Thread: Pasted Strop

I just purchased a new Kanayama. Should use my old strop as a pasted strop? If so what kind of paste should I use. I usually send my blades out for honing and just want something that will touch the razor up

Type in Cro Ox in the search box there is multiple threads on it. It's great for refreshing an edge and can also be used to smooth out a harsh edge.

+1 to Mark

When it comes to pastes my favourite is cerium oxide but it is hard to find. They use the very pure stuff for polishing glass lenses, so if you can find someone that does this sort of thing. There is a lot of it out there for lapidary, but it is nor really the right stuff. I have some I got a very long time ago that is .5 micron and is quite nice. Other than the late Neil Miller, I have not seen it for sale in any strop/roazor shop. If you are looking for a mission, it’s a good one but the CrOx mentioned above is pretty good and easy to find. Most razor shops have it as well as FeOx which I have never used but some people are over the moon about it.

I agree in that CroOx is awesome on felt or linen. Diamond paste is great too!

But if you've got a slab oh leather going on, those Dovo pastes work great on those. I can't recall what the micron equivalents are, but the green gave me a little sharpening smoothness, and the black added to the smooth. That or balsa.

I'll say this though, having a spare strop is a good thing to have just in case you uh... slice one in half? And you can use if on your knives too. I don't know, I have three strops hanging right now. Two with different leathers for redundancy reasons, and the third which is my paste strop.

Good Luck!!

When would you use a pasted strop? And is there a strop that you should get? I have a cheap one and I am not real sure on how to use it. How many passes do you make? There is a lot I need to learn here.

Erik, that kind of depends on your usage. There has also been some controversy. Some say if you use it too often it will deteriorate your edge. There are other that have used them as part of their daily stropping routine for very long periods with no ill effect. The concept is that the mild abrasive keeps your edge going, or rescues it when it begins to dull. If you are using it as a rescue or periodic many have found that 20 passes at regular intervals works wonders. So you could for example decide to try it 20passes once a month. You may find that is sufficient.

go with the Kremer Pigments these have works great for several years now for me

Product# 44200
0.3 micron Chrome Oxide Green powder


Product# 48100
0.1 micron Iron Oxide Red 110 M light powder

Originally Posted by RezDog

When it comes to pastes my favourite is cerium oxide but it is hard to find. They use the very pure stuff for polishing glass lenses, so if you can find someone that does this sort of thing. There is a lot of it out there for lapidary, but it is nor really the right stuff. I have some I got a very long time ago that is .5 micron and is quite nice. Other than the late Neil Miller, I have not seen it for sale in any strop/roazor shop. If you are looking for a mission, it’s a good one but the CrOx mentioned above is pretty good and easy to find. Most razor shops have it as well as FeOx which I have never used but some people are over the moon about it.

Here is a supplier for cerium oxide. I have used their diamond lapping films which are fantastic!

Abrasive Slurry - Nanolap Technologies

Originally Posted by Substance

go with the Kremer Pigments these have works great for several years now for me

Product# 44200
0.3 micron Chrome Oxide Green powder


Product# 48100
0.1 micron Iron Oxide Red 110 M light powder

Yup. That's all I use. On balsa. Not too aggressive, but takes the bite off from the hones.
Tightens them up a bit. Finely polishes. Good stuff!
Tuning or refreshing. Just about all for powder/pastes, IMO.