Thread: Using paste too much.....

So I've got a 7/8ths crown and sword that was getting to tug a little bit and a few passes on CrO wasn't sufficient to bring it back. So, I could either hit the stones or try more passes on CrO. Just to experiment, I did over 100 passes on a CrO pasted hanging canvas strop (the old firehose type canvas strops... love em!).

The shave was absolutely great. Other than the resultant convex edge (which isn't a problem to me, since they still shave well) what's wrong with this?

I see all the time that people recommend only 15 to 20 strokes..... what's wrong with more? Maestro Livi doesn't seem to have an issue with it...

I would think the suggestion for stopping with 20 or less is for fear of leaving a fragile edge if you went beyond that. I made a similar query to stropping expert mparker and he said that although he originally thought many laps on paste would be too much of a good thing in experimentation he did not find that the edge was compromised. At least I think that is what he said. Like a lot of this stuff trying it and seeing how it works for you is the best way to go about it.

Keep in mind that many of the opinions that we have here on SRP might not be universal, we here tend to be a Hone/Stone oriented bunch...
There are many people that hardly ever touch a stone and maintain their razor almost exclusively on pasted strops...

Try it on a heavy Sheffield wedge sometime if you have the inclination

Start with Dovo Green - Dovo Red - Dovo Black - .50 Diamond - CrOx
And see how good and smooth it shaves...

Yes it is a convexed edge but it still shaves just fine....

You always need to adapt. We can give general recommendations and we try on err on the conservative side. If we told you to do 100 passes with .5 diamond and it was way too much you wouldn't be happy so we say start with 20 and see what happens. Its easier to do less and then some more than too much and have to deal with that.

Also not every razor is the same.

When most people say to do 10-15 passes, they mean "at a time".

So, its "hone" then evaluate.

I did a test once and did 100 passes; the razor yielded a terrific increase in sharpness. I then did an additional 50 and ruined the edge and part of the bevel.

Each individual will use a slightly differing degree of 'no pressure' on the strop as well. it could be that you're one of the lighter 'no pressure' types. It may also depend on the strop you are using and the conditions it is living in. There are so many variables. As has been repeated so often, do what works for you.

X

My intent here is not "one up-manship" but well over a year ago I posted about how I did an experiment where I rubbed chrome ox on some newspaper which was taped very tightly around a Chinese 12k stone as a base. I took the same razor that was shaving well and did 100 passes on the chrome ox newspaper each night for seven nights and shaved with that same razor each morning (pre-shave strop on plain leather). All during and after the week of 700 passes on the chrome ox newspaper I saw no degredation in the edge.

That was on a very flat surface and not on a hanging strop to edge rounding wouldn't be a factor IMO.

I also routinely increase the number of passes on a chrome ox oil pasted balsa strip I keep in my medicine cabinet depending on how long I've shaved with the same razor. I tend to shave with the same razor for months at a time before getting the urge to hone a new one. Toward the end of a razor's rotation (and the fact that I've used the same chrome ox/oil pasted balsa paddle for over a year with no reapplication of chrome ox) I'll do 50 and sometimes even up to 100 passes on that chrome ox balsa every other week or so. It brings the edges back in an easy and impressive manner.

The only thing that's holding me back from making a self-committment to try an experiment of shaving with one razor 6 days per week for a year with using nothing but a chrome ox paddle and the plain leather strop is the fact that it would be hard to commit to just one razor. I've had this nagging curiosity to see whether it seems plausible to keep a honed razor shaving sharp "indefinitely" by just using chrome ox on balsa when needed.

Chris L

Hi,

As a relative newbie, I am most interested in this post.

From the sage advice given above, it would seem that there is nothing wrong with a convex edge/bevel per se. I know a lot of knives use this type of edge with success.

Would the only downside to a convex edge/bevel be that it would take more work on the hones to bring back a straight edge/bevel again ?

best regards

Russ

I never do more than 20 passes on the pasted (.50) strop before moving to the leather strop and checking the sharpness level. Only once when I started out and dulled the edge a little, I had to do 20 laps on the 1.0, then 20 on the .50 before hitting the leather strop and this got the edge sharp again. Given that all my straights are in perfect condition when I received them, I think this is all they will need to keep them going.

I appreciate the notes on 100 passes. For a dull blade, 100 passes on the 3.0 pastes or greater....well it would be interesting to hear if anyone did that and what the result was.

Pabster