Pasted Strop after Honing

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:37 pm

After honing a razor i always follow up with stropping on a Chrome Oxide pasted strop. The edge I get from honing just isn't good enough without this additional step.

I'm curious about what others do. Is the honed edge sufficient or do you finish on Chrome Oxide or something similar?

SmallTank · Post by **SmallTank** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:50 pm

Try stropping on leather 30 complete times by another 25 times on the canvas if you have one..ONLY use the green paste if the razor starts to get dull..(tug n pull)
go about a dozen times..should definitely help..I was always told green paste is when stropping doesn't do its job..then to go green paste (removes light bits of steel)..if that doesn't work after a dozen times..go to the hone (removes a bit more steel) and go lightly 5 complete passes..that's all what I was told

Good Luck
ST

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:55 am

Good point, but actually I meant do you use a pasted strop at the finish of a honing session. I'm not referring to daily, pre-shave stropping on linen/leather. Also, I'm not referring to maintenance touchups on pasted strops.

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:36 pm

I do not use a pasted strop after honing. The edge, IMHO, is too harsh off a pasted strop. That said, it's exactly what a lot of guys are looking for and the edges you can get with pasted strops can be insanely sharp.

I use a Belgian yellow coticule for my personal straights. I follow a honing with linen and leather stropping and I'm good to go. The edge will pass the hanging hair test with root up which is exactly what I want. And it will have a gentle edge as well which is what I need.

Chris

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:42 pm

Thanks. That is what I'm looking for. How many folks can get a sufficient edge with just the hone (and the usual daily linen/leather stropping.)

I can not do it. I must always add in a chrome oxide stropping at the finish.

Sando · Post by **Sando** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:33 pm

I'm liking the edges off the coticule followed by 50 linen/50 leather. Most times this works for me. Wedges are an exception. They're tricky, I haven't figured them out yet. I tried a balsa with crox once but found it to be too harsh.

...Ray

Dave_D · Post by **Dave_D** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:27 am

Another vote for a plain strop after honing. Havent had much luck with CrOx.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:31 pm

This is strange. I can shave off the hones, but get a smoother shave with the sharper edge from pastes. Admittedly, the first one might be too sharp, but after a shave and a plain strop all is lovely in further shaves.

Chris

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:33 am

Between shaves I strop first on the canvas, followed by the cowhide Illinois with good draw, then on the old horsehide. It seems to be working.

Gssixgun · Post by **Gssixgun** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:58 pm

I use mostly Cerium Oxide on leather after honing 12 laps but it does not really sharpen, it pretty much just smooths.. I sometimes hit 8 laps Chromium then 12 laps Cerium but not often, followed by 50/100 linen/leather...
I believe this about pastes, there are very very few edges, that cannot be improved by the proper use of a pasted strop after honing...

I have recently been doing a ton on testing for some of the guys that are past the learning stage of honing and into the perfecting stage... One thing we have all learned is that stropping on linen and leather is much much more important to the feel of the shave than most people realize...
Using a strop correctly can make or break a fine edge from a razor...

Just so long as you are not using the Paste/Sprays as a crutch to bad honing then do whatever feels best to your face...

Also keep in mind that some of the EU forums that are not quite as hone oriented as we all are use a looser Loom strop to paste in their edges,and maintain their edges... So their are many different ways to a shave

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:02 pm

Glen, I've been reading about honing and stropping on the forums for about 2 1/2 years and this the first time, I remember seeing the word cerium mentioned. I've probably seen it, just don't remember it. What is cerium? Now I'm confused about the abbreviation crox. Does that refer to chromium or cerium? Which one is the green stuff?

Gssixgun · Post by **Gssixgun** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 5:21 pm

The left is Cerium Oxide (CeOx).30 / 99.99% pure super white
The right is Chromium Oxide (CrOx) .50 / 99% pure

the Cerium is much softer IMHO

Those are 24 x 2.75 inch leather bench strops

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 5:54 pm

Thanks! I might even have a bar of the white stuff right here next to me, just didn't know it had a name!

Sando · Post by **Sando** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:40 am

I tried crox again this morning with the same effect - weepers. I have a paddle storp with crox on one side, plain leather on the other. I did 3 light laps on the crox followed by 50 laps on plain leather. This is on a razor that usually gives me a foolproof shave. I'm no expert so it could be operator error but my little coticule hone I use for touchups just plain works.

...Ray

Oscar11 · Post by **Oscar11** » Sun May 01, 2011 7:57 pm

I have recently been doing a ton on testing for some of the guys that are past the learning stage of honing and into the perfecting stage... One thing we have all learned is that stropping on linen and leather is much much more important to the feel of the shave than most people realize...

I believe this.

Seraphim · Post by **Seraphim** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:09 am

I believe the finish, and slight geometry change that finishing on a hanging pasted strop are what really finish off an edge for me.

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:46 pm

Gssixgun wrote:I use mostly Cerium Oxide on leather after honing 12 laps but it does not really sharpen, it pretty much just smooths.. I sometimes hit 8 laps Chromium then 12 laps Cerium but not often, followed by 50/100 linen/leather...
I believe this about pastes, there are very very few edges, that cannot be improved by the proper use of a pasted strop after honing...

.....

You mention a specific number of laps for the CeOx and CrOx. Do you limit laps to those numbers for efficiency (i.e. that's all that is needed) or have you found that a greater number may degrade the edge? Just curious.

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:27 pm

Seraphim wrote:I believe the finish, and slight geometry change that finishing on a hanging pasted strop are what really finish off an edge for me.

Really? You should try it on a belt.

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewto ... ht=#530874

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Mon Aug 01, 2011 7:50 pm

matt321 wrote:After honing a razor i always follow up with stropping on a Chrome Oxide pasted strop. The edge I get from honing just isn't good enough without this additional step.

I'm curious about what others do. Is the honed edge sufficient or do you finish on Chrome Oxide or something similar?

That was then, this is now. I made a breakthrough in my honing results! I can now get a decent shaving edge with just hones.

I hone up to 10K and spend plenty of time at that level. (I observe and test and continue on the 10K till I'm sure.) This edge shaves nice but noisy on the full hollow. The breakthrough is that I add 20 or 30 very light laps on a translucent Arkansas and then a similar number on a lapped Spyderco UF. The resulting edge felt very sharp and the rasping noise was gone.

I could shave with that edge just fine. However, the next day I stropped on CrO on a cotton, webbed belt and it did add smoothness.

(I think my honing progression is starting to resemble one used by Chris. That amuses me because I had tried similar things before and could not make it work. My translucent and UF are polished better now. Also, I'm not using them until the razor is already very sharp.

After the 10K (Naniwa SS) the edge is almost a mirror. The follow up laps on the Arky and UF put scratches back on the mirror, but seem to burnish the edge to an increased level of sharpness none the less.

SMF

Pasted Strop after Honing

Pasted Strop after Honing

Re: Pasted Strop after Honing