Thread: strop paste

quick question (i hope), got a 4 sided paddle coming through poste and wanted to strop 3 sides, i looked at invisible edge but it dont say what grade the pastes work too. ive got a 8k norton coming through. and wanted to just have something like a 20k 32k pasted strop.

Good decision for yourself! I have a 4 sided paddle strop and love it.

My set-up
Side 1 .50 Crom
Side 2 1.0 Crom
Side 3 3.0 Crom
Side 4 1.0 Diamond Paste (For my stainless steel blade straight)

Sides 1-3 work very well for my Carbon Steel blades, but my stainless steel blade needs something "stronger"

Taken from the SRP Wiki

3.0 micron
A substitute for the 8K side of a Norton. Useful in place of the stone for those who have not been able to master the Norton or choosing not to buy one. Also great if really refreshing single razor and not wanting to soak the Norton, make the mess etc. Yes, a stone sets a bevel more exactly but we are talking substitute here, not equal. An optional size if using pastes.

1.0 micron
Used quite often, again by non-stone users in the normal refreshing process. Great for guys who have a high tolerance for dulling edges and who tend to let an edge slip a bit before refreshing and when the 0.5 just won't bring it back quickly. A must have size if using pastes.

0.5 micron
The "go to" grit. A finishing paste for most. A few swipes every week, a few more if used ever two to three weeks will deliver the final, pre-hanging strop edge. Another must have size if using pastes.

0.25 micron
The "love it or hate it" paste for all who have tried it. For many it provides that needed extra to the edge or else the edge is not sharp enough (they love it). Or, it leaves a harsh face irritating edge for many or a nice shave but it needs refreshing far more often. We suspect people overhone with this leaving a slight wire edge that both irritates delicate skin and breaks down quickly requiring frequent trips back to the paddle. An optional size for one using pastes.

Diamond
(In any grit size) This is a fast cutting medium with sharp edged crystals. It will cut any razor steel quickly but for some leaves a slightly harsh edge even at the 0.5 micron level.

Chromium
A bit slower, maybe not quite as long lived cutting ability but with its rounded crystal shape leaves a very face friendly edge for most. Typically not available in any but 0.5 micron and as messy as fireplace soot but really a nice paste for finishing.

Good Luck!

Pabster

thanks for passing on the info. any tips best place for that set up, pref in the uk?

Pabster, where do you get 3m Chromium? Or 1m for that matter? I've only ever seen .5...

right it seems all i can get away with here is DOVO pastes, im thinking green for polishing orange/red (are they the same grades?) for after the 8k norton. but theres also a black and red paste blocks availible, which dont give any comparison to the tube paste. heeelp!

According to the wiki the red is somewhere around 3- 5k and the Black is 1 - 3K.
The black is graphite, if I'm not mistaken and is a slower cutting paste than the diamond.

I have the black and red dovo paste but I have nothing to compare it as I haven't used the Crox or Diamond pastes....yet

thanks, got my 8k coming through so that sounds to course. so orange and green paste seems best option

Originally Posted by Choppedlogic

thanks, got my 8k coming through so that sounds to course. so orange and green paste seems best option

Finishing Pastes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Green is even coarser, 5 - 8 micron. (Sorry, I put K in my last post, my slip, should have been microns.)

I'm not sure about orange.

i think its the diamond paste i want .50 .25. just realy exspencive!

Originally Posted by Choppedlogic

i think its the diamond paste i want .50 .25. just realy exspencive!

I got some diamond paste from eBay seller Open_Razor, less than $6 a tube and he combines shipping--I got three tubes for about $20, and the tubes are enough for plenty of pasting. Also, there's some outfit in Hong Kong selling the full range of diamond paste from like 12m to .25 for $30 shipped...there's a link around here somewhere...