Thread: A Tad Too Much?

A couple of months ago I read where a feller said he used ChroOX and IronOx *everytime* before he shaved, and then did the normal 30 linen and 60 leather. So, I thought I would give it a try. The last few months I’ve been using Chromium Oxide .3 and Iron Oxide .1, both on balsa, and about 15 laps on both,, and then doing about 30 laps on linen, and 60 or so laps on leather. I’ve been doing this on a ⅝ths Geo. Wostenholm full hollow razor that I had honed myself, and actually did a pretty good job on honing, at least I feel ;-). So far it’s worked out great. I get really nice, close shaves using this method. No pulling or tugging, and nice and comfortable. Last night I tried the same thing (15 laps on CroOx and IronOx) on a razor that had been honed by a pro, and ended up finding out what people are talking about when they say they got a ‘Harsh’ shave. Ouch! A nice close shave, but my face felt raw as heck when I was done.

So, I'm wondering why I got such a harsh shave with this other razor? Also, is there a ‘down side’ to doing these laps on CroOx and IronOx rather than waiting till I start feeling it start to pull and tugg? Is it too much of a good thing? If anybody has any ideas, maybe you could share with me. Meanwhile, I guess I'll keep doing it to my Wostenholm until I hear otherwise from someone.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Can't help you Kenny, sorry, I don't use those pastes/powders.
Somebody will have a answer though,,,,

Some guy that honed your razor is Did you try it out before you added your touch to it ?

Euclid is going to have some advice :<0) I have noticed that some stones sharpen to that point and the next finisher will smooth it back out.

It’s probably not the paste, possibly a missed stroke on the strop and a wiped out edge. You have to remember a pasted strop is very abrasive, if you lift the spine while still moving you will wipe the edge.

Look at the edge under magnification and strong light. You are looking for a damaged chipped edge. If that is what it is, your finishing stone may clean it up.

Daily stropping on Chrome Oxide may be a little too much, the Ferrous should be ok. You should be able to shave comfortably off a Ferrous Oxide strop.

If you liked the Ferrous Oxide try pasting a Nylon/Poly strop. Any fabric store will have a 2 in piece for a couple dollars a yard. Buy the finest weave you and find.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

Some guy that honed your razor is Did you try it out before you added your touch to it ?

Yes, I’ve been using it for quite some time before I tried this. It was actually shooter74743 (Scott‘s) razor. It’s a beautiful ⅝th Schlinco that Scott was kind enough to part with. It worked great (and I'm sure will be fine again), until I did the laps on ChroOx and IronOx. I don’t think it needed those laps, it was way sharp already, and the extra laps pushed it over the edge/caused it to deliver a ‘harsh’ shave. I just thought I'd try those extra laps on a razor other than my Wostenholm to see what it would do. Those extra laps on CroOx and IronOx are okay on my Wostenholm because it’s not quite as sharp as the Schlinco, so it could stand a bit of improvement without going ‘over the edge.’ At least that’s what I’m now thinking.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

It’s probably not the paste, possibly a missed stroke on the strop and a wiped out edge. You have to remember a pasted strop is very abrasive, if you lift the spine while still moving you will wipe the edge.

Look at the edge under magnification and strong light. You are looking for a damaged chipped edge. If that is what it is, your finishing stone may clean it up.

Daily stropping on Chrome Oxide may be a little too much, the Ferrous should be ok. You should be able to shave comfortably off a Ferrous Oxide strop.

If you liked the Ferrous Oxide try pasting a Nylon/Poly strop. Any fabric store will have a 2 in piece for a couple dollars a yard. Buy the finest weave you and find.

Ferrous Oxide, *not* IronOxide as I’ve been saying - sorry about that. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll quit using the CroOx until I’m sure it needs it (starts pulling and tugging), but will still do the 15 laps on the Ferrous Oxide. Thanks very much for the directions - you told me exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks again.

The Nylon/Poly material you’re referring to; is that the same as the ‘seat belt’ type material that comes with some strops? Like the SRD strops have that kind of material, don’t they? I have a SRD Modular strop. Would it be best to use the Nylon/Poly material on that, rather than a hanging strop? Less chance of ‘rounding’ or ‘turning’ the edge? If you get time, maybe you could let me know?

Once again, thanks a lot for clearing this up for me. Now I feel better about using the Ferrous Oxide before I shave.

Take Care.

Try just plain old stropping for awhile and see how it goes :<0) That is allll I do once it's honed.

Yea, if you can find seat belt webbing that is best webbing, but almost any webbing will hold the paste and the webbing polishes. SRD uses a heavier weave poly webbing.

Or buy a yard of Polyester Sail cloth Canvas, or cotton canvas. A yard is about 10 bucks and you can get a boatload of strops from a yard.
Sail cloth is a bit better than Nylon / poly webbing.

I prefer a hanging strop, I think they are more forgiving and will produce a slight convex bevel, stronger as opposed to a flat bevel.
If you want an inexpensive paddle, paste a 3in piece of foam core board.

First check you edge for damage, also use the purest paste you can find.

For powdered Oxides, I like Kremer Pigments.

If there is no damage strop on Linen or just plain leather as 10pups said, but I would bet there is some damage to the edge.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yea, if you can find seat belt webbing that is best webbing, but almost any webbing will hold the paste and the webbing polishes. SRD uses a heavier weave poly webbing.

Or buy a yard of Polyester Sail cloth Canvas, or cotton canvas. A yard is about 10 bucks and you can get a boatload of strops from a yard.
Sail cloth is a bit better than Nylon / poly webbing.

I prefer a hanging strop, I think they are more forgiving and will produce a slight convex bevel, stronger as opposed to a flat bevel.
If you want an inexpensive paddle, paste a 3in piece of foam core board.

First check you edge for damage, also use the purest paste you can find.

For powdered Oxides, I like Kremer Pigments.

If there is no damage strop on Linen or just plain leather as 10pups said, but I would bet there is some damage to the edge.

Well, I just gotta say, today is my lucky day. Between you and 10Pups, I not only got all the information I need, but I met a couple of guys who are not only very knowledgeable, but are patient and gracious, and just plain old very helpful! Thanks so very darn much! I’ve always liked the SRP Forum, and just when I didn’t think it was possbile to get much better, it did!

Seriously, thanks fellas. I'm going to save this whole thread to my computer. Lots of great info here. Thanks to everyone who has joined this thread. Couldn’t find a better group of folks than you can find here.

Everybody take care, and have a great one.