Soapstone stropping

Hey Guys,

Well, it went like this: while lapping some of the 'Zulu Grey' hones that a few folks here have ordered from me, I was looking at this soapstone marking stick that I had bought to mark out the cut lines on the stones - I bought it from a hardware store, it's just called a soapstone marking pencil I believe (I've discovered it's called French chalk, and is not the same as soapstone used for carving etc.).

Anyways I was looking at this stick and thought I'd polish it up on the 1000 grit paper I had on a piece of flat granite. It took all of 2 swipes to make the stick flat and incredibly smooth - it's really quite soft stuff, yet it feels really firm at the same time.

But so then looking at this stick I wondered about stropping on it.. So, I gave it a go! Just light stropping back and forth on this very narrow stone (this is after some finishing on my own Zulu Grey hone).. And you know what? I think it's actually a very very good stropping material.. Smooth feeling edge to be sure, and really nice feel to the action.
So I Googled this crazy idea of course, thinking some other shaving freak must have had the same thought - and well, I found a member on that other shaving forum posting pretty much the same thing. Except there they had started with the idea of honing on these soapstone sticks - which clearly didn't work. But stropping on the polished stone I find is actually a more than viable idea.

I'd like to know if anyone else has ever tried this? Or if not, would you care to give it a go and let me know if I'm crazy?

I'm thinking now of sourcing some raw talc soapstone (this is the white type that these marking sticks are made from) and then mounting it to like a wooden paddle base - and well, you know, using it as a "Strop Stone"....

- Mike.

Michael, Bravo for the experimentation. I expect the softness of the stone would mean it would easily deviate from flatness, but as you mention - it would easily be returned to flatness. Thanks for posting.

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Michael, Bravo for the experimentation. I expect the softness of the stone would mean it would easily deviate from flatness, but as you mention - it would easily be returned to flatness. Thanks for posting.

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Well, it's strange. It's not so soft that it just crumbles away.. I mean it keeps it's surface form quite well. We're talking stropping, so it's a light touch with spine leading.. I would say with proper stropping technique it will keep a useful flatness quite a while before 'needing' to lap it - and then that process would be a simple one-two on any lapping surface.

- Mike.

Well I don't know if it will work or not, but I used to carve stuff out of soapstone so I should have some kicking about to give it a try.

I have to admit that I really hope it does work because a nice slab of soapstone (maybe even oiled a bit) sitting in the old den, will certainly spruce it up!

Thanks for the heads up.

I was wondering about soapstone earlier as a hone but thought it would be too soft. It never dawned on me as strop material.

Also Soap Stone retains temperatures very well. The soapstones I have are for chilling liquor.

Guys I've updated the title of this thread, as I've just discovered that the marking stick that I used and am talking about in this thread is actually solid talc - magnesium silicate. It's called 'french chalk', or 'tailors chalk' and is used by welders and metal workers for marking. See here: » Unexpectedly pretty thing of the day How to Spot a Psychopath

So, I'm not sure about actual soapstone - so try that at your own risk - but what I've tried is this solid talc and it's very gentle.. it's rated as 1 on the mohs hardness scale, so it's quite safe to strop on..

- Mike.

Hi Mike,

When kids, we used to get a little stick of that in bicycle puncture repair kits - you can buy bigger sticks of it over here for marking out weld lines - it is chemically inert, so doesn't react with anything.

I think that it's not really stropping, rather it is like using chromium oxide - an abrasive compound that further refines the edge. Cromox is around 8 or 9 on the MOHS hardness scale, and for all its softness and waxiness french chalk/aka soapstone/aka steatite is pretty to close to that at 7 to 7.5, just a little softer and less abrasive. Even the slippery graphite with a very low hardness of 1 to 2 has an effect on a freshly honed razor, so your soapstone could be doing the same sort of thing.

Regards,
Neil

Edit - just saw that you have determined that you were using chalk rather than french chalk - although similar, they are not the same. However, if ordinary talc is around 1 on the MOHS scale then it would have an effect similar to graphite - very gentle.

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Hi Mike,

Edit - just saw that you have determined that you were using chalk rather than french chalk - although similar, they are not the same. However, if ordinary talc is around 1 on the MOHS scale then it would have an effect similar to graphite - very gentle.

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Thanks Neil. I'm a bit confused though - from what I've read, these white marking sticks are called 'French chalk' and are not in fact chalk as we know it - instead they are solid talc. Soapstone(steatite) seems to be mostly talc as well, however it has other minerals included and is called a talc-schist.. but nonetheless, it's certain that this talc stone is quite mild, so it makes sense that it would function as a strop.

- Mike.

Steel chalk is what we call it here, use it for marking out reinforcing steel when tying it, does have a waxy type feel to it, relatively small though, would it be worth trying to source larger pieces? Or maybe taking a DMT to it dry and using the resulting material on a pasted or balsa strop? It is definitely not soap stone.

Talc is a mineral. Soapstone is a rock that can have varying makeups and contains amounts of talc in it.

Talc-chalk is what the vintage strops were loaded with which is why they are so stiff. Much of the "chalk" they use these days is manufactured stuff.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the illinois horse butt strop with a "beau brummel" branded linen I mentioned in a thread above this one has chalk in the linen, suspended in some waxy or sticky substance to adhere it to the strop.

From my admittedly limited soapstone carving experience, I would be cautious about applying soapstone to a blade. Most of the pieces I have worked with are mostly the nice soft stone that I agree would probably make a great stopping material. But the stone will also often have significantly harder inclusions that I suspect one would want to keep well clear of one's edge.

I'll take a look at the bits I have lying around, and if I can find a good clear piece, I'll give it a shot and let you know what I find out. :)

To the OP;

Just to make sure I understand, the stuff your talking about are these, right? Maybe a half inch wide & 6 inches long?
Commonly called soapstone or marking sticks & cost a couple bucks for a 5-pack or 6-pack without the holder here in the us.

If that's the case soapstone is just a tradename & has nothing to do with its composition. They're manufactured by compressing a talc powder as you mentioned & the risk of inclusions is nonexistent. Although, you may find areas with higher or lower density depending on the operating conditions of the equipment, but I dunno if that would affect anything.

marking sticks

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Originally Posted by KenWeir

To the OP;

Just to make sure I understand, the stuff your talking about are these, right? Maybe a half inch wide & 6 inches long?
Commonly called soapstone or marking sticks & cost a couple bucks for a 5-pack or 6-pack without the holder here in the us.

If that's the case soapstone is just a tradename & has nothing to do with its composition. They're manufactured by compressing a talc powder as you mentioned & the risk of inclusions is nonexistent. Although, you may find areas with higher or lower density depending on the operating conditions of the equipment, but I dunno if that would affect anything.

marking sticks

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Soapstone is the name of a rock which can vary in composition. it may also refer to something else. That I don't know. Most marking products are chalk or chalk substitutes.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Soapstone is the name of a rock which can vary in composition. it may also refer to something else. That I don't know. Most marking products are chalk or chalk substitutes.

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That's what I said. They're called soapstone, but they're not actually made of it.

I've done some soapstone carvings as well, and I have enough around to try this. I was thinking today about applying it to a strop like you would chalk, just rubbing it on. In all the use i've had with my natural talk stone I've found "Hornblend" inclusions (amphibole), which is a very hard mineral. But you can remove it from the surface without to much problem as long as your careful to get it all.
I think i might make a small hone, but to strop on. If i get the time to get to all the things i want to try!

Nathaniel