Chromium oxide strop paste

Bazz

Bazz

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291
Hi all, i've been using my SR frequently for about a month now and i'm assuming my stropping is okay seeing as i'm still getting a good shave from it, but i'm now wondering if i should consider purchasing some chromium oxide paste to use on the strop, my strop is canvas on one side and leather on the other and i was thinking of using it on the canvas side to preserve the leather side for daily stropping.

Is this something that i should consider to prolong the re-honing process or not? and if it is is there any particular ones to avoid or conversely seek out?

Thanks.
 
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I Use the Crayon Type..Like this One..I Use it to Maintain My Blades as Part of Stropping..Great Tool..I Hit My Blades for a Few Strokes as & When Required..My Motto..Keep Em Sharp..Dont Let Em Dull...o_O

As a Foundation for Learning I Would Suggest Maybe 8/10 Strokes Every 4/5 Shaves or So..Then Find What Suits You..Use it Sparingly as it Can Ruin an Edge in Jig Time..There is a Learning Curve So to Speak..;)

Personally..I Use a Leather Paddle Strop..I Have More Control & Feel Like a Hone..:D

Billy
 
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This question has been asked a while ago but maybe there is still interest for answers.
For maintaining sharpness of straight razors on a regular basis with a pasted strop I found ferric oxide (Fe2O3) very useful. It is not as abrasive as chromium oxide but this makes it more useful for this special task. It produces a smoother edge and there is quite less risk of oversharpening.
Polishing pastes with fine ferric oxide particles are known as jeweller's rouge but you might find useful resources if you look for oil based artist paints. They often use natural mineral pigments instead of synthetic colours. Just look at the ingredients of red/brown colours as they often contain fine ferric oxide particles which make them suitable as stropping paste. I have had good experiences with an artist oil paint from the German manufacturer Schmincke. The colour is named "Terra rosso" from the Norma professional series.
Hope that information might be useful.
 
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If you like to make your own stopping paste, you just need the abrasive particles (or here called pigments). There is a company in Germany who sells such pigments for the purpose of creating natural colours. Those pigments are very suitable for creating something like an abrasive polishing paste for your pasted strop.

https://www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/1441/chrome-oxide-green
https://www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/pigments/iron-oxide-pigments/1595/iron-oxide-red-110-m-light
https://www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/pigments/iron-oxide-pigments/1604/iron-oxide-red-micronized
 
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Nisse said:
Not sure I get the idea of oversharpening?!
Click to expand...
Almost any person here knows that a razor can be too dull. But there is something like an optimal sharpness too. Just have a look at different razor blades from different manufacturers. You find different grades of sharpness and that has a good reason. If you have a very agressive DE razor and a very sharp blade, you might not be satisfied with the result. And because you don't have any kind of guards at a straight razor, you might not be satisfied if the blade is too sharp because it will peel off too much of your epidermis and the result will be some kind of razor burn or bleeding spots.

Ok, let me explain this a little bit furter. Do you know why a sharp straight razor is able to cut a hair in a few millimeters distance? Just reverse the hair to its opposite and hold it at the tip and try once more. You might be astonished but the hair test will not work anymore. How does it come like this?

It is because a human hair has some kind of scales, like the skin of a fish. And those scales have the direction from the tip to the root of the hair. And only if a blade is sharp enough, it can grip between those scales and gets enough hold to cut through the hair. That is a minimal sharpness to shave hair. But then you will feel some pulling and tugging because the blade is sharp enough to get this grip but it isn't sharp enough for a proper cut without too much force.
If you sharpen the blade some more, you will reach a point where the blade gets the grip and cuts the hair with minimal force and you will feel a smooth shaving experience.
If you sharpen the blade more, the lubrication of your shaving foam cannot protect your skin enough and the blade begins to grind off the upper layer of your skin, named epidermis. Because the epidermis consist of dead cells, it is not a problem but if the blade gets too sharp, it peels too much off your epidermis and your skin gets a major problem.

Therefore exists some optimal sharpness. A razor blade can be too sharp and can be too dull.

I hope, my explanation is understandable.
 
I have noticed that my Dovo Shavette loaded with a Feather blade will HHT chop hair anyway you hold it so really, really sharp but when shaving not really, really smooth, need to really, really focus on technique :)
 
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I Dont Get Into All this So Called Scientific Stuff or Intellectualizing Honing or Sharpening Razors or Media..I Get to Know My Tools Hands On & What Works for Me in the Moment..I Dont Even Relate to Most of it to be Honest..Its How a Razor Shaves on the Face thats the Grand Test..o_O

Honing Razors is More an Art Form than a Science..Most of the Finer Aspects are All in the Mind & Cant Really be Spoken Of..Or Expressed in Words..Like Higher Level Martial Arts..:)

Billy
 
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