How often to recharge balsa strops

[aussie]

No doubt this has been asked before. I am wondering how often, or after how many uses, do the members here recharge their balsa strops with paste.

 

[rbscebu]

I re-lap and recharge when I just feel it needs to be done. It really depends on how you use and abuse your pasted balsa strops.

As a guide, work on a couple of thousand laps for an 0.5μm, about 3k to 4k laps for 0.25μm and 5k or more laps for 0.1μm.

 

[Eastcoast30]

I know you will get a lot of responses here. My balsa strops will load up with steel after much use. (Honing stones will do the same.) The steel on balsa gives a black appearance. That will become quite evident to you. Once that happens, I sand the wood flat using 600 wet/dry paper on a flat-surface plate. Then I charge the balsa back up with diamond paste.

 

[rbscebu]

When sanding flat you need to be careful with the balsa dust buildup on your sandpaper. It can indent the balsa surface. I use a brass metal brush to help keep the sandpaper surface clean while sanding.