to paste or not to paste

I have been hearing a lot about CrOx paste on strops. I bought a french paste that was not good because it seems it had been at the dealer for a long time, presenting a thick layer of solidified paste. He said that by adding a little turpentine it would work. Any suggestions here would be appreciated.
So I bought CrOx from SRD and that seems to work very well.
Now the question is "to paste or not to paste"
I hear divided opinions.
The overall goal is to have my razors as sharp as they can get. I finish them with a coticule and after that I can either strop with CrOx pasted leather, micro fine honing compound on hose or both.
I could also strop on a clean leather strop.
If need be, I will include pictures later.

Currently I do 50 passes on linnen with micro fine compound, then 50 passes on leather which had the same compound some time ago, but I have not refreshed it. After, 50 passes on leather with CrOx, clean the blade and do 50 passes on clean leather
If some of the experts want to suggest what to do to improve on this process, I would welcome it.

I have never used a coticle so I can’t speak to its potential. But fifty laps on CrOx seems like a lot. When I did use pastes to finish, I would do no more than ten laps. If you need fifty, you’re leaving some of the coticle work on the table.

I use Theirs Issard strop paste from The Art of Shaving on the canvas. 4 x marks running up the Strop. When the build up is too thick (about every 3 months) I just scrape off the excess holding a knife perpendicular to the Strop.
Only have to touch up my razors once a year. Never have had a problem.

That's a lot of pasted stropping. I would go coticule then 10 to 20 on crox then unpasted linen and leather. Use unpasted linen and leather daily and maybe 10 to 20 on crox once a week to keep it at peak performance. Shouldn't need more than that if your shaving and stropping is up to par.

And a side thought. A lot of the compounds aren't as fine as you would think. It may be a step back from the coticle. A lot of compounds have much larger particles mixed with the fine.

The trick to paste is in one word...

The edge coming off a hone can be improved immensely by the "PROPER" use of pastes..

Which paste and how you use it, can make a fine edge Harsh or a good edge Great it is all in the use and choice of paste to match your edge and face


Honestly, I have never used paste to refresh an edge, but some people do with great success


The best part about using a SR is the infinite possibilities to adjust the razor to your face, the most difficult part of using a SR is the infinite possibilities that can adjust the razor to your face :p
All those possibilities can confuse people

When you apply paste to a strop, it is a irreversible process. Thus, rather than applying past to an expensive leather strop, i suggest applying the paste to either a fabric hanging strop or to a bench strop you can easily make yourself.

You can use leather, wood like balsa or basswood/linden from your local hobby shop, or cloth from a fabric shop.

If you want a solid base for the strop, you can purchase 3" x 12" glassed porcelain tiles (make sure they are flat and glossy) from a building supply store. You can also use wood if you want a lighter base, but you will need to sand it flat and smooth. You can then glue leather (either smooth side or suede side up), fabric or thin balsa or basswood to the base using either spray pressure sensitive adhesive, or glue sticks. Then apply your choice of paste or spray to the strop.

The advantage of these DIY strops is that they can be constructed for under $10 each. Thus, you can try a variety of substrates and a variety of abrasives pastes, powders, or sprays: Chromium Oxide, Ferric Oxide, Cerium Oxide, Cubic Boron Nitrie, or monocrystaline and polycrystaline diamond are all possibilities. If you do not like the way one works, try another.

I have a tough beard and sensitive skin, so I am trying to achieve a very keen, very smooth edge. What seems to work best for me is using a Coticule as a prefinisher, finishing on a finer hone than the Coticule (Vermio or Zulu Grey) and then using bench strops with 0.5 and 0.25 micron CBN pastes on microfiber cloth followed by 0.125 CBN micron spray on kangaroo leather. However, I am sure other options would work as well.

Using a stropping length of about 8", I wipe the blade, make 25 laps at 0.5 microns and then wipe the blade so as not to contaminate the next strop. I repeat the process at 0.25 microns and again at 0.125 microns. I then strop the blade on linen and then on leather. Although I strop on linen and leather before every shave, when the edge no longer feels keen and smooth, I repeat the process on the bench strops. When that no longer keeps the blade satisfactory, I go back to the stones. The time between honings depends upon the toughness of your beard and how particular you are about the quality of the edge.

I use the same process as RayClem, except I have a 2-sided paddle strop with hard felt with diamond spray on one side and balsa with CrOx on the other.

I alternate using a combo coticule and an Oozuku Jnat when I hone, but always finish on a Vermio before going to the pasted paddle strop. And, like RayClem, I use the paddle strop to refresh the edge when they need it.

I can go a long time between honing even though I sometimes hone just because ...

Also as RayCLem suggested, I made two homemade bench strops using some scrap hardwood and 2 1/2” leather strips I got from a local leather shop and contact cement. I put CrOx on one and kept the other as is. The leather was cheap and not really of sufficient quality for final stropping of razors, but it allows me to check the edges well enough while honing (and not have to run upstairs where my good strops hang) and works great for knives. Total cost for two 12-inch by 2 1/2 inch strops was about $15.

I was not familiar with the vermio but I went on the internet and did a little research. It seems like a very glassy stone. Apparently there is only one supplier??
Do you use slurry or plain water?
It is fun to learn these new things and eventually improve in your technique and tools of the trade, ultimately, to achieve the best edge for your face.

I got my Vermio from Griffiths Shaving Goods but I believe it is available from other sources, maybe not in the US.

I use plain water and have been experimenting with glycerine and water. Griffiths suggest using glycerine provides a finer finishing. It is a highly polished stone and can be made even more glassy through lapping with a very fine diamond plate.

I tried using the supplied slurry stone, but it does not raise much slurry and reports I have read from other sources suggest the slurry does not have much impact on the final result.

IMO for the price, it is a very good finisher.

I purchased my CrOx from SRD quite awhile ago and it sits in a drawer, I played around with it quite awhile and it can easily kick up the keenness of an edge but I found out it can also make an edge toothy or harsh by doing to many passes.

My best success was doing my normal progression 4, 8, 12k then JNAT then would do 10-15 light passes on paste but I have not used paste in quite awhile as my edges are acceptable enough coming off the stones

Well now, Rayclem sent me on a wild goose chase when he introduced me to the vermion stone. I have done as much research as possible, and believe I will not be satisfied until I get my hands on one. Thank you

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mitmitzoom

Well now, Rayclem sent me on a wild goose chase when he introduced me to the vermion stone. I have done as much research as possible, and believe I will not be satisfied until I get my hands on one. Thank you

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Griffiths Shaving Goods carries them. CHeck out this web page, at the very bottom.

https://www.griffithshavinggoods.com...-honing-stones

Yes, there are an infinite combination of variables and results with paste. Most important are the condition of the edge finish, the higher and quality of the polish of the bevel and straightness of the edge, the better paste can further polish the bevel and edge.

Most any good 8-12k edge is a good starting point. Pure Chromium Oxide is generally .50um (about 30K grit). You can go up to .10um (160,000 grit) with CBN or Diamond spray/paste. If you do go to the Nano grits a progression is helpful, but not necessary. .50um CBN is a good starting point and for most folks .125um (120,000) is good, but can be too much, depending on your beard thickness, skin toughness, and your razor.

With any paste/spray the substrate can alter performance. An inexpensive and good way to experiment is pasting cardboard. Cut a cereal box into 3inch strips and paste the inside, non-printed side. Cardboard is an excellent substrate, as is Pellon, Nylon strapping, cloth weaved belting, canvas and leather. I use Poly canvas, (sail cloth) and Pellon, for pasted strops. Both are available from fabric stores for a few dollars a yard, a yard should yield several strops.

There are a few old posts on making these into strops, inexpensively. It is not too many passes that cause microchipping it is the steel. Years ago several of us stropped and shaved with the same razor daily, on Chrome Oxide daily for over a year, with no ill effects to the razor. The bevel lost all stria after a week or two, but the shave and the razor was the same a year later. Substrate does make a big difference, balsa can produce micro chipping, I suspect there is silica in balsa.

Experiment, not all razors can take a Nano grit edge and will microchip, depending on the grit, number of laps and the condition of the steel. Worst case is you round the edge or it micro-chips. Just lightly joint the edge on your finisher and 20-30 laps later you are back where you started. Any good Chrome Oxide or Cerium will improve most any edge, how far you want to go is up to you.

It is a fun experiment and there can be some smoking keen, smooth edges in your future.