Thread: Forego pastes/sprays completely?

Hi there. If one is on a tightly constrained budget, what are your thoughts about the following:
4k/8k Norton, then natural Chinese water-stone,
forgoing any diamond/chromium oxides paste stropping at all,
then going straight from the Chinese stone (I don't like using 12k in reference to the Chinese stone) to the dry linen then leather standard stropping, to shaving...
Any issues with doing it that way? (just assume that the technique is good, for the sake of the question above.)

Nope. This is probably a better way to learn than if you had pastes. Now you wont be "cheating" with pastes on an edge that is not quite there off the 8k.

Just like any other natural stone the Chinese one is also quite varied in it's finish...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...nese-hone.html


But yes if you get the right one you should be fine....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Just like any other natural stone the Chinese one is also quite varied in it's finish...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...nese-hone.html


But yes if you get the right one you should be fine....

Hmmm, interesting. Well, I could only afford the one chinese stone, so I hope I luck out and get a good one. I've got some 1000 grit and some 2000 grit wet and dry and a flat sheet of thick glass for lapping them. Maybe I'll need something a bit courser at first, but I'll see how flat they are to start out with, using the pencil grid check.

The chinese water stone is a really hard stone. It will take a long time lapping the hone on sandpaper.

Originally Posted by walto

The chinese water stone is a really hard stone. It will take a long time lapping the hone on sandpaper.

Yeah... Well I can't afford a diamond lapping plate, so I don't know what other option I have. I have ordered a Norton straightener stone, but I want to use that only on the Norton 4k/8k, not wreck it on the chinese stone.
Maybe I'll just get a range of grits for the chinese stone and work my way up to the finest.
Using glass as the flat surface under the sandpaper.
Hey, I might get lucky and get a Chinese stone that's more or less flat??

samgab,

Well done for the way you are approaching this

When I started to hone, I relied too much on the use of pastes etc.

The edges shaved extremely well, so this approach worked from a practical point of view, but I could not get a decent shave straight off the stones

For the last few months, I have been working hard to get this 'decent shave straight off the stones' , as I think this is the best way forward and to learn

Good luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

I also think you are on your way to a great shave. If though, you find that you want more, try a sheet of high grit lapping film. You can use it stuck to the top of you Chinese hone (with water not adhesive). This is something I did for a very long time at the start.

In the beginning I only had a #3000 and a #5000 and the lower and higher grits were all lapping film. Not diamond lapping film but the regular stuff.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by PhatMan

samgab,

Well done for the way you are approaching this
...
Good luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Originally Posted by ZethLent

I also think you are on your way to a great shave. If though, you find that you want more, try a sheet of high grit lapping film.
...
Good luck.

Thanks for all the help and positive feedback!
I haven't heard of lapping film, and don't know how easy to come by it would be in NZ, but I'll have a look around online, and see what I find.
It might even be good to use for lapping the Chinese stone, if I find some.

I've basically stopped using pastes and sprays now, I just come off my finisher and go right to the daily strop. It works very well..!