Thread: Pasted Strops a rough guide

Yea, it depends on the paste, the substrate and the edge. Generally a pasted edge is smoother to me, because the grit is finer, the resulting stria shallower and the edge straighter, but YMMV for example a razor stropped on .50 Diamond, Chrome Oxide and CBN will each feel very different, even though all the grit sizes are the same.

For years we have used Chrome Oxide as a finishing paste with great result, but that is just about 30-60K grit equivalents (depending on which conversion chart you read) and usually off an 8-10ish stone, which can be a large jump.

But there are other pastes of much higher grits that can leave an even finer finish, up to 160K /.010um, CBN. Granted it works best with a progression of at least .50um CBN, but would probably work after Chrome Oxide with proper stropping.

The problem with the ultra-high, sub-micron grits is they can get harsh, I suspect the edge may be too sharp and is exfoliating skin. I like the .25um/ 60k CBN best for comfort and touch up.

CBN is unique in paste, it is second to diamond in hardness, almost as quick in cutting, but not as harsh, especially when used with a soft substrate and on a hanging strop. Fabric/paper and soft leathers (Kangaroo) seem to work best and used wet, misted with distilled water, even better.

And really that is cause of the bad rap paste have received, I believe. There are a lot of variables that affect results.

One of the beauties of paste is, if you don’t like the edge, a few laps on the finisher and you are back to where you started, or drop down to a more aggressive paste, not like you have to bevel set the razor again.