Thread: Using Goop on Pasted Strops

Chalk this up as another newbie dumb question but if I can't ask it here where can I ask it . I have a four sided strop I bought from Tony Miller that I had set up as follows ( 6,3,1,.5) micron diamond paste. My problem is I'm having difficulty finding the 6 and the 3 micron diamond paste. I kind of regret setting my strop up this way. Classic shaving sells green and red pastes that fall into the 6 miron and the 2-4 miron range very nicely. While checking out Keith De'Grau and his web site Hand American a while back, he posted that the simple hand cleaning product Goop will clean and condition pasted strops. He further demonstrated his point by cleaning a strop that was impregnated with Chromium Oxide. I've already tried this on my travel paddle strop that is treated with .5 Chromium Oxide and the Goop appears to have removed all traces of the green paste. I am considering using the Goop on the 6 and 3 miron sides of my four sided strop to remove remnants of the diamond paste because I am now at the point where I should apply more, so if I am going to make the switch it should be very soon. Is this a mistake on my part to consider making a switch from the diamond paste to the Dovo green and red pastes? I need feedback from the more experienced among you to give me guidance on this. I do not want to mix grits and cause problems for myself

I've done it and it works. I've used 3 applications. Most of the honemiesters recommend applying in one direction only, not back and forth. I did it back and forth and didn't have any trouble but you should follow their advice (I have an experimentation streak).

If your applying the same grit you may not need to clean the old (diamond) stuff.

Tony may chime in too, he'd probably have the most knowledge about the subject.

Sorry, maybe I missed the point of your post. I don't think its dumb, more perhaps just unneccesary. I'd just apply the same grit on top of the diamond stuff. Or perhaps I'd just PM Tony and ask for the name of his supplier. If I used stainless blades I'd be more likely to gravitate towards diamond paste.

I kind of favor the diamond compounds myself but then again I have used the others very little.

I buy my pastes direct from St. Gobain (Amplex/Norton parent compnay) but you can find it here too:

http://www.industrialtool.com/Amplex/amplex57.htm

You would want 5gram tubes, water based, standard concentration. Probably $18-20 a tube but one tube will last you forever.

Goop is petroleum based and will remove grease, oil and maybe even glue if it soaks through the leather. On a hanging strop maybe, on a pasted paddle.....well, you're on your own here <g>.

Tony

See what I mean? :-)

Hello, I have used the other pastes and I found them to be not very satisfactory The red, green and black are just so much less effective than the diamond , boron carbide and chrome oxide.

Regarding the Goop. I have used it a number of times to clean and condition old strops and it works very well. The main components are glycerin and lanoilin. I would suggest buying either Tony's strop conditioner or the conditioners from
Classicshaving.com

Hope this helps,

When I use red and green pastes, it is for extra smoothness in the shave itself. This is after the razor is honed well and shaving close. This has worked consistently for me. When I use the diamond pastes, it is usually the .5 and .25 micron and it actually works well when the razor is just not quite as sharp as I like it to be. For the most part these days, I usually just finish with a Coticule or the new Escher stone I have and have not gone back to the pastes on a regular basis. Lynn

For strops, I rarely put any kind of treatment on them unless they are really starting to stiffen up. Typically just rubbing your palm on a strop will suffice. When I do treat one I will normall just use either Mink Oil or Baseball Glove Oil. Works great. Just rub it in really good, wipe off excess, let it sit a couple days and rub my palm across it daily for a week or so and ready to rock. I have also used the Fromm dressing and the tub stuff from Classic, but all in all, I'd say my favorite is the Mink Oil. Lynn

Thanks guys for all the help. I will make the extra effort and locate the diamond paste. I'll give Industrialtool.com try. That's one I have not tried yet. The higher grits can be purchased from "CLassic Shaving". The 6 and the 3 mircon was giving me a problem in locating. I can find it in the oil base but not the water soluable. Thanks again for all the replies to my post.