Thread: Do I really need strop paste?

Hey there, my first post here! Been watching for a few weeks and recently registered. I already read the wiki about finishing pastes but it still left me wondering if I really needed them so... on to the question... I was given a very nice "combo" vintage horsehide + linen strop from a retired barber. Being a very close friend of the family, I want to keep this as "memorabilia" and in its "unpasted" state. But do I really need pastes? I already have the very popular 220/1k/4k/8k Norton stones. I already got the Dovo black/red paste from open_razor but... my dog ate 2 packs of it... all that's remaining now is a mangled red pack... :P Could I use newspapers in place of let's say... .5 micron paste?

Else I guess I'll just make another one out of old jeans.

Thanks for your answers!

Puir wee doggie. You really should keep pastes away from it. Those can't be healthy ... And puir wee postal carrier. He'll never knew what hit him with those honed toothies

You should finish stropping with unpasted leather, so maybe you should keep the gift intact.

"Do I need strop paste?", you asked.
It's up to you. I use my Chinese 12k instead. I've also shaved right from the Norton 8k with some linen/leather stropping.

No, you don't need strop paste. A clean strop is required for everyday use anyway.
I did find a pasted strop really helpful when i first started honing though. It got me the edge i needed that i couldn't get on the hones at the time. Still had to have the clean one too though.
If it needs a bit of life breathed into it, neatsfoot oil will do the job.

Welcome to SRP. I keep my regular strops paste free and have a dedicated paste felt strop. Diamond spray actually. I also have a loom strop with chrom ox, a 4 sided paddle strop with various diamond pastes and a flat bed with chrome ox. You don't need any or them but they are mighty handy in some situations. How is the dog doing ?

Don't use what barber gave to you.
cheap variant is make balsa strop.

If you haven't seen it yet and your interested in making a balsa strop:

Easily make a pasted balsa strop - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Good luck!

Haha thanks for the answers, I'll probably wait before making a paddle strop and give the newspaper a try! The dog (a gray poodle named Zoé) is alright... I was actually very worried about this and she just hummed along! I guess the particles are so fine that they can't really be too rough on a digestive system. Here's a picture...

If you become interested in a pasted balsa wood strop, you can make a temporary one with literally no trouble. "No assembly required!"

I bought a 3 inch by 3 foot strip of balsa wood from a hobby store for about $3, and split it in half. This gave me four sides to paste with various pastes. For temporary use, just to find whether you like balsa wood, there is no need to anchor or paste the wood to anything.

If you like balsa wood, then make something a little better.

Originally Posted by v76

Haha thanks for the answers, I'll probably wait before making a paddle strop and give the newspaper a try! The dog (a gray poodle named Zoé) is alright... I was actually very worried about this and she just hummed along! I guess the particles are so fine that they can't really be too rough on a digestive system. Here's a picture...

Happy to hear the doggie is allright. That's a fine looking dog.