why dont we just?

why dont we just instead of stropping on linen 20 times strop on pasted linen 20 times then strop on leather 60 times every shave? insuring that every time we shavewe are sharpening our razors.

Pasted strops are abrasive, and there is no need to abrade perfectly shave ready edge unnecessarily.

I believe if you only use a pasted strop every shave and then leather you will round off the bevel/edge and dull the razor. A pasted strop is for a quick occasional touch up.

Bob

That is an interesting one. We all have a theory. A really long time ago I read a thread on this very subject. There were many opinions. The most common opinion was the same as BobH, the other thing that was said is that the edge will break down and get chippy, the one that caught my eye had a link to an even older thread where a guy had been doing just that. He had a razor that he had been stropping on paste daily and shaving with it to see what it would do to his edge and abandoned the experiment after a long time (6 monthsish) because nothing was changing except he was shaving with the same razor everyday and had many in his collection just sitting there. So to my knowledge, there is no science data to support any of these three things. I do not generally use a pasted strop, even when I hone and refresh. You can experiment with it all you want, if you have some good equipment to record pictures of edges at regular intervals I'd love to see the thread.

You will see it said, as you browse around and read more, words to the effect, "only go to the stones when you really need to", stones being hones. The same thing is true of pastes and sprays. They are abrasive as are hones, and each time you use them you are losing a little metal from the razor. Many people here have razors well over 100 years old that are still in fine shaving shape. That suggests they weren't unnecessarily ground away on hones or other abrasive substances. With proper shaving technique, stropping and care to dry and store razors properly, as well as keeping the edge off everything except your face and your strop, a properly honed edge will be fine for shaving for months. Some here have never used pastes or sprays, others do, but no frequently than required.

I do just that. I use a pasted balsa strop with .1 FeOx and I strop on it every day with no noticeable effect except it stays sharp. What was said above is true to a point. A leather strop could possibly round the edge if done incorrectly which is why I use a stiff balsa strop but gssixgun was the one I think Shaun was referring to that did an experiment stropping daily on CrOx with no noticeable I'll effect and finally gave the experiment up. Sometimes a theory is very good on paper but not in practice. Experimenting for me has highlighted the days difference between the two.

I would still use the linen after the CrOx just for the fact that part of the purpose of the linen is to clean the edge. You could cross contaminate the leather if you don't get the CrOx or other abasives off the blade first

My answer to the OP would be, why do we need to constantly sharpen our razors? It's like changing the oil in your car every 1000 miles just to keep it clean. In the end you'd probably wind up stripping the threads on the drain plug or on the oil filter housing.

I daily strop with linen and CrOx plus leather. Other than a barbers, I don't own a hone. I felt I was losing an edge a few weeks after getting my razors honed professionally. I rotate about 10 razors and the CrOx seems to keep them sharp. Of course I've only been at this sport for about 8 months. I'll flip my strop to see if it makes any difference.

I strop on a paddle strop pasted with MAAS polish every day, no leather no fabric, just paste to shave.

I’ve been using the same razor every day for a couple of months with this routine and the edge is just as fresh as it was on the first day.
I think that the amounted metal removed by the MAAS is virtually insignificant when compared with that removed when a razor is taken to the hones of a refresh. In any event a linen strop probably removes just as much metal as my paddle.

To be fair, the razor I’m using is one that I made (and could easily remake) so I’m not in the slightest bit concerned about the potential for wear.

Horses for courses in my opinion, I found that I was using pasted balsa once a week when I started out. It seems to be a once every month or two thing now and even then just to get it dialled in. I have read many a thread that says just do whatever gives you a close comfortable shave and this is what I have been concentrating on. I have not had to do a touch up hone for the last 12 months and am itching to get some new blades to hone.

This is kind of an interesting question. I specifically use flax linen or hemp for my secondary strop because of the more abrasive qualities of those fibers over cotton. I had at times thought that it may make just as much sense to just add a mild abrasive to cotton. Now I have plenty of the former strops around and don't give it much thought.

A few of us have done the same extensive, (6mo – a year) test with the same results, you will have a perfectly savable razor and eventually got bored waiting for he edge to implode.

It will not “round” or damage your edge, if you are stropping properly.

You might want to strop on linen first to clean the razor and keep from contaminating your pasted strop. Ferrous and Cerium Oxides work well as does CBN, all remove microscopic amounts of metal and will eventually remove all the stria from the bevel, at least visible with 400X.

If you do this, you do not need leather.

It is how razors have been maintained for hundreds of years. The obsession with honing is fairly new.

Having just purchased a new strop I can say that I notice a difference stropping on the fabric and then the leather, as opposed to just the leather. It could be psychological on my part, but it seems to improve the edge. I will be stropping my blade on the treated balsa I received from Whipped Dog before my next shave, as well.