DIY paddle strop/balsa strop

[hoffig]

Here's something that took about 5mins to make. (Note: I've got no good wood working skills so this is something almost everyone should be able to replicate)

I had almost forgotten how soft and easy balsa is to work with. It is so responsive to a piece of sandpaper!

Tools needed: a saw and sandpaper
Materials: Balsa (I used a piece of balsa I had laying around. Size is 100x20mm which is about 4" x 6/8").

Give it the shape you want with a saw:


Round the edges as needed with a piece of sandpaper. I shaped it with P120 paper...


Flatten surfaces with fine sandpaper and apply the paste of your choise (I used yellow 1um diamond paste)
I also used a finer abrasive sponge to make the handle smooth.


I'm still undesided if the other side should get a piece of leather or felt. Perhaps I'll try out some pastes first and when I'm sure what they are like, I'll coat the surface with leather/felt pad.
I guess I should apply some protective coat to the surfaces like handle too.

 

[Giant Kiwi]

Great Idea.
Leather on one side would be preferable for me.

 

[hoffig]

Now it has proven to work as well. One of my razors had started to give a tiny bit of pulling and with the aid of this (with 1um diamonds) and dovo black on a leather paddle strop it turned out just perfect.

One lession was learned: Make sure the surface is very even. I missed some tiny imperfection and it was not working on the whole surface (tiny bit of convex surface). You'll see that quickly as some area will not darken like some other. Easy to fix with some sandpaper of couse and using irregular strokes like x-strokes is always a good idea I guess.

Time will tell how this works on razors honed with tape. The one I tried out was not taped. Balsa is probably not giving a flex like leather and felt probably do. Time will tell.

One side effect noticed: my leather paddle strop from harder wood feels so heavy now

 

[cb91710]

I'm not sure how the commercial paddles are made, but given my experience with balsa building model airplanes, I think convexing of the surface (and concaving on the opposite side) is going to be an ongoing problem with a piece that is so thin.
Applying the paste will cause the fibers to swell, which will bow the surface out on that side.

Personally, I would rip it down the center, splitting it into two 10mm thick paddles, and laminate that to a cured hardwood that has been lapped perfectly flat on both sides.... or easier to start over with two new pieces of balsa rather than trying to rip that one.