Originally Posted by
gingahippy
Well i have the Norton4/8k already and the leather/linen strop from Vintage Blades in the US.
many people on here say they found a longer lasting edge with linen stropping before leather, especially with the white paste.
And yes i would love to know where to get stuff in the UK, I took the oppurtunity of getting my starter kit whilst in the US coz it was half the price.:)
It's the russian leather strop that i have, made in Solingen, surface is soft but textured, like a very gentle suede, would that still need the yellow paste?
The thing is that there seems to be a great deal of talk and effort regarding teh stage between 8k honing and final stropping, it makes me feel like I am missing out on something here, especially since I have trouble getting a good edge that shaves smoothly. I was hoping the chalk and linen would help the jump, so many people talk about 12k, 16k, coticules, red/green paste on strops.
i would love to hear form someone who can just go from 8k to leather strop and still get a silky smooth shaving edge, that is what I call mastery.
But I am here to learn.
thanks
edit - I have already used 330 grit paper and glass plate to flatten the hone.