More paste questions

When using pastes like Dovo red and black for touch-ups or finishing after honing, is there any recomended number of passs to use with each or is that just one of those dumb questions with no definative answers?
Grant

According to Douglas Adams ....... 42 :p
Sorry mate couldn't resist.

Bit of info on your last stone etc. & someone else may chime in but generally paste use should be minimal if you've gone to a high grit finisher. I Don't use em much but sometimes 5 or 10 passes on CrO is the icing on the cake.

I agree with Oz. Keep it to a minimum. Try ten laps over each & then shave test it. It's easy to do more if you're still not quite happy with it.
It'll probably depend on the strop you're using too. Hanging strops are longer than paddles generally. Therefore you're getting more distance, requiring less laps. If it's a hanger, keep it nice & tight for a flat surface.

I just made a double sided balsa paddle strop today to try the pastes on which about 16 inches long.
I finish with a coticle so the edges are pretty nice, but I'm still an amature honer so i thought the pastes might make my edge that lttle bit better.
Cheers
G.

Just remember the SRP mantra . "Less is more"
Start with your finest paste for 5 or 10 strokes then increase only if needed.

I use Dovo red, then Dovo black, and like finishing up with Chromium Oxide 0.5 micron paste. (Just recently got Chromium Oxide 0.3 micron powder, which I will be trying.) All these pastes are applied to balsa wood.

I don't pay attention as much to the number of passes. But, using a $12 Radio Shack microscope, I move from one paste to the other based on appearance of the edge and bevel. Sometime in the future, I suspect that I will know more about average number of passes. But, even then, with the dozen razors I have experimented with so far, I fully expect the number of required passes to vary fairly widely based on the metal.

It's frustrating because we all try for something quantitative. Maybe it does come down to feel, based on experience...

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm testing on a KROPP i recently restored.
I just did 10 laps with the black paste and that took it from a pretty good shave to a very nice smoth shave. It might be time to just leave it alone. I'm quite amazed at the difference actually.
Here's a pic of how it turned out, before pasting.
Cheers
Grant

That's a really cool looking paddle! Nice work! I'd pay good money for one like that.
I do think it'll give your edges that little extra something that you can't quite reach over the hones yet.
I found that if i did more i felt the edges were deteriorating faster than when i did fewer.

I like that paddle strop. I probably wouldn't want to get it dirty though. :(

I know, it was hard to rub all that paste into it.:cry:
G.

I like that paddle. Looks great. :) What's the paddle (handle) material made of?

The paddle is made from 6mm thick clear acrylic, with 8mm balsa on each side.

Looks good Grant. Well done.

Nice paddle. I typically use 10 passes on the .50 Chromx side to sharpen up the edge. Sometimes when the edge needs a little extra, I will give it 10 passes on the 1.0, then 10 on the .50.

There is a sharpness threshold that I can feel on my razors just by lightly touching it with my thumb pad and I like to keep my razors very sharp.

I do use the canvass/leather strop every shave.

My softy Dovo Tortoise needs a paste visit after every two shaves.
My other other carbon blades needs a paste visit after every 4 shaves.
My stainless steel blade needs a diamond past visit after every 4 shaves.

Good Luck!

Pabster