Thread: Pasted Strops "The Experiment"

Stropping is an unusual exercise. You want the grain (abrasive) to become finer as you polish your beveled edge. There are many abrasives that can serve this purpose. I have found that it is best for my blade, to have one that not only removes micro irregularities from the blades edge, but also pulls the incipient molecular buildup of oxidation from the blade's bevel.

My daily routine begins with my last shave. I rinse my blade and use SRD's black latigo. The web is virgin. The latigo has a Dovo black paste applied to it.

On my next use of the blade it is stropped using SRD's #1. The webbing has yellowstone compound applied to the inner side of the webbing. Fun stuff. I use the yellowstone compound as a final finisher before my shave. No more than 6-10 passes, and strop the leather 20-30 passes. More often than not I use the l rear of the web to strop. The build up of the compound on the rear of the strop actually polishes the blade in a very efficient way without the worries of excessive wear.

Every 10- 12 months I will take the blades to the Norton 8k. I use the 8k dry. That is all that I have needed to enjoy wonderful shaves for the last many years.