Thread: Is a pasted strop necessary?

Yes. Once you have one you'll wonder how you lived without it.

Not a necessity, but is nice to have. It's all personal preference and I think can depend on the steel of the razor you have. I only own 2 razors (dovo special and a roughly 100 year old solingen razor). I find the antique doesn't benefit in the result straight from my coticule but still use chromium oxide every now and again for a quick touch up. On the other hand my dovo for some reason gets a smoother edge from chromium oxide than coming from my coticule.

I suggest getting some chromium oxide to try it as it's inexpensive to buy, and the only way to know if it has an effect and if you like the edge you get from the pasted strop, is to use a pasted strop.

It's another tool to have in your arsenal of honing options. But you have to be careful that you don't use it as a crutch like I did for a while. You can cheat your way to what feels like a shave ready edge by using diamond spray but it's never going to be great. I was convinced that the ONLY way to get a truly sharp edge was with a pasted strop. I was wrong and treated myself to a lot of harsh edges instead of working through my stones. If you're working with one good razor with a good edge on it, I'd say you don't NEED a pasted strop. I would opt for a 10k-12k stone and use it when necessary. When you inevitably end up with more razors and discover the individual challenges that each can present, then you may want to have another option at the ready.

^^^^^^^
What he said is 100% correct.

IMO pastes have their place in a honing arsenal. I will not be parting ways with mine