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Ok , I decided from the begining I was not going to get into Honing, I just dont want to be bothered with it just yet. I have no problem sending razors out to a hone or going 5 blocks away to Nun2sharps house if I need hone work.
My question is, should I get into a paste strop? What does the paste strop do, is it for touch up? Will it prolong me needing hone work?
Mike i am a little confused sorry. You want to have paddle strop and put paste on it? are you asking this? if yes then
answer to your question yes it will fresh up your edge and it will take longer time to between honing.
Now depends what type paste are you going to use too.
there is couple different ones diamond,chro2 etc. You need to choose it.
None2sharp help me make my balsa strop i use it for chro2.
hope this helps. gl
you can put pastes to hanging strop too but it will take time to learn how much pressure put etc when you use it.
Actually, as you continue to shave you will probably progress to a pasted strop as you replace your old ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike257
A pasted strop continues the hone. It carries on an abrasive process that polishes the edge of the blade to its highest level of refinement.
The smaller the size of the abrasive, the keener the blade.
Stropping has a peculiar effect on metal. Instead of compacting, and scrapping away metal, it washes and finishes the blade much like a wave levels a shore.
Contrary to a popular myth you cannot over strop, and you will return to stone but the period between what I call a hard hone will be greatly reduced. As your proficiency builds that Chinese 12k will make a great paper weight.
I have as hanging strops, and use in progression, Red, Black, Crox, Diamond,
Yellowstone, Wool, Cotton, and Leather.
I also have AD! ;)
Hope this helps.
I basically dont want to get into honing and am wondering what a pasted strop wll do for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl
Im thinking I might wanto to just buy another linen from TM and use it just for paste. Am I wasting my time or would this be a good accessory to have alone with my TM Latigo/Linen strop
The answer is a clear "maybe". You might find these two articles useful:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike257
wow, thank you , problem solved !
I totally concur with this. I put 60 laps on the leather prior to my shave. However, if you put too much pressure on the razor during stropping you will roll the edge. Just enough pressure to keep it flat on the strop will do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bladerunner
In answer to your question about "needing" a pasted strop. No, you don't need one. But it is a nice addition to refresh your edge occasionally. If your bevel was properly set to begin with you won't have to do another for years provided you don't damage the edge. Just refreshing your edge periodically with a finishing hone and/or a pasted strop will keep you going for a good long time.
Hello Mike. I would suggest a two sided paddle strop to extend your shaves between honings no matter who does them. I would get one with CrO on one side and either 1.0 diamond or 0.5 diamond on the other. They are easy to make and cost very little for what you get. Look at mine when you come to the meet. I have heard good things about hard felt and that would be my choice if I had to do it again.
bj
I prefer a balsa wood paddle strop to the pasted hanging strop myself. They are cheap and easy to make, too.
I have one pasted with chromium oxide from Chris L, and another pasted with the red < 0.5 micron paste from Karakoup1 in the classifieds. I really like what the two do to my edges.
I like chrom ox on a flatbed hone such as the Hand American and used to use that for smoothing out a harsh edge or slicking up a razor that needed it between passes. Now that SRD felt hanger with the 0.5 diamond spray is my go to pasted strop. I don't use it on every razor but I find it essential for some and nice to have for others. YMMV.
As already mentioned, pasted strops are just another weapon in the sharpening arsenal. Choice of paste is determined by the work you are putting the strop too, e.g., light touch up- CrO2/1/4 diamond.
What surface to apply the paste to is also in the hands of the users pref. I favour hanging strops so that's what I apply paste to and others go with the hard surface option, paddles.
I would recommend that for pastes on hanging strops you buy in a cheap one from those ebay whole sellers. Pastes work great on the back side of leather that has been sanded smooth and flat. This surface holds the pastes very well.
PuFF
I would suggest getting into honing but in a small way. get a nice coticule and use it to touch up your razors rather than a pasted strop. Then when you start to like it........
my 2 cents.
I am a firm believer in the Dovo white paste on the canvas/linen strop as part of daily maintenance.
It is much milder than CromeOx, it smooths out the weave of the canvas/linen while dramatically increasing the edge retention/refreshing abilities of the strop.
I was rather undecided about the canvas strop when I first started using it. Then I loaded it up with the Dovo white, and it all became clear. Really, it is fantastic stuff, and I'm surprised it isn't discussed more on the forums. All of the focus seems to be on ChromOx and diamond pastes(which are both indeed great stuff, but serve a different purpose)
Give it a try. If you don't like it (which I really doubt, if you are a fan of keeping your razors in top form...) then you can flip your linen/canvas strop to the other side and be back to where you were to begin with.
I have been a big exponent of the use of linen and Yes I agree that the Dovo chalk is great stuff. I think that if you are going to try to cut the use of the hone to an absolute minimum then the use of the courser pastes is required at some point. As a light touch up strop, then the linen alone is best followed by the chalked linen and so on.
Linen alone can maintain an edge for quite some time depending on the number of laps used of course. Applying paste like chalk to the strop primarily is a means of speeding up the effect of the linen as such. "True" abrasives like CrO2 actually cut metal to a greater extent and as such should be used less frequently meaning, only enough to produce the edge required and no more. To use pastes more would take them more into the bracket of a hone where by you are trying to re-cut an edge instead of dressing an edge.
So it can be said, for light maintenance up to light sharpening the strop in all it's guises will hold a razors edge together, but, to repair or readjust an edge etc, then only a hone can achieve this sucessfully, IMO
PuFF
My final "honing" is a CrO2 hanging strop. If I have got a razor to the correct state on the hones (finishing on a coticule, Dragons Tongue,ToS or WoA) , after doing a few dozen light passes on a CrO2 powdered strop, arm hairs jump up like shot rabbits when I pass the razor about 1/4 of an inch above my skin, with very little sensation. This is how I try to get all the razors I hone. I'm going to try diamond spray next to see if I can achieve it more regularly. I'm certainly no honemiester, but sometimes, when I get things right (for once), I do wonder how on earth anyone could do much better?. I must admit, I have owned two newly pro-honed razors that were sharper than my "rabbit cutters". Also, my best efforts can be stropped back to keen a few times at least.
Just done it on a 4/8 Puma, Ooooh! GOOD SHAVE:tu Wool fat soap too.:cool:
That's a strop arsenal! Is that 8 different strops, or or 4 strops with the 4 abrasives? Did you make your own...and what is yellowstone, a type of fabric? and what type of wool and cotton is used? (sorry for so many questions at once)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bladerunner
6 strops....athe moment. Lynn and Tony are going to be the death of me.Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlemanly
Look here.Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlemanly
Hey Mike,
As the others have said - Do you need a pasted strop? No. Would you be happy if you bought one or made one? For sure. My balsa paddle strop I made has served me well, along with ChrisL's chrome ox. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it does wonders. Just my opinion.
You're quite right Seraphim, Dovo white isn't discussed much. I was aware of it's abilities as a strop conditioner, but not much more than that. Now I might give it a try someday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seraphim
I might try the balsa paddle thing, I know Im eventually going to have to get into my own honing, it just seems like I need so many stones and there are a lot of different brands to chose from, if I could buy one stone that I could use for a touch up that would be great. Otherwise the balsa paddle or the paste strop will be the way to go for me . If say I rolled the edge of my razor while stropping would the pasted paddle fix it ? I think think a few times over the past few months I raised the spine of my razor up while stropping, does this automatically mean I rolled the edge?
You havent done anything that a good stropping or a barbers hone couldnt fix. If you have a truly shave ready razor all you will ever need to maintain it is a good strop and a good barber hone.
I hope this helps Mike. There were a couple times in the "early days" when I thought I'd rolled the edge (I was obsessive), and when it came time for the shave the razor performed really well. To date I have yet to roll an edge. Now excuse me while I find a piece of wood to knock on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike257
Ryan good answers , we are definitly on the same page. As far as me rolling the edge, I probally didnt do that because Im getting great shaves and all Im doing is stropping .
Kelly next time I see you , you 'll have to educate me on the barber stone , how to use it , where to get one ect...