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How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop

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View attachment 1131689

I wasn’t planning it but I will test then now with my Dovo Best (Worst) Quality beater
Does one really need to go all the way to 0.1? Reason i ask is you have 3 separate balsa strops. Why couldn't you just make a paddle with balsa on both sides and just skip the 0.1 or the 02.5? Would it be noticeable when you shave? Or i guess a guy could make a 4 sided balsa box maybe.That way you have one paddle instead of 3 strops not counting the leather and linen one
 
Does one really need to go all the way to 0.1? Reason i ask is you have 3 separate balsa strops. Why couldn't you just make a paddle with balsa on both sides and just skip the 0.1 or the 02.5? Would it be noticeable when you shave? Or i guess a guy could make a 4 sided balsa box maybe.That way you have one paddle instead of 3 strops not counting the leather and linen one

I do not use diamond on balsa; I use CBN on nanocloth. However, when I first decided to try 0.1 micron CBN, I doubted that it would be a significant improvement over 0.25 micron VBN. However, my face could tell the difference. Thus, for me, it is worth the money and extra step. However, my beard is coarse, so I like very sharp blades and my skin is very sensitive, so I like very smooth blades. The 0.1 micron CBN provides that for me better than the 0.25 micron. However, if your beard is not coarse, or your skin is not super sensitive, then you might not appreciate the improvement. I surely did.
 
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I do not use diamond on balsa; I use CBN on nanocloth. However, when I first decided to try 0.1 micron CBN, I doubted that it would be a significant improvement over 0.25 micron VBN. However, my face could tell the difference. Thus, for me, it is worth the money and extra step. However, my beard is coarse, so I like very sharp blades and my skin is very sensitive, so I like very smooth blades. The 0.1 micron CBN provides that for me better than the 0.25 micron. However, if your beard is not coarse, or your skin is not super sensitive, then you might not appreciate the improvement. I surely did.
Where do i find this CBN and learn about it. I am a noob to all this SR stuff. The nanocloth is in replacement of the linen strop?
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Does one really need to go all the way to 0.1? Reason i ask is you have 3 separate balsa strops. Why couldn't you just make a paddle with balsa on both sides and just skip the 0.1 or the 02.5? Would it be noticeable when you shave? Or i guess a guy could make a 4 sided balsa box maybe.That way you have one paddle instead of 3 strops not counting the leather and linen one
You can stop at whatever size (0.5um, 0.25um or 0.1um) that you like. It just depends on what level of sharpness and keenness you want. I have tried stopping on all and 1um film. I found 0.1um suited me best. For me 1um was acceptable, 0.5um was just shaveable, 0.25um was uncomfortable and 0.1um was the best.

Yes, you can skip 0.25um. Just be prepared to spend hours stropping on 0.1um to get the same result as if you included 0.25um.

As for a multi-sided balsa strop, I would say no as it would be almost impossible to prevent cross contamination between different "grits". Still, you may be exceptional so give it a go and let us know how it went.
 
Where do i find this CBN and learn about it. I am a noob to all this SR stuff. The nanocloth is in replacement of the linen strop?

For sourcing of various materials for pasted strops, see my post in another thread:

 
Thanks for all of you guys who tried it and especially Slash for pushing The Method and sharing it.
It works and I am really satisfied with the results. The shave is super sharp and smooth as silk if you use some pulling strokes in your honing progression. I finally arrived on my journey for sharpness. Compared to natural (& known synthetic) hones they dont do the job for me, there is always some tugging. I really tried pushing natural to the max and shared some razors with other guys to compare my results and in the end it seems everyone has slightly different hair and skin. Because my results on honing on naturals matched the results of other guys. They told me it was an comfortable shave for them when compared to my experience it was an unpleasant shave. Naturals I tried were an Escher, Jnat (7 different), tried one blade sharpened from someone else with an Ark.

I tried first a different approach on The Method than recommended. My 0,25 and 0,1 diamond paste were polycrystalline ones from Jende and it didn´t work out. I first thought, well this is it? Another hype which don´t live to its expectation? My 0,5 diamond paste was monocrystalline so this was the "final edge" and it was just a sliight improvement to the best edges I had from naturals. After some tries to see if the 0,25 or 0,1 polycrystalline made an improvement which they didn´t I ordered 0,25 and 0,1 monocrystalline paste from Techdiamond (only Jende was possible to purchase in Europe, Techdiamond was shipped from the US) and it worked out first try. Looking forward to use it on many more razors.

Here are the pics of the balsa hones
20200830_164155.jpg


20200830_164311.jpg
 
Thanks for all of you guys who tried it and especially Slash for pushing The Method and sharing it.
It works and I am really satisfied with the results. The shave is super sharp and smooth as silk if you use some pulling strokes in your honing progression. I finally arrived on my journey for sharpness. Compared to natural (& known synthetic) hones they dont do the job for me, there is always some tugging. I really tried pushing natural to the max and shared some razors with other guys to compare my results and in the end it seems everyone has slightly different hair and skin. Because my results on honing on naturals matched the results of other guys. They told me it was an comfortable shave for them when compared to my experience it was an unpleasant shave. Naturals I tried were an Escher, Jnat (7 different), tried one blade sharpened from someone else with an Ark.

I tried first a different approach on The Method than recommended. My 0,25 and 0,1 diamond paste were polycrystalline ones from Jende and it didn´t work out. I first thought, well this is it? Another hype which don´t live to its expectation? My 0,5 diamond paste was monocrystalline so this was the "final edge" and it was just a sliight improvement to the best edges I had from naturals. After some tries to see if the 0,25 or 0,1 polycrystalline made an improvement which they didn´t I ordered 0,25 and 0,1 monocrystalline paste from Techdiamond (only Jende was possible to purchase in Europe, Techdiamond was shipped from the US) and it worked out first try. Looking forward to use it on many more razors.

Here are the pics of the balsa hones
View attachment 1147530

View attachment 1147531
So you're saying the balsa has a better affect then the Jende microcloth stropping in your experience? Think i 'am going to give this a try! Seems to be a lot here on the forum that like the balsa strop method from my recent research. Is that a thin piece glued down to a piece of 3/4 or is that a solid balsa you have?
Wow that is a nice table you have also, is that Maple?
 
No I just tried the Jende Poly Emulsion on Balsa which didnt work at all. I mean its just a poly dia suspension and I thought it could work as a mono dia paste. Well I was wrong. Maybe if I am curious I might get the 0,1micron nanocloth (or the 0,025 micron nanocloth) to compare it to the 0,1 micron balsa. If you are looking for sharpness its worth the money and time.

Balsa and acryl of my hones have the same thickness of nearly 3/5 inch (15mm) and are glued together with "Uhu Alleskleber" (glue from Germany)

As you ask I would know too, my dad bought it years ago. I dont know which wood it is maybe I find the bill.
 
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I have fixed my pdf printing problem in LibreOffice. Here is another pdf copy of my summary of this thread so far. This copy opens for me in Firefox.

great guide! i enjoyed reading it, as my prev experience with diamond spray was uneventful and i was playing around with some paste recently.

so where is everyone in US sourcing this thicker balsa and acrylic from. I looked at tap online and it's about $20 + shipping for 3 acrylic blocks (chemcast), thats not expensive but certainly seems pricey for that amount of basic plastic and i've not found any significant length of "thicker" balsa, or it didn't appear readily available or i am looking in the wrong place.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
.... and i've not found any significant length of "thicker" balsa, or it didn't appear readily available or i am looking in the wrong place.
I got my latest stock of balsa on AliExpress here:

Remember that you only need pieces about 300mm (12") long.
 
If you do not mind the extra weight, thin pieces of balsa can be glued to plates of glass or to ceramic, marble, or granite tiles. You could even use a base of hardwood such as oak, maple, or bamboo. Just do not forget to lap the balsa afterward to insure it is flat. The only advantage of the acrylic is that is is lightweight compared to the other backers.
 
If you do not mind the extra weight, thin pieces of balsa can be glued to plates of glass or to ceramic, marble, or granite tiles. You could even use a base of hardwood such as oak, maple, or bamboo. Just do not forget to lap the balsa afterward to insure it is flat. The only advantage of the acrylic is that is is lightweight compared to the other backers.
That is what i'am doing since i have ton's of oak laying around ( cabinet builder ) and i have found the balsa on ebay anywhere from 1/4" thick to 2" thick 4" wide and 36" long. That should allow me to get 3- 10" paddles made with a 6" handle with the Oak. Sorry Tony but i will probably glue some veg tan to the other side.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
If you do not mind the extra weight, thin pieces of balsa can be glued to plates of glass or to ceramic, marble, or granite tiles. You could even use a base of hardwood such as oak, maple, or bamboo. Just do not forget to lap the balsa afterward to insure it is flat. The only advantage of the acrylic is that is is lightweight compared to the other backers.
Yes, you can use oak, maple or bamboo but you also need to have a stable substrate like 6mm ceramic tile between that timber and the balsa wood.

Not having ready access to thick (20mm or more) acrylic, I use 6mm thick tile plus 20mm thick PVC foam. Much lighter than acrylic and less than half the cost. Mind you, there is a little more work in putting it all together.

Instructions are all in the summary above.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
If you do not mind the extra weight, thin pieces of balsa can be glued to plates of glass or to ceramic, marble, or granite tiles. You could even use a base of hardwood such as oak, maple, or bamboo. Just do not forget to lap the balsa afterward to insure it is flat. The only advantage of the acrylic is that is is lightweight compared to the other backers.

Not quite. The main advantage to using acrylic and similar is that it does not warp or swell, which would make your lapping of the balsa a waste of time. Likewise, the thin balsa on thicker backing cuts down on swelling in the balsa which is not necessarily even. I would not use any wood or plant based material for the backing plate. Sure, it can be done, and sort of work, but that is not the best way for best results. And why settle for less?

Thick glass works nicely except even the thickest commonly available glass is still a bit thin to hold in hand. Same with most stone tile. Ceramic tile is not flat. Okay so it isn't that critical since the balsa will be lapped after assembly, but it is still irritating to think about it.

The acrylic really isn't expensive when you think about the quality and the very good flatness and tolerance you are getting. This is very good stuff, coming from a reputable maker or vendor. It also does not wear out or get old and is almost impossible to break. And the same material works well for honing with lapping film.

You can make all sorts of compromises. The reason that The Method works so well is that strictly following it precludes any compromises whatsoever, and that it is very much just a set of instructions to follow, leaving as little as possible to subjective judgement. That's how guys are able to get ridiculously sharp edges on their first or second attempt at honing. This of course includes and in fact showcases the use of the pasted balsa strop for post-finish and maintenance.
 
My new lapping plate. 240 grit sandpaper stuck to a 10mm thick piece of float glass with 3M spray adhesive. The glass is cut to the exact size of a standard sandpaper sheet. I’ve used a piece of non-slip rug underlay to provide a uniform supported base so the glass doesn’t flex or slide.

This is a big improvement over my previous terrazzo paver that was not as flat as I first thought it was. Not quite the level of an engineered granite surface plate but good enough for me. I’ve tested it with a straight edge and a 0.05mm brass shim. I can’t slide the shim under the straight edge anywhere so it looks pretty good.

The whole system stores away neatly in a standard filing folder.

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