Thread: Why do people use pasted strops?

There are plenty of good reasons to use a pasted strop. Price, I used an old seat belt for mine. Easy to travel with, if you're going away for a few weeks it's not a bad idea to travel with one.

Another handy element is you don't need to use tape on a pasted strop. I've honed about 20 razors and because I didn't keep a record at the time, I have only a vague idea of which ones were taped and which ones weren't. It's not a big deal, but 5-6 laps on a pasted strop is quick and simple and seems to help with edges that need to see stones in their not so distant future.

There is a big, important difference too between a paddle strop and a hanging strop. Generally I find that a rough paste say 1 micron is a little too much for a hanging strop, particularly if you're going to let it sag a bit.

A really high grit paste is nice though for quick touch ups. I like to use fireash (on linen) and graphite, personally.

Like any other technique though you have to learn the ins and outs of how to do it. It won't be second nature. But a strop is considered easier to use than a stone. We have lowered the learning curve of a hone, but many consider honing something that requires a big learning curve.

The idea that you can not hone an edge that has pastes used on it is something I would disagree with. It may be a suggestion that you might need a lower grit than just a finishing stone. I suppose it would require a mild bevel reset, but that isn't very hard, more just a question of time on the hone.

I would have to concede that a burr is more likely with a hanging strop, as suggested over at RazorCentral, but that wouldn't disuade me entirely from using them.

What I like to do is to spread a little graphite on my hanging strop, and sharpen the razor. Then I dry wipe the graphite off. There is just enough graphite remaining on the strop that it acts like a daily strop, yet sharpens the blade so mildly that the razor shaves almost forever, like years. Its kinda neat, unless you like honing.

You simply ran into some subjective bias that filtered into the Wiki, which I think anyone can contribute to.

I use diamond sprayed on felt or CrO sprayed on linen as a final step after honing. On some razors I can't get as fine an edge just off stones no matter how long I try. A few dozen light stropping laps seems to finish things better.

I use diamond and chromium oxide as my finishing steps, applied to balsa wood strips purchased at Michaels hobby store. Works very well. Based on what people say, even with my light touch, I suspect I am rounding the edge slightly. But, if this is the effect, I think I like a slightly rounded bevel. (There's tons of threads on the rounding effect, so will skip the discussion.)

But, pastes on balsa are just fine for me.

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

I use diamond and chromium oxide as my finishing steps, applied to balsa wood strips purchased at Michaels hobby store. Works very well. Based on what people say, even with my light touch, I suspect I am rounding the edge slightly. But, if this is the effect, I think I like a slightly rounded bevel. (There's tons of threads on the rounding effect, so will skip the discussion.)

But, pastes on balsa are just fine for me.

I dont think you will round the bevel using a balsa strop, it stays flat unless you are putting all your weight on it, which of course you are not.