Pasted strop

Hi lads,
Iv only been at this for a few months but things have been going well. My stropping tecniqhe seems good and my blades have been staying keen. I have a Belgian coticule for honing but I thought i would give a pasted strop a go. For touching up the keenness between honings. I used a Dovo Prima Rindleder with red dovo paste.Ensuring the paste was well worked into the leather I used the exact same tecnique as my normal stropping. There was more drag on the stroke but I expected that due to the abrasive nature of the paste. Anyway, I have since used two of the stropped razors (both Wapi's) that were sharp before the stropping but just dulling slightly. In both cases I have given myself terible razor burn. What did I do wrong when stropping? I am tempted to go back to just using the yellow coticule every couple of months instead for a few courtesy laps as the edge it produces is superb.

nobby

Since I use a pasted paddle strop to refresh my edge I am not an authority on a pasted hanging strop, but it is my understanding that you paste the linen side of the strop rather than the leather. And you should use the pasted side only when you notice the razor is tugging after stropping, not each shave. It refreshes your edge. Use your regular leather for each shave, and pasted when needed. Draw is not a consideration when using a pasted strop, even with my paddle strop.

Ah, this is a leather only strop. I did not realise you could not paste leather Ooops. I dont use it every time Have a unpasted strop for pre and post shave and that works fine. Id had about 15/20 shaves off each razor ant thought i would try touching up with a pasted strop instead of a finishing hone. The results were unpleasant. My neck felt like it was on fire for about two hours afterwards. Think I will just stick to what i know. Everytime I experiment with something new it goes wrong. Like when I tried holding my straight perpendicular to my face and using a jerking, twisting motion to shave:chop:

You can paste both linen and leather. I've used chromium oxide on both a linen hanging strop and a leather paddle strop, and both worked. I think you're issue is that the red dovo paste is coarser than what the coticule is. The red paste is said to contain particles of a 2-4 micron size, which is about a 5000-12000 grit range. Just google "micron grit conversion" if you're wondering where I came up with those numbers. :D But if it contains particles of 5000 grit, then it'll give you a much harsher/duller edge than off the coticule with just water, which behaves in the 10000-12000 range (give or take).

Also, how many laps are you doing with the pasted strop?

If you've got an eye loupe or a microscope take a look at your edges. That might tell you something. Also some pastes can leave a harsh edge. Hitting it on some chromium oxide afterwards can soften it up and smooth it out some. If the strop was freshly pasted maybe it had a little built up and it will improve as it wears in.

You can paste the leather just fine.

The problem is with the paste you used - the red paste is pretty coarse. You need to follow it up with the black paste for a smooth sharp edge. I think the black paste is about 1 micron, but I think it's slower than diamond because whatever it is, it leaves a very smooth very sharp edge.

Thanks for all your input guys. Think Im gonna go back to my coticule and bare leather strop routine. It works so why mess eh?! I only tryed the pasted strop thing cos I had a couple of spares and stumbles across the paste.

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Originally Posted by nobby

Thanks for all your input guys. Think Im gonna go back to my coticule and bare leather strop routine. It works so why mess eh?! I only tryed the pasted strop thing cos I had a couple of spares and stumbles across the paste.

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With pastes can maintain a very strong edge without Honing for 2 or 3 years. Red dovo not working for me.

My protocol for a new razor is 20 or 30 strokes in coticule, 5 strokes in diamond paste 1 micron, 10 strokes in diamond paste 0.5 microns and 10 strokes in cromium oxide 0.5 micron.

For maintenance use 5 strokes in diamond paste 0.5 micron and 5 strokes in cromium oxide every 7 shaves. This way I have 9 months without honing and the edge is very strong. My beard is thick and hard.

Regards

Dioni

Pasted hanging strops can put a wicked edge on a razor in the right hands, but it can also convex your bevel really quickly, especially with a coarse paste. I'd suggest paddle strop (easier on the bevel), one sided if you only want to use one paste, or a 4 sided if you wanted a variety. Also try some chrome ox as it works really well and might be better suited for your purposes.