Quote Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors View Post
If you set up a .1u balsa strop, you will find the edge actually feels more comfortable on the face (i.e. if you use a low shave angle!) than the .25u, and that once the razor is dialed in, you don't need the other grits, just a daily post-shave stropping on the .1u. You will probably find that over the first half dozen shaves that the edge will continue to improve in comfort and cutting ability. Just remember keep the angle low cause it will sure cut and exfoliate you otherwise.

If you get your diamond paste in the 20g tubs from Kent, they do not sell .1u diamond paste. You will need to buy from Ted Pella, TechDiamondTools, or some other vendor and it will probably be in a 5g or 10g syringe format. So far, I have not found any of the Chinese stuff on fleabay or Amazon to be significantly inferior. Concentration is not critical. Size grading kinda is but your chances are very good that anything labeled .1 micron will work just fine.

I do 50 laps on the balsa after every shave on the .1u and edges stay brilliantly sharp. Not through any particular skill of mine... I am not an edge magician, but the stuff just works once The Method is dialed in. I haven't been stropping on leather post-shave. I prefer to lather my face and then strop on leather while the lather stands on my face.

I dry the razor by pulling it through some folded TP or my tshirt, and I let it sit out on my desk for an hour or two before closing it up. I almost never get any water on or between the scales and our AC keeps the house pretty dry so any moisture between scales will dry up pretty quick. I don't oil. For long term storage I use petroleum jelly or motor oil. Motor oil is formulated to leave a long lasting film on steel and not bead up. Petroleum jelly is great for deep storage. All oil is wiped off before stropping and shaving so its not like I am poisoning myself by injecting motor oil. It is free, since it is just the dribbles left in the jug from adding or changing oil. Obviously, don't use used oil. It doesn't make as good of a film. Note that all oil will stain some scales so apply sparingly.

My two favorite strops are a compressed cowhide one that I made a few years ago, and a Kanayama. I mostly use the cowhide. It is whistle-quick and has the style of hardware that I like, but the Kanayama has a luxurious feel to it so sometimes I go like 30 on each.
The diamond powders to make paste/emulsions are most likely sourced from China and it's dirt cheap in China, so as long as those are from a proper factory in China, they are good enough. The only thing is that you will need to be clear on the standards of the specs, just don't simply look for 0.1 micron(this can be W0.25 in Chinese standard, and some 0.25 micron are actually W0.5) but instead you will need to look for W0.1 for Chinese branded ones, or 0.1-0 micron from other sources. I bought lots of them from different sources and found some 0.1 were much finer than the others, so had to dive into different standards to find out why. Lots of fun readings though.

I put the W0.1 paste on leather strop and did post shaving stropping for 10 laps or so each shave. It did initially improve the edge but after ~3 months, the edge was full of micro chips. I think I must have done too many laps.