Diamond Paste Magic

My TI razor was sharp but no matter how much I stropped it, it did not shave comfortably. I was reasonably sure the blade was sharp because Lynn had sharpened it for me. When I got my razor back from Lynn, I stropped it about 30 licks and had my first shave with it and was disappointed to say the least. It pulled and dragged and did not seem to cut the beard as I knew it should. I tried stropping it some more and tried several unsuccessful test shaves. As a last resort, before I sent it back to Lynn and begged him to see what he could do, I took out the 4-sided paddle strop that I bought from Tony Miller just before Christmas. I applied a little 0.5 diamond paste to one side of the paddle and did about 6 laps. Then I applied the 0.25 paste to another side and did another 10 laps and voila. The edge was super keen. I did another 15 laps on my hanging strop (another Tony purchase) and had the best shave I've had in some time. The diamond paste seemed to do the trick.

Jim,
I have somethimes found the same thing. I think alot depends on your beard, shaving style and beard prep. I have had blades honed by several honemeisters here and for me some still needed just a little something more. Oddly though they all passed the hanging hair test but on my beard were just not enough.
I don't think I have got many that I have honed to pass the hanging hair test but I get great shaves from them. I am not sure what the difference is but each person is different and what works for one may not work for another.
Tonight I used my Norton and for the first time got one that is shave ready right off of the stone.

Tony

Tony,

Thanks again for making such a good paddle strop. I really enjoy using it with the .5 micron paste. It sure can help get a edge keen!