Thread: Is pasted stropping necessary?

Is it necessary to use a pasted strop after honing, or is it possible to go from a high grid hone to the unpasted strop and get just as good a result?

I have just purchased a japanese hone thats 12.000 grid, is that good enough to skip the pasted strop?

Originally Posted by The_Pastor

Is it necessary to use a pasted strop after honing, or is it possible to go from a high grid hone to the unpasted strop

Necessary Nope,,
You have to do the experimenting with your razor, your honing, and your face, to decide that....

IMO a pasted strop is handy to have in certain circumstances but not necessary. I use my unpasted strop, fabric and leather daily and my pasted strop rarely. Others may have a different routine but that is mine. A 12k hone ought to give a very smooth edge.

I've gotten along fine without ever using a pasted strop.

It's just another weapon in the honing arsenal. I like to use a diamond pasted trop on some select razors.

I use a pasted stop before every shave before regular stropping. But it is definitely not necessary. It doesn't seem to make any difference but to make me feel better.

Needed no, Another great tool yes. The right material and the right medium can really take your edge to the extra smooth sharpness. Plus experimenting is fun

Originally Posted by Don

Needed no, Another great tool yes. The right material and the right medium can really take your edge to the extra smooth sharpness. Plus experimenting is fun

My SRD felt with the .05 diamond spray was essential for getting that extra sharpness out of an S30V and a couple of ATS 34 razors that I have. Helped get the TI Damascus dialed in as well. If you like super sharp edges a diamond or a chrom-ox pasted strop will definitely improve the edge.

I just like to get as far as I can on the stones at this stage of the game. When I get as good as Lynn and Don ..... if I ever do .... it will be okay for me to go to the paste without worrying about testing my skill level.

Originally Posted by The_Pastor

Is it necessary to use a pasted strop after honing, or is it possible to go from a high grid hone to the unpasted strop and get just as good a result?

I have just purchased a japanese hone thats 12.000 grid, is that good enough to skip the pasted strop?

As recently as a dozen years ago a 12K hone was rare or expensive
and pasted strops made a lot of sense....

You should be good to go after your 12000 stone. Some ballpark
numbers:

3 Micron Diamond (8,000 grit)
1 Micron Diamond (14,000 grit)

So you have a very very fine tooth on your hone and should be good to go.

In my closet almost unused are a pair of balsa hones
one with 1.0 micron diamond and the other with CrOx
at about 0.5micron.

Thx for the advice guys.

Is the balsa strops the best ones to apply diamond paste to?