Thread: Pasting a strop--a photo tutorial

Ooops.

I don't think that'll be an issue. Maybe take a towel with a little shaving lather and rub it on the spot. That should get most of it.

You'll probably wind up with a spot on the leather from doing that, but it will be cosmetic.

You could also just leave it alone. The effects will be minimal.

I usually wait overnight before I use a freshly pasted strop, but you could probably start using it right away if you want to. If the medium is still wet, you'll spread the abrasive out further.

Josh

Thanks for the super quick reply, Josh. I respect your advice, so you've really reassured me. I just didn't want to have to leave the latigo 'cos it's so darn nice . I've been rubbing it a bit with the palm of my hand, and I think the oil from my skin is helping to lift it out a little. I'll carry on with that for a while, then try a little lather on it.

Thanks again, Josh

I have been wanting to start using Chromium Oxide paste as part of my honing procedure. This thread has really helped get me going.

I bought a bottle of the Green Chrome Oxide from Keith at Hand American. I've been thinking about perhaps applying it to a paddle on the leather. I have been using .25 & .5 micron Diamond pastes on leather & balsa wood paddles. I haven't been too crazy about the effects of the diamond pastes on my edges.

I just received a 2-1/2" Red Heirloom Latigo w/Genuine Linen from Tony. I decided I would put the Green Chromium paste on the linen of this new strop. My thinking was that it would just work better than on a paddle. What a great decision this turned out to be! I read Josh's words several times about applying this stuff lightly. - and I did exactly that. This was yesterday.

This morning I pulled out a Puma that I had just received from an Ebay auction. I had polished and sharpened this razor, but was not really satisfied with my 1st shave with it. I figured this would be a great candidate for my trial razor on my new Green pasted linen strop. I gave it 40 laps on the green pasted linen, cleaned the edge with alcohol, and put it through my normal stropping sequence. As I made the1st pass with the razor on the right sideburns, I said, "Oh, my God!" - Yes, I experienced one of the best shaves I have had to date. The Puma was not only extremely sharp, but comfortable and smooth. Absolutely great!

Thanks, Josh!

Steve

Great Tutorial.

I have a Tony Miller travel strop which is Latego (sp?) but the back side is not smooth. It has a rough, raw-hide grain. I've been thinking of getting some kind of paste and using it on this rough, back side.

Do you think this will work? Or does the strop have to be smooth?

Thanks,

-- Aubrey Granner

Great post Josh. I was just asking Tony about this earlier in the week. I hadn't seen this yet.

Jordan

Originally Posted by zepplin

I gave it 40 laps on the green pasted linen, cleaned the edge with alcohol, and put it through my normal stropping sequence.

Steve

40 laps on a pasted strop sounds a little excessive. I think you might have been better off trying increments of 5 or 10 laps.

Originally Posted by Utopian

40 laps on a pasted strop sounds a little excessive. I think you might have been better off trying increments of 5 or 10 laps.

Yea, I thought about that. Thanks for the concern.

I've always been of the philosophy that "if one's good, two are better!". That's good when drinkin' beer or whatever, but not in all things.

Would it hurt? Can you over do Chromium Oxide?

Steve

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

When I was starting out, I had lots of questions about pasted strops. I decided to paste one of my hanging strops today, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to put together a quick photo tutorial.

You can paste just about any type of strop. Paddle strops are the most common, but I've come to favor hanging strops. I like to paste one side of the linen on my hanging strops. If you need to touch up your razor, you just take the screw out, flip the linen around and do a few laps.

The advantage of pasted paddles is that the rigid surface makes it less likely that you'll have a mishap and wipe out the edge. Pasted hanging strops, though, are really fast to use. I find that pasted hanging strops are less likely to overhone an edge, and the edges to me seem to last longer than the edges from pasted paddles.

I'll be applying powdered chromium oxide to the horsehide side of my Tony Miller sharpening strop. The medium we'll use to get the powder onto the leather is strop dressing. This bottle came with my strop; I think Tony recommends Lexol. You could use neatsfoot oil or another leather conditoner to achieve the same thing.

Hi Josh. Thanks for the informative post. I need clarification though.

I have a TM Artisan with the canvas component. The cotton weave is a little different (a courser weave pattern) on the outward facing compared to the inside facing. Which facing were you suggesting being pasted in your post? The "inside" facing? Then reversing it to the outside when needed? Would there be any advantage as to which cotton side would work best on my strop given the difference in the weave pattern stated above?

Also, would it hurt to paste the back of the leather to get yet another grit option?

Thanks much!

Originally Posted by agranner

Great Tutorial.

I have a Tony Miller travel strop which is Latego (sp?) but the back side is not smooth. It has a rough, raw-hide grain. I've been thinking of getting some kind of paste and using it on this rough, back side.

Do you think this will work? Or does the strop have to be smooth?

Thanks,

-- Aubrey Granner

The flesh side of leather makes a great surface for holding pastes. Diamond pastes are much better I found on the flesh/back side. With Green Oxide, I put it on the surface after slightly dampening the leather to open the pores on the skin side and just dry applied on the flesh side. With your Latigo strop I would advise a light sanding with 120-180 grit sand paper to make sure the surface has no bad spots and to raise a light nap. Apply the powder dry but sparingly till a light green haze is over the whole surface. Oils in the Latigo will hold the powder.

PuFF

I got a bar of chromium oxide in bar form. Instead of reading this sticky, I ran the bar over the back of one of my hanging strops. It spread unevenly. It appears I should shave the bar into a bowl and add water to get a more even spread. Am I correct?