SMF

Gents,

I have a few straight razors and use them occasionally. Since I'm not a honing expert like some others here, I will typically just try to maintain the edges as long as possible.

Lately, my Dovo Special was a bit rough on the face, so I got out the 4 sided, pasted strop. 8 laps on the 1.0 white paste (diamond), 10 laps on the 0.5 white paste (diamond) and 10 laps on the green paste (chrome) follow by regular stropping. For this, I have a 2 sided strop w linen on 1 side and latigo on the other - 50 on each side.

This worked very well and when used yesterday, the shave was smooth as butter.

Does anyone else use pasted strops? If so, I'm interested in how you use them, and how often. Also, when do you know to go "back to the hone" vs tweaking the edge with paste?

... Steve

Steve, I have two that I currently use, when things start beginning to tug a bit. I made these myself. I have a balsa bench strop that is covered in Dialux Vert (green CrOx), and a leather one that is for Flexcut Gold paste. I never did get the "hang" of the diamond sprays. I resort to the stones only after it becomes pretty obvious that the edges need a bit more than the pastes can provide, which is about every year or so. This only applies, of course, to the few razors that I use regularly in a rotation with the DEs and the SE Streamline.

Steve, I have both CrOx and diamond paddle strops and I hardly use them because I find that when my razors have reached the stage of needing them, honing is inevitable fairly soon anyway. What does prolong the life of a blade is the use of a latigo strop, not every time but after several shaves off the steerhide or Juchen or whatever you use regularly. But when 2 or 3 blades in the rotation stop cutting as they should, for me that acts as a powerful stimulus to get out the hones.

George

No reason to look down on pasted strops; they have an honorable part to play. I can an edge just as sharp as a chrome paste edge with hones, but it takes time, care and the hones are expensive. Unfortunately, the honed edge won't last as long as the paste edge (it's a flat-sided V rather than a pointed ogive). So I will routinelyuse a bit of chrome after honing and enjoy the results. The only other pasted strop I still keep around is one with Flexcut Gold. It's not for finishing an edge since it eats metal. It's for punishing one into submission when it won't hone!

Chris

Pasted strops in various forms have been around for more than a century. Every now and then you can see a dried up specimen of paste from the early 1900's being sold on ebay.

I was once not enthusiastic about them but since have embraced them. I finish all my blades on a pasted crox strop. Just makes for a fine smooth edge.

There is a point where they stop working though and then it's back to the hone. But afterward there is a fresh bevel and edge to polish up with the pasted strop.

Chris

ghart wrote:Steve, I have both CrOx and diamond paddle strops and I hardly use them because I find that when my razors have reached the stage of needing them, honing is inevitable fairly soon anyway. What does prolong the life of a blade is the use of a latigo strop, not every time but after several shaves off the steerhide or Juchen or whatever you use regularly. But when 2 or 3 blades in the rotation stop cutting as they should, for me that acts as a powerful stimulus to get out the hones.

George

George, I use the latigo strop prior to every shave. Are you suggesting only stropping after a few shaves?

... Steve

Steve, sorry if I gave the wrong impression. I was meaning that I use a regular strop with a less heavy draw prior to every shave, and substitute the latigo every few shaves in order to "sharpen" the edge.

George