Thread: Lithide Hone & Pasted Strops

Hi all,
I have been honing my little arms off with my dubl duck and Norton 4000/8000. I also have one of Tonys wonderful hanging strops but I am having problems getting the blade to shave without pulling a bit on the chin and upper lip. I figure I don't quite have the touch yet and the Norton is cutting too fast.
So....I was thinking of getting a 2 or 4 sided pasted strop but don't like the idea of having to rely on the pastes, I'd prefer a stone. Odd... I know...

I saw the post http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=6802
a decided to have a look at RedTrader and the begginers set. As I have a strop already and the Norton I figure I don't need all three items in the kit so I looked at the Lithide barber hone for $15.
Question is...... where does this hone fit in the whole 8000/4000 pasted strops puzzle?

Cheers,
David.

That Lithide is an Ultra Fine stone. It's about 10-12k or about 1µ as a guess, but somewhere in that neighbourhood.

As a personal note, I can't make the barber hones work for me (yet?). You might get better result from the pasted paddle too. It doesn't stop me from tryng them all out now and again though.

X

Originally Posted by xman

I can't make the barber hones work for me (yet?).

Do the pasted strops work for you?

The Norton 4/8 is more than adequate to make your razor sharp enough to shave your chin and upper lip. Concentrate on learning to use what you have. Since I do not know what you have been doing I cannot suggest anything more specfic.
Feel free to contact me at any time and we can discuss this.

Originally Posted by drsch3

Hi all,
I have been honing my little arms off with my dubl duck and Norton 4000/8000. I also have one of Tonys wonderful hanging strops but I am having problems getting the blade to shave without pulling a bit on the chin and upper lip.

Is your stone true? When I first tried to hone my Clarke & Son, the Norton promptly dulled it from "nearly shaving sharp" to "won't shave arm hair even with pressure", and no amount of light touch or slow strokes would help very much. Once I got a glass plate and lapped both sides it would get the blade back to "nearly shaving sharp". I've been suspecting for awhile that it still isn't true, and a few days ago while honing my Neistrom I noticed a bit of washboard, so the norton still needs a bit more lapping.

Anyway, check out your hone and see if it needs work.

I can also second the use of the pasted strops. They work very well, and are easy to use. I've got two paddles, a small travel-sized one that has an unpasted leather side and a 0.5 micron pasted side, and a bigger one from Tony that has 3 micron on one side and 1 micron on the other. Once the razor comes off the 8k Norton I hit it with the 1 micron paddle until it pops hairs, then put it on the 0.5 micron paddle until its ready to go.

Hey Randy, how did you make out with the Lithide? I am asking because of my hone addiction lol.

Lithide? Me? No.... I do not have one yet.
Thats why I do not comment on them.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Hey Randy, how did you make out with the Lithide? I am asking because of my hone addiction lol.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Is your stone true? When I first tried to hone my Clarke & Son, the Norton promptly dulled it from "nearly shaving sharp" to "won't shave arm hair even with pressure", and no amount of light touch or slow strokes would help very much. Once I got a glass plate and lapped both sides it would get the blade back to "nearly shaving sharp". I've been suspecting for awhile that it still isn't true, and a few days ago while honing my Neistrom I noticed a bit of washboard, so the norton still needs a bit more lapping.

Anyway, check out your hone and see if it needs work.

I can also second the use of the pasted strops. They work very well, and are easy to use. I've got two paddles, a small travel-sized one that has an unpasted leather side and a 0.5 micron pasted side, and a bigger one from Tony that has 3 micron on one side and 1 micron on the other. Once the razor comes off the 8k Norton I hit it with the 1 micron paddle until it pops hairs, then put it on the 0.5 micron paddle until its ready to go.

I have to admit that when I first used the norton I didn't 'true' it and I couldn't even get the blade to cut my arm hair with pressure. Now that I have flattened it I can get it to shave with the pulling. I saw a thread which taked about drawing lines on the stone with a pencil then using 600 grit sandpaper on a flat surface till the lines are gone. So I might try that before I go buy something else to make sure that it is truely flat.
Thanks for the thought.

Originally Posted by drsch3

Do the pasted strops work for you?

Yes, they're easier to manage for me.

X