Thread: Thier Issards Strop Paste

I have a tube of Thier Issards Strop Paste, with a solid white paste the consistency of a push up deodorant in it. I applied some to the leather side of my strop and attempted to rub it in so there would be an even coating but it would not smooth out and now the strop has uneven lumps of the stuff on it. Is this OK? If not is there a way to get it off without ruining the strop and how should it be applied?

I do have another strop so all is not lost, but I hope I haven't ruined this one.

Somebody that knows for sure please reply !!!!
I was under the impression that the white TI paste was for the linen????
I have never used it but you might wanna try the Classic Shaving site IIRC they carry it and might have a write up on it....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Somebody that knows for sure please reply !!!!
I was under the impression that the white TI paste was for the linen????
I have never used it but you might wanna try the Classic Shaving site IIRC they carry it and might have a write up on it....

I thought the same but Classic Shaving recommends you put it on the leather: Razor Strops, Hones, and Accessories

Did you apply too much? Somewhere in the help files there's pics of how to apply paste on leather.

I would ask them or Tony Miller.

I used it for a couple of years on linen. Even on linen it is lumpy until you smooth it out. Its a very waxy material.

I used to apply it lightly by rubbing the stick on the linen surface, but quite lightly. Then I would rub it in with my fingers or the palm of my hand. As the wax heats up from your bodyheat it rubs in a little better.

Then, I would scrape any excess of with kitchen knife. You will actually leave a very thin layer using this method. Then use the kitchen knife for a couple of test strops to ensure the linen is covered and not lumpy. Repeat until you are happy.

The linen will become blackened very quickly with this stropping "wax" which will remove metal very quickly. It has diamond grit in the wax.

When over time, the linen becomes shiny and almost black, I would scrape the dirty swarf infested wax off with a kitchen knife and replace with a fresh layer. It is a very effective polishing method and I found some blades love this treatment. In particular Le Grelot razors would respond well.

You can use the same process on leather, but to be honest, I can see no advantage. In fact I tried both and preferred linen. The leather would get shiny too quickly. The linen method gives a result similar to polishing at about 10/12000 K. Like many pastes, the process is "dirty" and so I would always wipe the waxyblade with soapy water after the linen stropping and I always kept this dirty strop well away from my clean leather finishing strop.

Hope this helps.

I've tried it on both the flesh and grain sides of leather and found my best results were applying it to the more heavily textured flesh side. I have some worked in, but still a bit lumpy on a grain sided paddle I made. I'm going to gently heat an old knife to see it I can further smooth the TI paste with that technique.

I have also applied the paste to a TI travel paddle strop which is apparently designed for this stuff. It works very well for me on that strop, which is what encouraged me to try something similar for myself. My inspiration is still a work in progress while TI seems to have figured out what works. Could it be that's why they are in the shaving tools business and I'm still pounding nails?

Thanks for all your replies and help. I could have applied too much. I tried to do it lightly, but, being the amateur that I am it might not have been lightly enough. This morning I took a little off a small portion of the strop with dish soap and warm water and it came off OK. Question: Will this method damage the whole strop?

My other question: Is it worth it to use this stuff? From the responses I've read it seems that it increases the need for additional strop and razor care i.e. removing the waxy substance etc. Does it increase results to the extent that the additional care and work is worth it?

I looked at the post on how to apply strop paste but it seems the paste used in that demonstration was more liquid and not the solid that this stuff is.

I am new to this straight razor business and I must say that every aspect of it certainly is intriguing and a fine art to learn. I should have lived in the 1890's.

I think I may have given the wrong impression.

Once you have applied the stuff, you scrape off the excess with the sharp edge of a knife. You can scrape quite hard. You scrape away all the wax you can see.

A few strops with a kitchen knife will then take away the waxy feel and leave you with a nice easy to glide over surface.

Now you are ready to go. The final surface is as smooth as linen.

As long as you scrape off the excess, you can not put on too much. So how you put it on doesn't really matter apart from the fact that if you put it on thickly, you are wasting it.

All you are doing in effect is putting a small layer of diamond grit onto the surface of your linen. It is held there by the wax embedded in the linen material.

Once you have used this stuff on either leather or linen, I wouldn't attempt to remove it an reuse the strop with something else.

OK, thank you. Since it's already on there I will give that a try. I was just wondering, does it make a lot of difference? The strop I use without it seems to do a decent job.

Yes it makes a difference.

It makes the edge smoother and the razor is smoother on the face.

Another way of saying that is that the shave will feel less harsh than without the pasted strop.

Many forum members like to use Chromium Oxide on a strop to achieve a similar effect.

Chromium oxide is particularly good on the softer plain carbon steel blades while diamond based based pastes such as the TI paste are often preferred on silver steel and stainless steel blades. Diamond being able to smooth the harder steels more easily.

That TI paste is a PITA to put on, it wants to lump up etc.

Works great on linen. You just need to be patient, smooth it scrape it smooth it scrape til the application is light. This gets a little easier after it dries and isn't so sticky. Two things that help: (1) get a large glass bottle and fill it with very hot water til the glass is very hot, then roll it on the linen like a rolling pin. (2) Get a crappy old razor and two hundred passes on the linen. Don't go at it w/ a good razor til the paste is worked in, is no longer sticky to the touch, and is very light and even.

Going light on any paste is always a good idea. Don't worry at all about 'coverage'; in fact avoid it.

I have an old linen hanger with TI paste on one side and chrome ox on the other. A lightning quick touch up tool (say, 15 passes each side) and it's superb on stubborn wedges when you decide to go ahead and 'cheat.'