Thread: high grit then paste

Originally Posted by 2Sharp

I have shaved with a blade that came off of my highest grit hone alone and then used CrO on that blade and the shave is smoother but not necessarily sharper than off of the hone alone. I don't use the Diamond Paste or spray since I got the high grit hones but they may be useful on some steels. I will try Jimmy's method with the Diamond Spray on some stubborn blades that I have. I am glad he found that trick. I have a Torry I need to bring up to speed.

bj

FWIW, I had used the paddle strop with 0.5 paste spread on it for the ATS 34 and it didn't get it. Of course I did go back to the hones with it but when I gave it 20 laps on that new felt strop Lynn put out with the 0.5 diamond spray it was like a different razor.

This was the first time I had used a hanging strop with paste. So it may be the strop, or it may be the spray as opposed to the paste or a combination of the two?

One way or the other it worked like a charm. The spray,needless to say,goes on a lot more evenly then the paste did. That also may have something to do with it. I followed the instructions and just gave it a light coating. I let it dry overnight too.

I have to say when I first heard about felt I was quite excited. And then bummed when I learned I couldn't get any from HandAmerican. Now that I know where to get some I am happy again. I just think felt is a very cool material. Not the craft store stuff but more like beaver felt of a cowboy hat.

Jimmy what I hear in a process like yours, and such things are said a lot here/ xxx didn't work, back to the hones then yyy and snap it was sharp... is more time sharpening.

[quote=kevint;297701Jimmy what I hear in a process like yours, and such things are said a lot here/ xxx didn't work, back to the hones then yyy and snap it was sharp... is more time sharpening.[/quote]
That may have been it. Probably a combination of all of it.

hee hee. yes it must be a combination of all of it 'cause that's what happened.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Originally Posted by kevint

Jimmy what I hear in a process like yours, and such things are said a lot here/ xxx didn't work, back to the hones then yyy and snap it was sharp... is more time sharpening.

That may have been it. Probably a combination of all of it.

A strop with pastes is able to shape a convexity to the bevel. That really is a very powerful option to quickly reach sharpness. A flat hone, on the contrary, needs to remove a layer of steel off the entire bevel, to approach keenness. Wide bevels on hard steel in combination with very low pressure, can make that process on the hones very slow.
Your problem razor was a wedge. I bet it has a wide bevel, and possibly also wide spine wear. I understand that you rely on magnification to evaluate the state of the bevel. Unfortunately, you can't see the width of the apex with a microscope. Convexity: yes. Double bevels: yes. Microchips: yes. Bevel planes meeting each other at a keen line: NO.

That makes me speculate that your success lies in the convexing of the edge. Which is fine of course. Your whiskers won't tell the difference. I have reasons to believe that too much away-from-the-edge honing (stropping) leads to a less durable edge. But what is too much?

In the end, it does not matter. I would never rule out pastes for the sake of merely ruling them out.

Bart.

I don't know the science of it. I'm trying to learn the art. I go through the motions and if it comes out sharp I am happy and if not I try again until it does. I won't rule pastes out but as I have said before I want to get to the point where I can get a razor as sharp as it can get on a hone alone. If I ever get that good at it I probably won't mind using the pastes. I won't feel like I am using them to make up for a lack in my honing ability but rather to add to the quality of the edge. Only a hone freak like me would understand where I'm coming from but that is where I'm at with it.

Boy would I be surprised if just a hanging leather strop upped my keenness.

A paddle I think is more hone like so one must guide the edge to get coverage. A hanger or even a loom I guess allows the razor to shape the strop for coverage.

I would never dismiss paste for spite I'm sure I like them.

Having at least 3 different finish stones right on the tip of my checkbook pen I thought i should get you guys talking. (talking help me think

If you strop on a hard material like wood, you don't get that convex edge effect. A hone-finished blade and a strop-finished blade gives a different shave feeling.

I think I am in the same camp as Jimmy, and some others, here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see pastes as cheating at all, but I still avoid using them. Why? Because as many on this forum have said, pastes can give you a great edge, but they can also cover up for poor honing. As I am stil learning how to hone, it is he latter which want to avoid, so I always shave right off the hones so I can tell where I am up to, and try to improve my technique. When I am happy with my honing technique I may see what pastes can do for me.

Connor

Originally Posted by Rosco

I think I am in the same camp as Jimmy, and some others, here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see pastes as cheating at all, but I still avoid using them. Why? Because as many on this forum have said, pastes can give you a great edge, but they can also cover up for poor honing. As I am stil learning how to hone, it is he latter which want to avoid, so I always shave right off the hones so I can tell where I am up to, and try to improve my technique. When I am happy with my honing technique I may see what pastes can do for me.

Connor

Exactly!

Layup or 3-pointer?

I like to know that I nailed the edge with a rock.