Thread: When to paste your strop?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I did the exact same, the Barber that taught me years ago showed me the Chalk and Hairspray trick after cleaning.. In his veiw he thought it was much better for the edge, I did it that way, and never had problems... Again try it and see what you find, Pastes are an acquired taste and their use is a huge variable, even the use of Linen at all is debatable...

The only thing that is a "fact" is that the linen does remove something from the edge, that part is right there plain to see, other than that it is all opinion...

It's removing the razor's mojo

Thanks, Glen!

Just my two cents (as I am no pro, but able to get a very smooth and sharp edge on an undamaged razor):

I never use any paste on the canvas (though I don't have linen canvas, only the type that comes on SRD Latigo strops). The canvas itself seems to work wonders on my razors.

And my favorite sharpening "paste", which I use on a separate leather strop, is really home-made; slurry from a very fine Chinese water stone. I smooth it out with my fingers, let dry, and rub it slightly again. For me, this works better than diamond paste.

Originally Posted by trondsi

And my favorite sharpening "paste", which I use on a separate leather strop, is really home-made; slurry from a very fine Chinese water stone. I smooth it out with my fingers, let dry, and rub it slightly again. For me, this works better than diamond paste.

No kidding, huh? Who knew!

Originally Posted by jpcwon

No kidding, huh? Who knew!

If you have a strop to spare, and a fine water stone, you should try it . Hopefully it should work for others as well.
I also apply a little oil on that strop a few minutes before putting on the slurry, to avoid drying out the leather.

A number of years ago the info available said that the Dovo white paste is an abrasive and intended for the linen/cotton component. The abrasive was either chalk or talc IIRC ( they are different).
I now have a cotton strop that is pasted with talc and only use it when I feel the edge needs a touch up. My regular cotton/linen strop does not have an abrasive in it. Its primary purpose is to clean the razor of oxidation & "stuff" leftover from the last shave

It might be a good idea for anyone applying a fresh coat of abrasive paste to any type of strop to finish by "bottling" the strop to break up any large particles and to work it into the substrate.

Just my $.02

One of these days I'll try talc on a linen strop. Does anyone have any experience with this?