Thread: Linen Strop Paste

I use the white DOVO paste, and it "works" fine. I don't think it has abrasive properties, but I've heard the same thing about the chalk in it.

Nenad

Thats an interesting opinion. Do you think theymay have changed the formulation? Your comment is the first time I have heard that it is not abrasive. Another datapoint is that I have rubbed chalk on my linen in the past and found it to be an abrasive.

Oh the variables we have to contend with!

Originally Posted by superfly

I use the white DOVO paste, and it "works" fine. I don't think it has abrasive properties, but I've heard the same thing about the chalk in it.

Nenad

Randy,

In order for something to be abrasive, doesn't it have to be harder than steel? I know chalk isn't harder than steel, but there could be something I'm missing.

chalk is usually made of fossils of diatomacious creatures, whose skeletons are made of silicate. it's harder than steel by a long shot, but it feels smooth because the particles are so small.

Ah ha. I stand corrected. Just out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to know a rough size of those particles (microns) would you?

sorry. don't have a clue. you might get somewhere on google, though.

afair from chemistry class, chalk is composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO_3).

hmm, let's see...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Your comment is the first time I have heard that it is not abrasive.
Oh the variables we have to contend with!

Well, I said that it don't look like abrasive to me. The truth is that I cannot tell the difference between using linen and letter only... When I first got the DOVO strop, the linen side was treated with the white paste, so it looked like it was made from cotton. After some months of use, it changed the color to a light brownish, the way that untreated linen material looks... I apply the DOVO White paste once every 3-4 months.

Nenad

sorry. guess i got my microscopic exoskeletons mixed up.

Before i learned to strop properly i used to use the white paste on the linen side and strop with it before every shave. Now however i barely even use the linen side and when i do i dont use the white paste (and have sluiced it out of the linen when cleaning my strop). Whyen i do use it I find that without the paste the strop has more 'bite' and seems to work a lot quicker. Not exactly a scientific test mind.