Thread: Strops and Paste

Okay, so I'm new to all this and I see all these post about pasted strops and everyday strops. My question is this, is it necessary to have multiple strops? Right now I have one and was going to put a fine paste on it but don't want to if it's going to make things weird, or screw up my razor. Also is a fine paste whats needed or should I use a thicker one? So any advise on the matter would be great.

Thanks,
Sam

Hi Sam, and welcome to SRP!
As with everything a little research will pay off ten fold - read the stickies in the newbies forum, as well as in the strops forum...actually, read all the stickies - they're loaded with great info and will save you loads of time, money, and frustration down the road.

But to get to your question, you'll need at the very least an un-pasted leather strop. This is for stropping your razor before each and every shave. It does not sharpen the razor, but micro-aligns the edge so that it is smooth and cuts the beard easily.

As for pasted strop, they are meant to sharpen the razor - they are a substitute for hones (whetstones). Depending on the grit of the paste (can go from like 5 micron all the way down to 0.25 micron), it will give a different level of finish, and serve a different purpose. If your goal is to just maintain an already shave ready razor, than a dedicated strop with Chromium Oxide (CrO) will do the job really well - most have two pastes - the finishing paste (like CrO) and a slightly more coarse paste (like Dovo Red or a diamond paste which is 1 micron).

If you do use a pasted strop, you won't use it every time you shave, because that will over-hone your razor. You would use a pasted strop only when you find the razor to be dragging a bit - probably once a month or so.

Also, if you do use a pasted strop, be sure to completely clean off the blade before going to the finer pastes, or the plain leather, because you can contaminate the strops, and once they are contaminated, they will pretty well be forever at that grit...pastes are a b!tch to clean off...and damn near impossible to ever get completely clean.

That said, you don't need multiple strops - many shavers never use pastes and find hones to give a more comfortable edge. There are also shavers who have neither, and send their razor to be honed twice a year by a honemeister.

So, the long and the short of it is that you'll need a plain leather strop - from there how you decide to sharpen your razor is up to you.

Best of luck,

Mark

What a fantastic response (I wish there was a smilie with clapping hands)

+Buckler

Totally agree with Mark's post. they needn't be expensive either. I've made paddle strops from MDF and a leather skirt from a charity shop (cost £2 / $4), I 've also used a Chamois leather from the car shop £1.50 / $3.00 - all with good success. If you are using strops for honing with paste shelling out £30 - £40 a time will work out expensive, as Mark said, they will have to be used exclusivelly for a single grade of paste. My strops may not be pretty, but they certainly do the job, have not left me without money for beer and it's fun making them too.....

Don't throw money away, when there's no need....

Best wishes,

Mark (2).......!!! :-))

If you ever peruse any woodworking forums, you'll find that many woodworkers don't use leather at all. It's very common to just use a piece of MDF loaded with chromium oxide for the final stropping. Since the MDF is very hard, there's less chance of rounding over the edge as there can be with soft leather. Just get a piece of MDF, cut it to whatever size you want, and then put some chrome ox on there. It can work just like a very smooth hone.

Ben

Originally Posted by Ben325e

If you ever peruse any woodworking forums, you'll find that many woodworkers don't use leather at all. It's very common to just use a piece of MDF loaded with chromium oxide for the final stropping. Since the MDF is very hard, there's less chance of rounding over the edge as there can be with soft leather. Just get a piece of MDF, cut it to whatever size you want, and then put some chrome ox on there. It can work just like a very smooth hone.

Ben

I,ve seen them on the forum, just never tried it, will give it a go though. makes sense the more Ithink of it.
Regards,

Mark.......

I have a pasted strop (.5 Micron). Can I use the pasted strop as a complete substitute for a hone?

I will take a crack at this based on my experience. It is no where near as extensive as some others and I have never tried to maintain a razor using only a pasted strop, so take it for what it is worth.

Providing that you are starting with a shave ready razor I would imagine that you could bring up an edge with a pasted strop a number of times and put off honing. However, eventually honing would become a necessary evil where your edge just would not be the same with just stroping.

A single barber hone would run you around $20 and would touch up the edge much better before using a pasted strop to finish it up.