I remade one of Slash's The Method pasted balsa. On a sheet of glass is glued balsa, lapped flat and then impregnated with a small amount of .1u diamond paste.
I've been using diamond pasted balsa for over a year. I maintain some razors on it and it works well. The glass backing plate on this one too wide and is also uncomfortably thin, so I decided to experiment with it.
I wanted to make something that travels easy. That would also incorporate the leather strop.
Gluing an old leather strop on the back would do it.
I find hanging strops to be better than paddles, as the bit of give in a hanging strop allows the tip of the tip of the razor to sink down and be burnished.
To try to account for that, I made the back side of the paddle both soft and convex. I used foam sheet for this.
The photos below show me spraying glue on the back of the glass. Then from a thin sheet of foam I cut out an oval and glued that on. This oval will be the "hill" that induces convexity.
Then I glued a full rectangle of foam over that, to completely cover the glass.
Now I have something soft so the edge will sink into it, a bit like a hanging strop.
And the tiny "hill" of foam under the full layer of foam creates a bit of permanent convexity, which will also help a bit.
Then I glued a very thin layer of suede leather over everything. The eventual stropping leather will only cover half of the glass, so I wanted it all covered and with a grippy surface.
I'm also building up the thickness. The glass was nice and flat, but too thin. I always had to be careful not to nick my fingertips when holding it. Now it's thick and that's better.
Then finally I took an old strop that I had nicked up, and sacrificed that. I glued it on and trimmed it back.
Stropped forty times on the pasted balsa side, wiped the razor clean just in case any diamond particles had come off (unlikely) then flipped it over and stropped forty times on the leather.
It shaved fine. The softness and convexity made it feel almost as good as a hanging strop.
And folded in with my clothes, it will travel easy.
I've been using diamond pasted balsa for over a year. I maintain some razors on it and it works well. The glass backing plate on this one too wide and is also uncomfortably thin, so I decided to experiment with it.
I wanted to make something that travels easy. That would also incorporate the leather strop.
Gluing an old leather strop on the back would do it.
I find hanging strops to be better than paddles, as the bit of give in a hanging strop allows the tip of the tip of the razor to sink down and be burnished.
To try to account for that, I made the back side of the paddle both soft and convex. I used foam sheet for this.
The photos below show me spraying glue on the back of the glass. Then from a thin sheet of foam I cut out an oval and glued that on. This oval will be the "hill" that induces convexity.
Then I glued a full rectangle of foam over that, to completely cover the glass.
Now I have something soft so the edge will sink into it, a bit like a hanging strop.
And the tiny "hill" of foam under the full layer of foam creates a bit of permanent convexity, which will also help a bit.
Then I glued a very thin layer of suede leather over everything. The eventual stropping leather will only cover half of the glass, so I wanted it all covered and with a grippy surface.
I'm also building up the thickness. The glass was nice and flat, but too thin. I always had to be careful not to nick my fingertips when holding it. Now it's thick and that's better.
Then finally I took an old strop that I had nicked up, and sacrificed that. I glued it on and trimmed it back.
Stropped forty times on the pasted balsa side, wiped the razor clean just in case any diamond particles had come off (unlikely) then flipped it over and stropped forty times on the leather.
It shaved fine. The softness and convexity made it feel almost as good as a hanging strop.
And folded in with my clothes, it will travel easy.
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