Thread: Solingen pastes - black and red

I can hear the groans already. Sorry to ask this - I am sure its the typical dumb noob question but I can't find the answer anywhere. My kit came with two pastes in a red box marked "Solingen". the one paste is in blue foil and is black, the other is in a red foil and is, well, red.

Can anyone give me any advice about when to use, what to use with and how to use these things? The only advice I have seen so far is don't use them - but that was in German and my German is not as good as my English.

Cheers

Si

I have also asked about these strop pastes before but it seems that not many people use these. I have tried using them on spare strops, but I have never really managed to utilise them sucessfully
Nick

I used the red paste on a pasted paddle strop.
I haven't used it in a long time since I also have a coticule of which the grit is supposed to be finer than the red paste.

Actually, I do use the red paste: on a dremel felt wheel to polish oxidized blades.

the paste is most often used on the dovo paddle strops that come prepasted.
these paddles (or sometimes loom strops) are meant to be used for touching up and edge, or as a final step after the norton 4/8.

Thats great info thanks - so the red pasts is a finer grit then the 8k side of the norton, so its the paste that should probaly be used after a hone, right? I have a spare strop so I will rub some into it and see what it does to my second blade, maybe I will avoid the need for a hone with it.

Anyone know something about the black paste, and its appropriate usage?

What type of strop is it?
Hanging strops are less than ideal for pasting unless you know what you are doing. Or so I was told in the stropping forum.

Paste is almost always used on paddle strops or loom strops.

In the stropping forums are a number of threads on making your own pasted paddles. That might give you a good starting point.
I only know the red paste. I don't know what the black paste is like.

Originally Posted by Sunsi

Thats great info thanks - so the red pasts is a finer grit then the 8k side of the norton, so its the paste that should probaly be used after a hone, right? I have a spare strop so I will rub some into it and see what it does to my second blade, maybe I will avoid the need for a hone with it.

Anyone know something about the black paste, and its appropriate usage?

The black is finer still, I believe it's graphite so it's just a final extra polishing paste to be used after the red. Like Nick I have tried to use them but being a newbie had little success but the red certainly made a difference when I tried it out on an e-bay special. The thing needed honing but was noticeably sharper after the red but with the edge in such bad nick the black paste did sweet FA...

The e-bayer is going on my shiny new norton today so if I can get it near shave ready I will use the pastes to see if they help safe in the knowledge I have a Lynn honed daily shaver to gauge progress.

One thing I did find though is that the pastes perform better on a paddle as opposed to a hanging strop. I glued my old strop to a piece 2x1 and it was noticeably easier to get a result.

Simon