Thread: Linen Strop Paste

I noticed that DOVO sells a strop past intended for the linen side of their hanging strop in a white tube. I recall seeing somewhere that it contains a chalk based substance. Is this correct? Does chalk act as an abrasive, or does it merely clean the blade? Does anybody use this paste?

i have it on good authority, though i'm just new to this myself, that you don't need to put anything on the linen side. and if you don't have to, why complicate things?

You do not "need" the linen paste. It is an abrasive that people have used in the past to maintain the sharpness of their razors. One of our members (David Uthe) used it for years before he found other hones and abrasives.

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