Several people have reported lengthening time between honing considerably by just using pasted balsa strops. I would go ahead and get both the .1 and the .3 at the same time, that way should the .1 not work by itself, you can then easily, without delay, start using the .3 as well.
How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop
- Thread starter Slash McCoy
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Several people have reported lengthening time between honing considerably by just using pasted balsa strops. I would go ahead and get both the .1 and the .3 at the same time, that way should the .1 not work by itself, you can then easily, without delay, start using the .3 as well.
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- #622
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Maybe but probably not. You should start with three balsa strops. .5u, .25u, and .1u diamond. It is probably honed to 12k and 12k to .1k is an incredibly big jump. You would NOT get a full method edge. The progression will get you there, most likely. Then you can use just the .1u after every shave to maintain it. Be sure to wash your hands and wipe your razor carefully between grits. It is very easy to contaminate one strop with diamond particles of coarser grit.
Do this right, and you will be astonished at the edge you can get. Don't, and you will wonder why you bothered.
Do this right, and you will be astonished at the edge you can get. Don't, and you will wonder why you bothered.
I'm interested to try diamond pastes on balsa as described in this very thread. Any idea where to get them for a good price? Especially 0.1 micron diamond paste is nowhere to be found.
I'm located in EU so most US sellers are bit too far and shipping costs are often more than the pastes themselves.
I'm located in EU so most US sellers are bit too far and shipping costs are often more than the pastes themselves.
Thank you for the reply... I appreciate the time you have taken to share your knowledge with others.
I buy them from Amazon. They are not expensive and last years.
I got all from Amazon, except the .1 I found that on eBay from a seller called open_razor in Poland.
Sent from from somewhere in Midgard
- Thread starter
- #627
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Oops I meant from 12k to .1u was a big jump. .1u is around 200k or 300k grit. We usually try to stick to a 3x or smaller jump between grits.
Just found out how important it is to keep on top of the method.
My bismarck is such a lovely shaver that while I was sometimes giving it the .1u treatment, I was also sometimes letting it go.
And it was ok for a while. But I think I was getting used to it being meh.
So this morning I took it back. On a nani12, then the .5u, .25u and .1u and being very careful and thorough. Then leather.
And oh yes, what a difference. So much better. And what's interesting is how much better than when I first started using diamond pasted balsa.
More and more I'm learning that skill is still super important, even when "just" stropping on balsa.
The Method is getting better, for me. And it has to be because I'm using more care and skill. Probably in the shaving as well as the honing.
I'm going to set aside some razors for use on stones again. I think as my skills improve, I should also get better results there as well.
My bismarck is such a lovely shaver that while I was sometimes giving it the .1u treatment, I was also sometimes letting it go.
And it was ok for a while. But I think I was getting used to it being meh.
So this morning I took it back. On a nani12, then the .5u, .25u and .1u and being very careful and thorough. Then leather.
And oh yes, what a difference. So much better. And what's interesting is how much better than when I first started using diamond pasted balsa.
More and more I'm learning that skill is still super important, even when "just" stropping on balsa.
The Method is getting better, for me. And it has to be because I'm using more care and skill. Probably in the shaving as well as the honing.
I'm going to set aside some razors for use on stones again. I think as my skills improve, I should also get better results there as well.
I found that the Method works from the beginning but does improve significantly with use. While I got very good edges in the very beginning I now get spectacular edges.
Thanks, placed an order in Ebay!
Yeah, Steve. We pick a system and our skills get better on it. We could pick jnats and over the years we learn how to hone on jnats and it gets better. same with balsa.
I think that's why our peeps rave about "their" honing system being great. Really it's just that over time they have adjusted their honing method to best fit with the method they are using.
Choosing .1u diamond on balsa means we have chosen a very sharp outcome. It's a nice one to take our skills to, because we are working toward 200k grit. Can you imagine what our experience will be like in five years?
I think that's why our peeps rave about "their" honing system being great. Really it's just that over time they have adjusted their honing method to best fit with the method they are using.
Choosing .1u diamond on balsa means we have chosen a very sharp outcome. It's a nice one to take our skills to, because we are working toward 200k grit. Can you imagine what our experience will be like in five years?
Jnat gives a very good edge but I prefer pasted balsa because I can quickly touch up the edge after every shave and have the same edge every shave.
I got my first straight late Jan, it came shave ready from Larry at WhippedDog, with the razor I bought the poor mans strop kit which included a leather strop, balsa and a packet of chromium oxide and iron oxide.
Anyway, over the past 2 and a half months I have been using my straight occasionally, maybe 15 shaves in stropping before and after each shave, 20 laps each time. I had noticed that the edge was failing, I did the hanging hair test on several occasions and the blade failed miserably but I carried on regardless, as I was still learning.....
Why you ask? Because I’m stupid, that’s why.
I endlessly googled, eBayed and searched on here for someone to rehone my blade out fear of making my blade worse, I failed to find anyone, which left me with one option.... DIY, I had the tools, so why not?
Well I broke out the balsa and read the instructions from Larry, the very very simple instructions.....
I also found that Larry had infact already applied the chromium and iron oxide to the balsa.
So I set about stropping the blade on the balsa, I completed 50 laps on each, starting with chromium finishing on iron being careful to avoid cross contamination by using different news paper beneath the strop and washing my hands. I then completed 50 laps back on the leather.
The results, well, unbelievable! My blade now passes the hht with ease, I’m annoyed I hadn’t done it sooner and have noted that slash uses this Method after every shave. I’ll probably use this technique after every other shave until I’m out of oxide then move to diamond paste.
Lesson learned.
I wish I’d have taken more value in this thread from the start. I am tempted to rehone the razor after a years use just so I can get it back to perfect by a pro then maintain myself using this method.
Anyway, over the past 2 and a half months I have been using my straight occasionally, maybe 15 shaves in stropping before and after each shave, 20 laps each time. I had noticed that the edge was failing, I did the hanging hair test on several occasions and the blade failed miserably but I carried on regardless, as I was still learning.....
Why you ask? Because I’m stupid, that’s why.
I endlessly googled, eBayed and searched on here for someone to rehone my blade out fear of making my blade worse, I failed to find anyone, which left me with one option.... DIY, I had the tools, so why not?
Well I broke out the balsa and read the instructions from Larry, the very very simple instructions.....
I also found that Larry had infact already applied the chromium and iron oxide to the balsa.
So I set about stropping the blade on the balsa, I completed 50 laps on each, starting with chromium finishing on iron being careful to avoid cross contamination by using different news paper beneath the strop and washing my hands. I then completed 50 laps back on the leather.
The results, well, unbelievable! My blade now passes the hht with ease, I’m annoyed I hadn’t done it sooner and have noted that slash uses this Method after every shave. I’ll probably use this technique after every other shave until I’m out of oxide then move to diamond paste.
Lesson learned.
I wish I’d have taken more value in this thread from the start. I am tempted to rehone the razor after a years use just so I can get it back to perfect by a pro then maintain myself using this method.
Ok, so I made my three balsa strops and will be getting the .50, .25, & .10 diamond pastes this coming week. My razor is new, came shave ready and has just a few shaves on it. I checked my edge and it still passes the HHT. To start "The Method" how many laps do I do on each strop? Leading with the spine? And is there any need to tape the spine?
Always lead with the spine and never use tape. Regarding laps, I always do more than should be necessary - 75 to 100. I believe @Slash McCoy mentioned 25, 50 and 100 going from .25 to .1 but I may be mistaken. When it comes to daily touch up on the .1, I always do 50.
I do 20 laps on each grade
When running the progression I generally do 60 in hand (20 with moderate pressure with the board near flat, 20 with light pressure, at about 70 degrees, and 20 with blade weight near vertical) on each grade. I may do more depending on the "feel" as the blade traverses the balsa.
For daily on 0.1 u do 60 (20/20/20 as described above).
For daily on 0.1 u do 60 (20/20/20 as described above).
- Thread starter
- #638
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Some razors will give you a tell on the balsa. Some won't. I usually go about 100 on the first go if there is no stiction, with the .5u, but my pressure is really light. Then around 50 and 50. My daily maint is 50 extreme light, just the .1u balsa. I hold the balsa vertical or as near as is comfortable to vertical. I find less than 50 doesn't keep up well.
Keep in mind this is for a self honed razor. A razor honed elsewhere gets a go on .1u film or a freshly lapped Naniwa 12k. If the edge is not ready to go to .5u then it won't fully benefit from it. EACH STAGE must completely do its job, which is eliminating all scratches from the previous stage, and failure to do this will give you a meh edge at best.
BTW I very seldom try to use a razor honed elsewhere without at least cleaning up the edge with 12k/1u and examining the edge closely. TBH I am rather spoiled by the Method edge and cannot abide "ordinary" edges anymore.
Tape on balsa? No. Just no. However, if you honed with tape, the edge will be making very poor contact with the balsa. So what this means is you definitely should not use tape when honing by The Method unless absolutely necessary. Even then, perhaps The Method is not suited for razors that require tape, such as full wedges. The Method is particularly tailored to newbies, and honing wedges is not IMHO a newbie friendly activity. YMMV.
Keep in mind this is for a self honed razor. A razor honed elsewhere gets a go on .1u film or a freshly lapped Naniwa 12k. If the edge is not ready to go to .5u then it won't fully benefit from it. EACH STAGE must completely do its job, which is eliminating all scratches from the previous stage, and failure to do this will give you a meh edge at best.
BTW I very seldom try to use a razor honed elsewhere without at least cleaning up the edge with 12k/1u and examining the edge closely. TBH I am rather spoiled by the Method edge and cannot abide "ordinary" edges anymore.
Tape on balsa? No. Just no. However, if you honed with tape, the edge will be making very poor contact with the balsa. So what this means is you definitely should not use tape when honing by The Method unless absolutely necessary. Even then, perhaps The Method is not suited for razors that require tape, such as full wedges. The Method is particularly tailored to newbies, and honing wedges is not IMHO a newbie friendly activity. YMMV.
Thanks all for pointing me in the right direction!
I have been using diamond paste .5 and .25 on a leather paddle strop for a while and getting good results. After reading about it I decided to give the paste on balsa a try and I didn't get a good result.
I watched the video of Slash MaCoy just last week and realised I made two mistakes: Too much paste and too much pressure. Lapped the balsa flat removing the old paste, applied fresh paste (a little bit).
Vertical hold, very light pressure! Gave it another try on the .25 balsa strop and I was amazed at the result. Sharper, smoother, less irritation after the shave. Got the .1 paste a few days ago (I am in the UK and it was difficult to find, found it on ebay from Poland) and things are looking even better.
Not only is this easy and effective, its also cheap, and I can recommend it to anyone starting out.
I am definitely converted and will be maintaining all my edges like that from now on, it will take a while to convert all my edges to the same standard, but it's worth it.
I watched the video of Slash MaCoy just last week and realised I made two mistakes: Too much paste and too much pressure. Lapped the balsa flat removing the old paste, applied fresh paste (a little bit).
Vertical hold, very light pressure! Gave it another try on the .25 balsa strop and I was amazed at the result. Sharper, smoother, less irritation after the shave. Got the .1 paste a few days ago (I am in the UK and it was difficult to find, found it on ebay from Poland) and things are looking even better.
Not only is this easy and effective, its also cheap, and I can recommend it to anyone starting out.
I am definitely converted and will be maintaining all my edges like that from now on, it will take a while to convert all my edges to the same standard, but it's worth it.
