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Abrasive pastes on daily strop

My stropping routine before shaving is 60 laps on the linen and 60 on leather. After 5-10 shaves, some razors up to 20 the shaves become less smooth and comfortable. After a touch up on the Escher followed by Cr2O3 pasted strop gets the razor to my liking again. Just a touch-up on the Cr2O3 pasted strop does not improve the razor's perfomance enough for me. I only use it to soften the edge after the hones.

My question: do you guys use abrasive pastes on a daily basis?

What do you use? Do you use it on the leather or on the linen?
 
From what I understand, there is a third option that is becoming increasingly popular: CrOx on a block of balsawood.

When I used CrOx, it was on a paddle strop on leather. I don't use any pastes anymore. My daily stropping is 30 on the linen and 60 on the leather. I like to hone up my 7-day set once a quarter on the assumption that I will get 12 good shaves from each razor so I think your experience is about average.
 
From what I understand, there is a third option that is becoming increasingly popular: CrOx on a block of balsawood.

When I used CrOx, it was on a paddle strop on leather. I don't use any pastes anymore. My daily stropping is 30 on the linen and 60 on the leather. I like to hone up my 7-day set once a quarter on the assumption that I will get 12 good shaves from each razor so I think your experience is about average.

Chimensch,

When you did use pastes, how frequently would you use them? Surely more than just quarterly?
 
From what I understand, there is a third option that is becoming increasingly popular: CrOx on a block of balsawood.

This has been around for a long time, was mentioned in a Dutch 1909 barbers' manual. AFAIK the pasted balsa was used instead of a touch-up hone.
 
What do you use? Do you use it on the leather or on the linen?

You can use the Dovo white paste on the linen side. It's slightly abrasive. Whether it's abrasive enough, or too abrasive, is something you'll have to play with yourself.

You can use chrome oxide on a daily strop, on either the linen or leather side. For the most part I hone my choppers exclusively on pasted hangers, starting with flexcut gold, then boron carbide, then chrome oxide. You can certainly just continue using the finishing hanger every day instead of reserving it for touch-ups. I tried this for a few weeks several years ago and didn't have any problems.

But you must be very careful about the sag, because you can easily get enough arching of the bevel that it won't stay sharp. Not because of any problem with the arching itself, but because one good lap with too much sag will cut the edge back enough that with "normal" sag the strop isn't touching the edge anymore. When I use my pasted hangers I really haul on the strop, to make d*mned sure that there's no sag and no chance of getting any. It's not the amount of sag that's important, it's the consistency that's important. But it's a lot easier to consistently haul on the strop with all your might than it is to consistently keep e.g. 1/2 inch of sag. Or use a pasted paddle.

Gillette's honing machines are designed to produce an arched bevel, and in their patents Gillette claims that this is a very desirable attribute in an edge. But just as is important to ensure that every honing stroke on a stone is made at a consistent angle using the spine or spine+tape on a razor, or skill or a honing guide for knives, it is equally important to ensure that on a pasted strop (paddle, hanging, or loom) that every stroke is made at the same level of curvature. With a knife, one stroke with the spine held too high can ruin the edge, and set the edge back so that subsequent strokes with the spine held lower won't even touch the edge until the bevel gets reset. The exact same thing happens with a pasted strop if you let too much sag in for even one stroke.
 
I wouldnt have thought that a razor would need a touchup after only 20 shaves - so perhaps keep your eye on your stropping technique.

I wouldnt use paste daily, though I do have a pasted balsa that I bust out once or twice a year.
 
Chimensch,

When you did use pastes, how frequently would you use them? Surely more than just quarterly?


I wouldnt have thought that a razor would need a touchup after only 20 shaves - so perhaps keep your eye on your stropping technique.

I wouldnt use paste daily, though I do have a pasted balsa that I bust out once or twice a year.


I would use CrOx to give a final smoothing after honing. Honing frequency is a matter of personal taste. If the razor gives me a BBS shave that doesn't last at least 9-10 hours, I'm not happy and the razor gets honed. If you use a 7-day set, honing quarterly means that you're getting about 12 shaves from each razor. That's about my limit.

I stopped using pastes because I was never successful at bringing an edge back with paste alone. I probably didn't spend enough time to learn to use it properly. I think that, with so many different ways to get good results, it makes sense to choose the method that gives you the results you want without too much effort. I think that I like stones better because, for me, they are more consistent. Mparker's method works well for him but worrying about keeping the strop taught every time would be be too much effort for me.

Essentially, what I want is a long-lasting shave with the least fuss possible.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
You can use the Dovo white paste on the linen side. It's slightly abrasive. Whether it's abrasive enough, or too abrasive, is something you'll have to play with yourself.

You can use chrome oxide on a daily strop, on either the linen or leather side. For the most part I hone my choppers exclusively on pasted hangers, starting with flexcut gold, then boron carbide, then chrome oxide. You can certainly just continue using the finishing hanger every day instead of reserving it for touch-ups. I tried this for a few weeks several years ago and didn't have any problems.

But you must be very careful about the sag, because you can easily get enough arching of the bevel that it won't stay sharp. Not because of any problem with the arching itself, but because one good lap with too much sag will cut the edge back enough that with "normal" sag the strop isn't touching the edge anymore. When I use my pasted hangers I really haul on the strop, to make d*mned sure that there's no sag and no chance of getting any. It's not the amount of sag that's important, it's the consistency that's important. But it's a lot easier to consistently haul on the strop with all your might than it is to consistently keep e.g. 1/2 inch of sag. Or use a pasted paddle.

Gillette's honing machines are designed to produce an arched bevel, and in their patents Gillette claims that this is a very desirable attribute in an edge. But just as is important to ensure that every honing stroke on a stone is made at a consistent angle using the spine or spine+tape on a razor, or skill or a honing guide for knives, it is equally important to ensure that on a pasted strop (paddle, hanging, or loom) that every stroke is made at the same level of curvature. With a knife, one stroke with the spine held too high can ruin the edge, and set the edge back so that subsequent strokes with the spine held lower won't even touch the edge until the bevel gets reset. The exact same thing happens with a pasted strop if you let too much sag in for even one stroke.

This is one of the best posts I've read on the subject!

I must strop around 30,000 strokes per year, always trying to be cognizant of the fact that a single bad stroke can undo my best efforts in a heartbeat.
 
Essentially, what I want is a long-lasting shave with the least fuss possible.

Amen to that! Thanks for the great replies to all! With some CroOx coming in next week, looks like I'll be pulling the strop hardware out of the wall trying to keep it straight! :lol:
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Amen to that! Thanks for the great replies to all! With some CroOx coming in next week, looks like I'll be pulling the strop hardware out of the wall trying to keep it straight! :lol:

Or you could use a paddle.
 
Or you could use a paddle.


+1. Using a pasted strop sounded like such a good idea. My first straight I was able to keep going for almost 7 months of 2 -3 times a week use. The first time I tried to refresh the edge with a pasted strop I rolled the edge :blush:>
 
Mparker's method works well for him but worrying about keeping the strop taught every time would be be too much effort for me.

I think I may have been a bit unclear in my earlier post. I don't use this method myself - I tried it, and it seemed to work, but it's not how I keep my razors going myself. I agree about the nervewracking bit - it was a bit stressful having to be perfect every single lap on the strop.


Essentially, what I want is a long-lasting shave with the least fuss possible.

Same here. I didn't get into this for a hobby, I've got enough of those as it is. I just wanted a decent shave, and I wasn't getting that from the M3 or even the DE, and the Feather AC was nervewracking in its own way.


You can, but you don't need to...I'll hit the pastes when a razor needs attention, otherwise I use untreated linen.

What I have been doing for the last few years is simply aggressive stropping on the linen side of the strop, occasionally augmented with a few laps on a pasted strop or touch-up hone. I prefer a leather/linen paddle strop, because I found that the linen is abrasive enough that you have to be wary of sag there too, not as wary as when you're using chromeox or other industrial abrasive though. That setup seems to keep the razor going for several months, then I'll give it a refresh on a stone or pasted paddle, and it's good for another few months, rinse lather repeat. I have settled on one razor for 85% of my shaving, the others I haul out occasionally for a change of pace. Most of my honing I do just to try out new stones, or just to keep in practice, because even with using one razor every day I would still only need to do a few laps on a barber hone 2-3 times per year.

It took me some time to arrive here though. I went through a phase where I was experimenting with using an abrasive daily strop, and tried pasted hangers, pasted paddles, unpasted and pasted newspaper, etc for this application, as well as a variety of pastes. I found many combinations that worked well - the Dovo black and white pastes work particularly well once you get over any hangups about their large particle sizes. Same about the Harbor Freight White paste. Big particle sizes, but nonetheless mild abrasives. The Dovo White paste is chalk, the Dovo Black paste is graphite. Very mild yet very effective.
 
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+1. Using a pasted strop sounded like such a good idea. My first straight I was able to keep going for almost 7 months of 2 -3 times a week use. The first time I tried to refresh the edge with a pasted strop I rolled the edge :blush:>

Well, I dont want to buy a paddle just yet...I've got too much on the way to justify to the wife. I'll just pull on the strop til my triceps hurt!
 
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I think I may have been a bit unclear in my earlier post. I don't use this method myself - I tried it, and it seemed to work, but it's not how I keep my razors going myself. I agree about the nervewracking bit - it was a bit stressful having to be perfect every single lap on the strop.




Same here. I didn't get into this for a hobby, I've got enough of those as it is. I just wanted a decent shave, and I wasn't getting that from the M3 or even the DE, and the Feather AC was nervewracking in its own way.




What I have been doing for the last few years is simply aggressive stropping on the linen side of the strop, occasionally augmented with a few laps on a pasted strop or touch-up hone. I prefer a leather/linen paddle strop, because I found that the linen is abrasive enough that you have to be wary of sag there too, not as wary as when you're using chromeox or other industrial abrasive though. That setup seems to keep the razor going for several months, then I'll give it a refresh on a stone or pasted paddle, and it's good for another few months, rinse lather repeat. I have settled on one razor for 85% of my shaving, the others I haul out occasionally for a change of pace. Most of my honing I do just to try out new stones, or just to keep in practice, because even with using one razor every day I would still only need to do a few laps on a barber hone 2-3 times per year.

It took me some time to arrive here though. I went through a phase where I was experimenting with using an abrasive daily strop, and tried pasted hangers, pasted paddles, unpasted and pasted newspaper, etc for this application, as well as a variety of pastes. I found many combinations that worked well - the Dovo black and white pastes work particularly well once you get over any hangups about their large particle sizes. Same about the Harbor Freight White paste. Big particle sizes, but nonetheless mild abrasives. The Dovo White paste is chalk, the Dovo Black paste is graphite. Very mild yet very effective.

What are the dimensions of the leather/linen paddle strop?
 
standard size. The stropping surface is roughly 10"x3". I've got others that are longer, and if you go much over 10" the extra weight hanging out in space becomes a burden with little return.
 
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