Thread: Are these stropping pastes any good for razors?

I found the following compounds on this website:
Stropping Supplies


Veridian: A high concentration of Green Chromium Oxide cuts hard steels quickly creating a very fine edge
Titanium Gold: Yellow in color, this is a favorite of woodcarvers using moderately hard tools. We find it particularly useful as a first coat on new strops because it adheres very well providing a good base for other compounds
Herb's Yellowstone: Favored at Gary Rogowski's Northwest Woodworking Studio, this is a top pick for chisels and plane blades
White Gold: Recommended by noted author and woodcarving instructor Everett Ellenwood, this is an excellent choice for all carving tools.
Veritas Honing Compound: Top quality Chromium Oxide compound produced by the Canadian toolmaker Veritas.

My plan was to make a two-sided balsa strop for finishing up my razors and since I am ordering my 4/8k from here I figured I could just add some paste to get it over $75 and get free shipping.

They could be, but I would only use them as a stepping stone to a finer compound. The finisest compound of the whole bunch is the Lee Valley Veritas honing compound, but even this isn't nearly as fine or consistent as pure chromium oxide. I used to strop with the veritas, but when I switched to chromium oxide I found a much smoother shave to result.

I researched the composition of the chromium oxide bars, and posted my findings here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...-bars-not.html


Basically, my suggestion is to go to Japaneseknifesharpening.com, place an order there for the Hand American Dry chromium oxide, and spend the 12.50 or whatever. It's super cheap, and works fantastically. I've got the liquid version, too, but if you're going to get only one I'd make it the dry.

I am on a bit of a limited budget, so my plan is to get a norton 4/8 and take it from there with strops.
Have you got any suggestion on which pastes to use on my way up to the chromium oxide? To get the best possible edge with relatively limited means.

You could go straight to the 0.5µ Chrome Oxide from 8k. It would be a bit faster to use some 1µ diamond paste between the two.

Instead of the second strop paste, I'd buy this here:

Buy Natural Water Stone, 8" x 2" x 1", Natural Polishing Water Stone, Water

It's the 8x2x1 chinese 12k, and it costs 20 bucks. I've got the 8x3 stone, and if I had it to do over again, I'd get the smaller stone. It's just as long as the wider stone, but an inch narrower. I prefer the narrower 2 inch width. The chinese 12k leaves a very comfortable shaving edge on your razor alone, but following up with the chromium oxide leaves pretty much nothing to be desired. Mosts pastes cost 12 or so bucks anyway, so you might as well get the cheap stone which leaves a better edge than the paste.

The only downfall of the 12k is that it's a slower stone, but might mean that you have to hone on it for four or five minutes instead of two. Big deal, right? I guess if I were honing for a living and needed to crank 'em out as fast as possible, it might be an issue, but I can spare a few minutes every now and then. So for 32.50 plus shipping, you can get the 12k stone and the hand american chromium oxide. The 12k will still be around for your great great grand children to hone their razors on, and the chromium oxide powder should last you many years as well.

EDIT: CAN A MOD PLEASE DELETE THIS DUPLICATE? NOT QUITE SURE HOW THAT HAPPENED.... THX

Instead of the second strop paste, I'd buy this here:

Buy Natural Water Stone, 8" x 2" x 1", Natural Polishing Water Stone, Water

It's the 8x2x1 chinese 12k, and it costs 20 bucks. I've got the 8x3 stone, and if I had it to do over again, I'd get the smaller stone. It's just as long as the wider stone, but an inch narrower. I prefer the narrower 2 inch width. The chinese 12k leaves a very comfortable shaving edge on your razor alone, but following up with the chromium oxide leaves pretty much nothing to be desired. Mosts pastes cost 12 or so bucks anyway, so you might as well get the cheap stone which leaves a better edge than the paste.

The only downfall of the 12k is that it's a slower stone, but might mean that you have to hone on it for four or five minutes instead of two. Big deal, right? I guess if I were honing for a living and needed to crank 'em out as fast as possible, it might be an issue, but I can spare a few minutes every now and then. So for 32.50 plus shipping, you can get the 12k stone and the hand american chromium oxide. The 12k will still be around for your great great grand children to hone their razors on, and the chromium oxide powder should last you many years as well.

That Chinese looked really interesting! I never really considered it, because I thought all hones got more expensive with finer grid.
Sounds like that is a good plan for me.

The chinese is ordered now, and then the 4/8 will come later. I do have two sharp razors, so I hope to make due with only the chinese and paste for a while.

Tony Miller sells little containers of Diamond Pastes, .25, .5 and 1.0. There's probably enough in his containers to keep you stropping for over a year. I think there around 9 bucks or so, give him a call.
If you bought two including shipping, it'd be worth it.

Originally Posted by flyboy

I am on a bit of a limited budget, so my plan is to get a norton 4/8 and take it from there with strops.
Have you got any suggestion on which pastes to use on my way up to the chromium oxide? To get the best possible edge with relatively limited means.

Originally Posted by flyboy

The chinese is ordered now, and then the 4/8 will come later. I do have two sharp razors, so I hope to make due with only the chinese and paste for a while.

The Chinese 12k will keep you going for a very long time, barring any accidental damage.

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Just to make things more confusing:
DMT W4EE 8000 mesh ≈$25 (never needs lapping) OR DMT D8EE 8000 mesh ≈$90 (never needs lapping) currently on sale for $70
One or both of the following:
Chinese 12k or fine barber hone ≈$20 + a way to lap them (either DMT D8C ≈$60 or wet/dry paper)
AND/OR
0.5 chrome oxide (≈$12) on a balsa or leather paddle

The W4EE is 4 3/8" x 7/8” x 3/16”. With practice it is plenty long enough for a 3 inch razor. Currently, the next larger DMT 8000 mesh is 3" x 8" and around $90. currently on sale for $70

The D8C 325 mesh for lapping makes sense if you have household knives and other tools to sharpen. It's also more convenient than the paper. The D8C is less expensive than paper over the long term. Wet/dry paper might work ok for the short term, while finding out if straight shaving is for you.
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