Welcome to the Industrial Age!
How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop
- Thread starter Slash McCoy
- Start date
Well, heck, I just ruined things.
Was time to lap and paste the balsa strops.
Was distracted and crossed over the .5u and .25u, putting the wrong paste on the wrong balsa. Talk about cross contamination.
Now have to toss the balsa and start from scratch.
At least my .1u is good.
Was time to lap and paste the balsa strops.
Was distracted and crossed over the .5u and .25u, putting the wrong paste on the wrong balsa. Talk about cross contamination.
Now have to toss the balsa and start from scratch.
At least my .1u is good.
why cant you lap / sand down the balsa and re apply?
changing sand paper often, and removing sawdust, and any residue/dust between sheets
the level of penetration of diamond paste is limited
i banged my first one pretty bad ended up gluing a new piece over
Last edited:
Well, maybe i could really lap it down thoroughly.
Slash McCoy, you have any opinions on this?
Anybody else have this problem?
Slash McCoy, you have any opinions on this?
Anybody else have this problem?
Just lap it and all will be okay. I usually use 80 grit first to lap flat quickly and follow with 220 to smooth it out. The 80 will get all the diamond off. No problem.
Ok, I'll try it
- Thread starter
- #647
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Just toss the .25u one. Contaminating the .5u strop with .25u paste just a little teeny bit won't hurt it. Lap that half micron one down good and put new .5u paste on it and use it like nothing happened. The .25u, out of an overabundance of caution and secure in the knowledge that the balsa is cheap, maybe toss it. Or save it for future use as a .5u strop.
I have seen what contamination can do. It's not pretty, compared to the lightning sharp edge you are expecting from The Method. It only takes a few crystals to make a difference.
I have seen what contamination can do. It's not pretty, compared to the lightning sharp edge you are expecting from The Method. It only takes a few crystals to make a difference.
So I have an 8 razor rotation , I currently use my .1u balsa on them every Sunday. When do you guys switch over to using all three balsa ? When your razor starts tugging or pulling ? Is it good to use the .25u then the .1u every now and again? Maybe every other week?
Thanks,
Thanks,
- Thread starter
- #649
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Ideally, never. I use all three only after honing a new to me razor. Thereafter, all I need is the .1u, 50 laps after each shave.
On weeks when I get stuck on one razor and use it more than two or three times I may take a few laps on the 0.25u. But that's not a hard and fast rule for me. The vast majority of the time over the last year it's only been the 0.10u for regular maintenance.
Thanks guys ! I’ll stick with my routine of 50 laps on each razor every Sunday on the .1u . If I think a razor is starting to pull or tug I may give it 25 laps on the .25u then the .1u as suggested .
Glad to read about balsa in such a well written way.
I’m also happy to see someone else talk about the linen part of the routine in such a way. Honestly when I first started with straight razors I tried the linen or linen substitute and was unimpressed and questioned its use. Part of the reason I was never sure was due to my inexperience, I thought I must be doing something wrong and the other reason was that I hadn’t yet understood what kind of an edge I needed for what my expectations from a “grab and go” standpoint was - essentially being able to completely shave before work and spend less than 10 minutes doing so - sort of a Marine Corps boot camp version.
So I just stopped using the linens. I wasn’t ever sure why they included them on strops and had gotten several different answers. I just got better shaves NOT using linen in my shaving routine.
Back to balsa - thanks again, this is going to be required reading for anyone wanting a full and comprehensive instruction on the subject.
- Thread starter
- #654
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
You will notice, if you read further, that I no longer use the unpasted balsa anymore. It gets contaminated too easily and so doesn't really offer any benefit after pasted balsa. I just clean the razor and go straight to leather. The Method went through a few incremental changes but now has probably reached a reasonable stability.
Can The Method be used for any type of grind, ie wedge?
- Thread starter
- #656
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Not really so practical for wedges. Wedge razors are usually taped and most often they get still another layer of tape for the final finish laps. When stropping on a semi rigid flat surface loaded with an abrasive, you really want the edge to be in contact with it. So to do that, you would tape the razor for the balsa. However, that loads the balsa with residue from the tape and is a PITA to do after every shave.
No reason you can't hone a wedge on lapping film, tho.
I don't tape my wege and near wedge and use the method & it works fine
made my wedge a whisker squeegee
made my wedge a whisker squeegee
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Closing in on one year without honing my two razor rotation. 50 laps a day on 200K diamond balsa strop. Still smokin' edges! Never had to refresh the balsa strop either.
- Thread starter
- #659
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Nice!
Yup. Diamond balsa does work. I have two razors dedicated to that. One gold dollar and one dovo bismarck. Different ends of the quality spectrum, and it works for both.
I also enjoy learning about rocks and playing in the hobby. balsa doesn't mean you have to give up exploring other areas of this fun hobby.
I also enjoy learning about rocks and playing in the hobby. balsa doesn't mean you have to give up exploring other areas of this fun hobby.
