Thread: CrO Strop

So ive been looking for an in-expensive way to sharpen the razor. Ive landed on CrO but i have a few questions.
I used the SRD advice and didnt go all out the first time. I got the Vintage Blades red latigo 2" strop. Ive nicked it and cut it and i finally got the hang of it. My next step was to buy a nicer strop and use this one for CrO. I looked at one of the tutorials as to how to paste with CrO and the guy describing said to not paste CrO on a latigo strop. ;(
1) Is this his opinion? Am i ok using CrO on a red Latigo Strop?
2)Is it worth it just to but a Naiwa 10k instead
3)Does the Balsa Strop described on the "make your own" work?

Thanks for your help

buy a piece of leather form a hoby shop.
glue it to a piece of wood/precut class/granite etc.
apply CrO.
Handamerican sells a magnetic backed leather strop with base, and liquid CrO and powdered CrO.

ive been looking online at the hobby shops. The have latigo leather, tooling leather and premium leather. Which one should i use?

The first thing to consider is why shouldn't you put crox on your leather strop? Part of the reason is because crox is very agressive in nature and if used improperly can ruin the edge very fast. On a soft strop it is easy to roll the edge and you would do more harm than good.

Yes you can get a piece of leather from the hobby shop or cowboy shop and glue it to a board and use that. I have tried using leather, like that, and have glued it with both the smooth side up and the rough side up. For me, I found the rough side up worked better. Why, because it seems to hold the crox better.

The hard balsa strop works great. The reason we use hard balsa is not because it is cheap, but because it has 2 qualities not found in other products. First, it has poures that hold the crox in place. Second, it has a soft surface that allows us to present the edge of the blade to the crox at a very light and even pressure.

The corx applied to these surfaces becomes basically a variable stone. Keith, from Handamerican, tells me the crox creates a 60,000 grit surface. This can be very agressive. Most people tend to apply crox to heavy, and use to many strokes when using it. If the product is applied correctly, only 6 to 10 strokes need to be used and the original surface should last you 6 to 8 months before needing to partially renew it.

It is a great way to maintain your razor between honings and can help you extend the life of your razor's edge before you need to send them out for re-honing.


Enjoy!

Ray

Thanks alot ray.
Im pretty sure im either going to get the Handamerican Bench hone set and crox that, or make a balsa paddle strop, like the one in the Make it yourself wiki. Which do you think would yield better results?

Zee,
I am partial to the balsa, as you can see in the classifieds. My balsa strop has been used on more than 160 razors and I have not yet had to replenish the crox. The leather works ok too, but the balsa gives me better feedback. Your choice. Remember, this is not rocket science.

There is a difference in Crox too. I find the Handamerican works great for my application. When you get your stuff pm me and I will help you get it set up.

Enjoy!

Ray

Originally Posted by Zee

Thanks alot ray.
Im pretty sure im either going to get the Handamerican Bench hone set and crox that, or make a balsa paddle strop, like the one in the Make it yourself wiki. Which do you think would yield better results?

The 3 x 8 Balsa strop I got from Ray works great, very user-friendly. 8 careful laps usually gets the job done. I highly recommended it.