Thread: Paste instead of honing?

Hi all,

Quick question on maintaining/refreshing my razor:

My new Dovo razor is only a week old, and I'm uncertain if it needs a hone. Seems to shave ok, but occasionally feels like it's pulling a bit. If I decide to leave honing it myself until I get more experience, would it be a safer bet for me (rank beginner) to get some paste (say Dovo's red tube) and apply to the canvas side of my strop and use that to refresh my blade, instead?

many thanks..

Since it is only occasionally pulling I would suspect angle and technique before a touch up. However a few passes on a pasted strop of some sort is easy. Since a pasted strop or finishing hone will be necessary eventually go ahead and try it.

There is a minor risk of rolling an edge, but a paddle strop should minimize that risk.

Jonathan

There's a thread here that you might find useful:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...red-paste.html

I've used CrOxide "honing compound" (probably about 0.5 micron) to bring edges from "almost shave-ready" to "shave-ready". So I'd say it's worth a try.

Be warned -- once you've put paste on the linen, it'll work its way through the fabric, and you won't be able to use the "plain" side of the linen for daily stropping.


. Charles

Keep in mind that once a paste is applied it cannot be taken back

Dovo pastes are also very mild cutters, they go in this order

Dovo Green 5-8 Microns
Dovo Red 3-5 Microns
Dovo Black 1-3 Microns

Those were the numbers as I remember them, but the Dovo pastes do not cut anywhere near as quickly as the Diamond, Cubic, or the Chromium pastes..

Many people used strips of balsa to get an idea if they liked a paste before commiting a strop to it, somehow that evolved into using it on Balsa all the time (Personally I think that leaves a harsh edge) but it works for a cheap and easy test

Get a good barber stone, forget the pastes until later on down the road...check the classifieds here.

Please don't get me wrong, they do have their place. I have a paddle strop that has .5 diamond sprayed on it for a quick refresher, but as Glen mentioned, once it's a pasted/sprayed strop it always will be a pasted/sprayed strop...the coarsest you put on it as it imbeds into the leather.

I have used the Dovo green paste with absolutely no result.
Then, I gave up with pastes.

What I do that has been working very well for me is:

1. I place my pasted (green oxide) canvas strop on a smooth hard back surface and strop the razor until there is less friction in stropping, this is usually about 25 back and forth strokes.

2. I then strop on hanging leather until there is a noticeable change in sound in the razor and less friction. This is varies (50-100 times or more) as I use different razors that are hardened differently but, the sound and reduced friction are good indicators for me.

Hope this makes sense and if you use it, works well for you too.

Originally Posted by Slur

I have used the Dovo green paste with absolutely no result.
Then, I gave up with pastes.

That's because dovo green is about the same as a 4k stone

Check out this post http://straightrazorpalace.com/showpost.php?p=733537

Originally Posted by Castel33

That's because dovo green is about the same as a 4k stone

You see - this is why I find this all to be weird voodoo! I love the stuff! Moreover, I have convinced myself that it does work lol !

I got to stop reading all this stuff! You guys make me second guess everything I do LOL!!!!