Thread: Thoughts on Strop Paste as Finish to Honing

Bear with me please, as I'm a newbie or FNG if you please.
I'm looking to start honing with Norton 4k/8k combo, but I just don't feel like springing extra cash for a finishing stone like yellow coticule or similar 10-12k stone. Instead, I was thinking about using a strope paste of 1 micron and finer to get that edge finish before stropping up and shaving.

Let me stop there and ask the first question: I know it's not a finishing stone (honing is honing and stroping is not), but what do you think about this approach?
My second question is just as contraversial: If I was going to do this, which paste would you recommend? Should I go with diamond 1 and 0.5 micron paste? Perhaps Chromium Oxide 0.5 paste. Or should I try simply Dovo Red/Black or TI pastes?

Yes, I do expect as many answers as people answering, but I'm looking for common answers and logical explanations. I am an engineer and, in the end, why is usually more insteresting than what.

Cheers,
Milan

Mind you I'm working with the following info of grits/microns:

100,000/.25
60,000/.50
14,000/ 1
13,000/ 1.5
9,000/2.5
8,000/ 3

Well, I don't hone my own razors from dull to sharp, but I do use a barber's hone to keep them tuned up, and I do use a pasted strop after the barber's hone. I do about 15 passes on CrO and then the same on FeO, and it makes for a really nice, smooth-shaving edge. My buddy Stopper (who does hone) suggested it to me. I have no idea about the size of the grits, only that the FeO is a finer grit than the CrO. But it seems to me that if your honing is turning out well, you're not going to damage the edge by doing this, so you might as well give it a shot and see how you like it. Good luck!

The biggest thing to realize is that you can over do it, The standard goto paste is CrOx at .50 I suggest you get a well honed 8k edge followed by 10 laps on a leather CrOx pasted strop and see what you think..

Adjust from there

+1 Glen!

Milant,
I, like you, am relatively new at honing. At first, I just had a Norton 220/1K and 4K/8K. With a little practice I could get a decent edge solely off of the 8K Norton, no pasted or spray media. It was a fairly comfortable shave I thought (not like my first razor professionally honed), not the best, but definitely not uncomfortable. I don't have an extremely thick beard mind you. I'm 22 and would say I have average growth, so I don't need to chop down a forest every few days. Anyway, I could get comfortable shaves with the 8K and a good razor (straight and flat on the hone, ie. no rolling stroke or fancy stuff like that just yet).

For Christmas I received a bottle of 0.5 micron diamond spray. I made a denim strop to use it on until I can get a felt strip or something of better quality. Then I decided to touch up a razor on the 8K and see if the diamond spray really made that much of a difference. After honing and 10 laps on 0.5 micron diamond spray on denim, I really think that it took my edges to the next level. So yes, I would say that your 4K/8K hone and some paste/spray media would suffice for a quality shave.

As I mentioned, I'm still learning and have a long way to go but it works for me right now. I'm tight on money and in school so I couldn't afford to get a complete set of stones at once. Although I do plan on investing in a 12K sometime soon. As Glen said, you can overdo it on the pastes/sprays. I can't tell you from experience what exactly happens, but I just stick to 10-12 laps on paste/spray media ONLY after honing. I hope my experience and method helps! Everyone just finds what works best for them and I'm sure others consider a finishing stone a must, but I make what I have work for me.

Here is something I wrote up awhile ago
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ugh-guide.html

I think all is fair in love and in getting a razor to shave as you like it. For a long time I avoided using pastes because I wanted to push the envelope with hones alone. Challenging myself so to speak. For those of us who are into rare and exotic hones, or even the currently available synthetics, or a combination thereof, getting "it" with the hones was an end in itself.

For a man who wants the best shaving edge he can get whatever method gets it there makes the most sense. Figuring out what that is becomes the trick. Nice thing about this pursuit. We can go in whatever direction we want and there are no rules. Whatever works.

I also used an 8K Norton, followed by CrOxide paste. I could get a nice edge from that combination.

I eventually bought a fine barber hone, and now use that between the 8K and the CrOxide.

. Charles

PS -- Glen (gssixgun) has a lot of experience. Weight his opinion heavily.