Wool Felt Or Balsa For Chromium Oxide?

[Doc226]

I tape my felt and put oil on my balsa.

I'm sure if you rub some bacon fat on it the tape will come off.

[honed]

Never liked felt much. Balsa is my first choice for CrOx, 'roo leather second

[Seraphim]

I tape my felt and put oil on my balsa.

I'm imagining this is being said with an Italian accent....

[gash]

That's horrific.

[madcap3693]

I've used Balsa in the past, but i recently made a pair of denim strops for my crox. I've been using them daily prior to stopping and it really keeps a very sharp edge. It has finally allowed me to keep straights sharp enough for daily use!! I find the balsa to be a bit awkward to hold and use.

[Kentos]

How long does the edge last stropping on crox daily? Anecdotally the theory is the bevel rounds and eventually is unshavable.

[Slash McCoy]

How long does the edge last stropping on crox daily? Anecdotally the theory is the bevel rounds and eventually is unshavable.

Rounding doesn't necessarily occur when stropping on a rigid surface. It is more likely to happen on a hanging strop, I think.

Excessive stropping on a paddle or bench strop could possibly pull a fin edge, though. I am not sure but I think I have had this happen to me a couple of times. A dozen laps on the film sorts it all out.

Otherwise, I have had some razors go for probably 100 shaves without honing, and even then I was mostly honing just cause I like to hone. I believe that if you really get the abrasive stropping nailed down, you can go indefinitely without honing. But then again, I like to hone.

I do think that a diamond paste progression is probably slightly better than CrOx due to the inconsistent particle size of most CrOx. But possibly not enough to really matter.

[Kentos]

Rounding doesn't necessarily occur when stropping on a rigid surface. It is more likely to happen on a hanging strop, I think.

Excessive stropping on a paddle or bench strop could possibly pull a fin edge, though. I am not sure but I think I have had this happen to me a couple of times. A dozen laps on the film sorts it all out.

Otherwise, I have had some razors go for probably 100 shaves without honing, and even then I was mostly honing just cause I like to hone. I believe that if you really get the abrasive stropping nailed down, you can go indefinitely without honing. But then again, I like to hone.

I do think that a diamond paste progression is probably slightly better than CrOx due to the inconsistent particle size of most CrOx. But possibly not enough to really matter.

Aye. I was curious as I have heard of the phenomenon of dulling after too many touch ups on abrasive, but never heard someone come out and say they experienced it.

[professorchaos]

How long does the edge last stropping on crox daily? Anecdotally the theory is the bevel rounds and eventually is unshavable.

Someone at another forum decided to figure that out. So he put some diamond spray on felt and planned to strop then shave every day until the edge failed. After months, he grew tired of using the same razor and quit before the edge turned bad.

[Kentos]

That kind of result would put a honemeister out of business!.

[Slash McCoy]

Someone at another forum decided to figure that out. So he put some diamond spray on felt and planned to strop then shave every day until the edge failed. After months, he grew tired of using the same razor and quit before the edge turned bad.

Of course, if your stropping technique is a little off, you COULD have a problem. If your stropping is spot-on, I do believe it is possible to go basically forever without honing.

[Alum of Potash]

Here's a question with regard to CrOx: I have noticed that in applying it to balsa and leather-lined paddle strops, the surface itself becomes irregular after a few days (this is felt while stropping, rather than seen), as if undergoing some chemical change. Can anyone account for this? It doesn't seem to occur with the other pastes I have tried.

[davew]

Balsa - there's no great reason to use something that's got flex to it like felt. Balsa edges are very keen but still gentle as long as the chromium oxide is pure.

[H Brad Boonshaft]

As an experiment I stropped a single razor dailyon nylon a hanging strop coated with MAAS, a couple of years ago. The edge just gotsharper to the point of being too sharp and causing weeping, a few laps on theother side of the strop with Chrome Ox and it was shaveable again. The bevelafter a couple weeks of MAAS was almost stria-less similar to a CBN edge.

The rounding myth is just that, or pilot error...like so many things.

[MilkyLee]

That's funny, I often use two foam paddles that have MAAS smeared on them in a lattice pattern after I'm done with my La Verte. I learned about this over on SRP and I think the dude that came up with the idea got laughed off of that site, imagine that! I can tell a very noticeable improvement when I do 5 laps on each paddle strop, especially on the ATG pass. After using the MAAS and feeling the results I quit using CrOx.

[Slash McCoy]

That's funny, I often use two foam paddles that have MAAS smeared on them in a lattice pattern after I'm done with my La Verte. I learned about this over on SRP and I think the dude got laughed off of that site, imagine that! I can tell a very noticeable improvement when I do 5 laps on each paddle strop, especially on the ATG pass. After using the MAAS and feeling the results I quit using CrOx.

Lol! That other site again! Over here if it was April 1st and someone said they got HHT5 from a strip cut from a velvet Elvis painting pasted with finely crushed green clovers from Lucky Charms cereal, in the following week the average winning bid on eBay for velvet Elvis paintings would double, and there would be someone selling 10g packages of "clover dust". Here, we will try just about anything in pursuit of a better edge. To get laughed off of this forum, you have to be a complete bozo.

I wonder what the particle size is for the abrasive in MAAS. I bet it works out cheaper than diamond or CBN too.

[professorchaos]

Many metal polishes use chemicals to get the job done instead of abrasives. I wonder if the polishing effect of Maas made the the edge feel sharper without removing any metal?

[tomjr]

i like it on balsa & old canvas hose strop. they work great 4 me!! then the leathers clean. tom

[davew]

Of course, if your stropping technique is a little off, you COULD have a problem. If your stropping is spot-on, I do believe it is possible to go basically forever without honing.

I do, too. Despite being fine, chromium oxide is still extremely aggressive in terms of cutting steel, even high speed steel. A razor that was stropped on a hard surface with chromium oxide every day would essentially have a fresh edge every time forever. But things like balsa strops do wear or become concave with a lot of use, and swarf builds up, so I think there's a nuisance to deal with there. Once a week would probably be better than once a day, and should also be indefinite if you're careful to not abuse the geometry of the edge by rolling the razor.

I wonder how fast that would wear a razor in the grand scheme of things. I'd like to keep my prized shaver for the rest of my life if I can, despite using it every day, so I hone it sparingly - once a month or once every two months, and only finer natural stones.

I still think a plain horse butt strop is the secret to stretching a razor out for a very long time.