novices. This post was just to say that it *can* be done.

There were actually many vintage barber strops made with a "sharpening" (pasted) side and a "finishing" (plain) side. of course they used them dozens of times a day and perfected their skills.

Today's newbie has enough issues learning to use plain ones at first.

My comment on that was directed more at newbies, not those how understand what is really going on and have a feel for their stropping.

Tony

Straight Razor shaving has been around for a long time and there are so many ways to finish a razor it will blow your mind. When your new, keep it simple. You don't want to spend a thousand dollars on equipment you don't know how to use.

A pasted paddle strop is sufficient to keep your razor sharp until you decide if straight razor shaving is for you. If your new and you want to use a pasted hanging strop then the assumption is you already know how to strop. If so, fine. If not, use a paddle, buy a practice hanging strop. When you can strop without tearing up the practice strop then sand it down and paste it. In the begining, keep it simple, and enjoy shaving with a straight razor.

You really should be able to have a BBS shave from the Norton. It can be done. One of the major keys is beard prep. Do not skimp in that area. Tha being said the next step in sharpness will come from a 0.5 micron pasted paddle strop.
After you experience that level of sharpness then you will start focusing on both the sharpness and the comfort/smoothness of the shave.


Good luck!

Initially, I got good shaves from the Norton 4/8 and better after finishing with the 0.5µ Cr203. I added a 12k Shapton and 0.25µ Diamond paste on either side of the Cr203 and was getting the sharpest edges a man could want. A bit too sharp really. The edge was weaker than I would like and not quite as comfortable as the 0.5µ finish. I've recently removed the 0.25µ from my regular practice and may, at some future point, see what relying on just the Shapton or the Cr203 to finish is like in the shave.

Honing is a bit like baking. Each baker has their own favourite recipes, their own prefered tools and their own little tricks. You've got to try them out to see what works best for you.

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