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 oneHere they are: ready to roll
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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
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?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.
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.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
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?
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?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
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I had the same problem with Firefox. Try saving it and opening it in a PDF viewer.I cant open it with Firefox or Microsoft Edge.
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.
I got my latest stock of balsa on AliExpress here:.... 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.
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.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.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.