Thread: Questions about strops, pastes, and honing

I have a question about stop pastes and hones. I have a DOVO razor that seems to shaving reasonably well (as well as it's operator is capable of). So far I have been stropping it with an Illinois 827 stop - first the linen side then the leather (which I have treated with strop dressing). I have the red and black stop paste from Classic Shaving, and, per the advice of someone on this forum (can't remember who), I was planning on using the paste on an old leather belt - cut in half, each half for a different paste. Is this a reasonable plan? If so, at what point do should I use the pasted stops, and in which order. I also bought a hone - Premier hone - when should I use this. The hone apparently comes with dry hone instructions but I assume it can be used wet as well. If so, where can I find wet hone instructions and which is preferable? Whew - lots of questions - thanks in advance. Rich Greenberg

The unpasted strop will not sharpen a dull razor for that you will need either the pasted strops or the hone. As for the pastes use the red and then the black. I use the pasted strop to brighten up a dulling razor and I use my hone to work with a dull blade. That is just me though. My hone is a Norton 4k/8k hone which I soak in water for 15 minutes before I use it. I then use the pyramid pattern described in the forums. You can get directions in the honing forum as to how to do it. Good luck and enjoy.

Yea, very reasonable plan and a good money saver. Ofcourse a belt will not be completely as effective as extra strops, but close enough. Remember to use only a little and save more for other opportunities.

I don't remember the order of the pastes, those are the TI pastes. You can probably do a search. You want the finest grit last.

Honing, whether on pastes or hones is done whenever the razor begins to pull or you decide you want a sharper edge. A little caution is in order as you can overhone a razor and it can shave poorly. If you use the pastes you could avoid the hone for a long time and vice a versa. I would probably start with the pastes and then strop after cleaning it a little, then back to shaving. Should last a week or two, then just keep going. At some point, maybe once a month a few passes on the hone might be called for.

Its kinda like asking how often you put air in your tires . . . the answer is when the air gets low.

I like to run a razor over pastes once a week and over a stone every other week, but I'm sure everyone is different.

I think using a hone is the same (directions wise) whether wet or dry. With the exception that if your using it dry you want to clean it often to remove build up.

Thanks for the replies - how many times (passes back and forth) should I strop the razor on the pasted strops, and also on the regular strop?

Originally Posted by rgsccr

Thanks for the replies - how many times should I strop the razor on the pasted strops, and also on the regular strop?

On the pasted strop do 20 and 20 see how that works. You can always repeat. On the plain strop I do 30 trips before I shave. Just my 2 cents.

Welcome to the group!

Your plan on using the belts is just fine. Just be sure to lay them on a flat surface when using them. Do not use them as a hanging strop.

The order to use them is
1. Premier
2. Red
3. Black
4. Plain leather strop

Use the Premier, Red and Black only until your razor is shaving you well. Then stop using them and only use the plain leather strop. Use the Pyramid method on the Premier until it passes either the thumb test (not thumbnail test) or the hanging hair test. Then move on to the red & black pastes.
Be sure and clean your razor after each of the pastes so that you avoid cross contamination.
20-30 laps sounds about right for a starting point.

Wet honing. Use either water or lather. Use the X pattern. See the help files for some graphics that demonstrate the movement.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by rgsccr

I have a question about stop pastes and hones. I have a DOVO razor that seems to shaving reasonably well (as well as it's operator is capable of). So far I have been stropping it with an Illinois 827 stop - first the linen side then the leather (which I have treated with strop dressing). I have the red and black stop paste from Classic Shaving, and, per the advice of someone on this forum (can't remember who), I was planning on using the paste on an old leather belt - cut in half, each half for a different paste. Is this a reasonable plan? If so, at what point do should I use the pasted stops, and in which order. I also bought a hone - Premier hone - when should I use this. The hone apparently comes with dry hone instructions but I assume it can be used wet as well. If so, where can I find wet hone instructions and which is preferable? Whew - lots of questions - thanks in advance. Rich Greenberg

You need to purchase a norton 4000/8000 hone...if you master the honing tech necessary to sharpen the razor it should lasts between 2-3 months with reg stroping...If you feel compelled to use paste purchase a four sided paddle strop with approp pastes from tony lynn or classic shaving or other vendor keep inmind that many shavers dont use paste...they refresh with 8000 norton 10-15 passes...many shavers dont realize that a poorly honed razr may seem sharp initially but will loose its edge rather quickly thus reqiring a new hone...if the supposed honemeisters skills are lacking, the process just propetuates itself and goes full circle

What is the difference between a pasted balsa paddle strop and a pasted leather paddle stop? Are they for different applications?

Dave

Dave,
Both will work very much the same. Although balsa is a very soft porous wood it feels harder than the leather surface and many people like it for the finest of pastes like the 0.25. I use it for that as well and even for the 0.5 at times.

The all leather is still my most popular choice though and works well for all grits. Just opinion but if choosing a 4 sided strop and wanting to use balsa I would use it only on the 0.25 or 0.5 sides leaving leather for the more coarse pastes.

Tony

I honed my W&B last night:

-pyramid on 4000/8000 Norton
-.5 diamond paste on paddle
-passed HHT
-stropped 50 laps (plain hanging strop)...awful test shave
-stropped 50 laps...awful test shave
-stropped 50 laps...better but not good

It was shaving better before I honed, and it would not pass the HHT...where did I go wrong?

Dave