Thread: Do you use synthetics but are opposed to pastes?

I understand there are some differences in use between the two. Forward stroke as opposed to a stropping backwards stroke. Different substrates clay, glass, balsa, linen, leather, ect. but essentially isn't a synthetic stone just paste held together within a substrate? Some people will use an expensive 20k synthetic hone but for one reason or another wouldn't use CrOx on glass, balsa, or anything else. Why? What is the difference in your opinion? Isn't it just basically a 20k pastes set in a stone shaped substrate? What would be different than say putting a 20k paste on top of a hard stone? Same strokes, same grit, synthetic, and much cheaper.

Please share your personal thoughts on this. I have been wrong many times before.

Nope not opposed to anything really. I use what I have depending on my mood. Sometimes stones sometimes pastes. I have no problem running a razor on a pasted strop, I get lazy and many times just use a strop to tune up a dulling blade, shaves fine

Back in the old days of SRP there were some that tried exactly what you are describing, using pastes on top of very hard very smooth hones

Arkies and the Spyderco wre often the base hones the PHIG also

The results much as you would imagine were YMMV I personally am a slurry junkie myself I love playing in the mud so trying pastes / powders seems like it might work... Something else to try, please post your results if you do


Edit:
IIRC Robert Williams aka PapaBull messed with it a bit so you might try searching some of his old threads

In my opinion, if I need to use pastes during the honing process, there is a problem with my honing. It could be used in place of a very high grit finishing stone, but I have jnats, and escher, and gokumyo 20k, so there's no need to paste after any of those hones. If you want to save money, and only go up to say an 8k, then pastes are a good economical way to refine your edge. I have a pasted strop for refreshing, but I find I would prefer to try that razor on a different finishing hone to see how it likes different ones. So yea I dont use pastes much, if ever.

I don't use pastes anymore because I simply don't need them. What I can achieve from the stones has replaced the need for paste. It also tells me that I'm doing it right when I can get that last level of sharpness without the need to use pastes. Early on I used them to get what I wasn't getting from honing. If you have a limited lineup of stones or a limited amount of time, do whatever works for you. But my edges are a lot nicer now than when I was using paste. But then again, a lot has changed over that time.

Originally Posted by Steel

Some people will use an expensive 20k synthetic hone but for one reason or another wouldn't use CrOx on glass, balsa, or anything else. Why?

Principle of commitment. When some buy a 200$+ synthetic stone, they need to rationalize its necessity and superiority.

Just to clarify. I use pastes when the razor calls for it, when I feel like it, or another star is aligned. Some times I go straight from stone to strop. @Glen thanks for a helpful post and although I haven't done extensive playing around with pastes on stones (I too am a slurry junky) I have tried it and it was ok but I didn't give it much of a go either. I am sure if someone did they could make it work very effectively. I prefer balsa. But the purpose of this thread wasn't to find out if I should use pastes or not or if I should buy a hone I just wanted to understand how some are opposed to pastes yet use a synthetic hone which in my unlearned opinion is the same as using a paste.

Originally Posted by prodigy

In my opinion, if I need to use pastes during the honing process, there is a problem with my honing. It could be used in place of a very high grit finishing stone, but I have jnats, and escher, and gokumyo 20k, so there's no need to paste after any of those hones. If you want to save money, and only go up to say an 8k, then pastes are a good economical way to refine your edge. I have a pasted strop for refreshing, but I find I would prefer to try that razor on a different finishing hone to see how it likes different ones. So yea I dont use pastes much, if ever.

But isn't a gok20k essentially the same as a paste in a substrate in the shape of a stone?

Originally Posted by Badgister

Principle of commitment. When some buy a 200$+ synthetic stone, they need to rationalize its necessity and superiority.

Well, being a lover of natural stones I actually get this point and have no problem with it. I often try to come up with a valid reason why a natural is better but come back to "I just love them". Lol

With a gok 20k you can sharpen and smooth as opposed to just smoothing an edge with say cro ox. Frankenstein and Utopian have proved it can be used as a one stone hone.
I believe some people rely on pastes from a bevel set to get their razors shavable, the potential for variable results would be an issue with me.
I have a gok 20k and love it. Is it worth £150 more than cro ox. No.