Test your balsa.
Strop a mirror finish on a razor, 50 or so laps on .50 diamond or CBN, 100 on Chrome Oxide. As stria free as you can get. YMMV depending on how clean your pasted strop is, yet another wrinkle.
Now strop the mirror bevel, on plain balsa. Look at the bevels with magnification, is the balsa leaving a scratch pattern on the mirror bevel?
If so, you may improve your edge with an abrasive free substrate. The finer the stone, the straighter the edge. The goal of honing is to straighten refine the edge, as much as possible.
So, you want to strop the finest, straightest edge you can make to perfect the edge, not just polish a rough one.
Strop a mirror finish on a razor, 50 or so laps on .50 diamond or CBN, 100 on Chrome Oxide. As stria free as you can get. YMMV depending on how clean your pasted strop is, yet another wrinkle.
Now strop the mirror bevel, on plain balsa. Look at the bevels with magnification, is the balsa leaving a scratch pattern on the mirror bevel?
If so, you may improve your edge with an abrasive free substrate. The finer the stone, the straighter the edge. The goal of honing is to straighten refine the edge, as much as possible.
So, you want to strop the finest, straightest edge you can make to perfect the edge, not just polish a rough one.
