How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop

[rbscebu]

Well - two things:

I have solicited opinion of several "gurus" on this forum and some other forums and the consensus seem to be that Koraat is the best blade money can buy and that the fellow who crafts them really makes them super sharp.

That said, I wouldn't know what a shave ready is, as I've never ever shaved with a SR in my life. If I'd have 5 SRs to test and decide which does the best job for me, I'm sure I'd be able to pick a favorite, but I don't. This Koraat baby is the very first SR I'll ever have, once it arrives.

So, that's why all these Qs...

I really appreciate your feedback, so let me ask you - I get that hanging strop might produce, as you say, a more convex edge, but is that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe some folks prefer it...? Somehow, I like the idea of stropping on a linen/cotton or leather more than a piece of wood. For starters I don't even know where would I find ready-made balsa strops other than in US and I'm not paying $90 to have them shipped over here. I'm not much of a DIY guy, so I wouldn't want to experiment making one myself...

I cannot comment on the use of pasted hanging linen strops as I have not used them enough - only once and I was not overly pleased with the results.

To the best of my knowledge, no one makes and/or sells suitable balsa strops. You can make your own.

How To - Make A Balsa Strop

1. INTRODUCTION Balsa strops are used with cutting compounds in the final progressions of blade edge preparation. They are normally hand-held and the blade is stropped on the pasted balsawood similar to stropping on a leather strop (the progression finale). 2. OVERALL SIZE – (Don’t believe...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[KrstGor]

Did you read this thread, from beginning to end? Your questions were answered several times. There is always someone asking if THIS or THAT will work just as good. I can only say "no". Because many things suggested or asked about have been tried and found to be wanting. Many others are logically not going to work. Many others are way out in left field. The thing is, The Method is proven to work and nobody has found a better way yet. So if you want the best possible edge, do it this way. If you want less than the best, do it another way. You CAN do it any way you like. Your razor. What kind of edge do you want? Sharp, or crazy insane sharp, or not so sharp? Smooth or harsh? Your choice.

The .1u is used after each shave, as explained in detail, in the thread. After honing, all three grades are used because you can't jump from 12k to 200k in one jump. So the .5u and .25u are there to bridge the gap to the .1u, which seems to fall into a sweet spot where sharpness is very near the greatest possible sharpness of a piece of steel, and yet feels smooth on the face. So all three stages are used after finishing on the 12k or on 1u film. Only the .1u stage is needed for daily post shave maintenance.

I suggest you go back through the thread because you will probably think of other questions, otherwise. Pretty much any you could realistically imagine, have already been asked and answered, and more. If reading the thread is too much effort, then doing it right will be too much effort as well.

@Slash McCoy I have read it and we talked about this a few weeks back and I really appreciate your extensive feedback.

That being said, I do not know what I want, as I have no reference. Again, I'm brand new to SR shaving, never had one. I took advice of people who know more (everything?) about it when deciding what razor to get.

As stated above, everyone who has a Koraat claims this comes crazy sharp.

For me the question is not that much what makes the sharpest of the sharpest blades ever, but what do I need to do to maintain the edge I'm going to receive AS IS.

FWIU, I basically only need a leather strop and after 50 or so shaves MAYBE a few rounds on a 12K Naniwa.

So, I'm trying to figure out what's the absolute minimum equipment required to maintain the edge. I wouldn't dare try to change the bevel or any other part of the anatomy of the razor.

I might get a Gold Dollar one day to practice... or I might not, but with this $300 razor I trust the artist who produce it that it's the best the way it is and so I only want to maintain it the way it is.

That's what I want, hence - my original Q - what is that I truly need to maintain it AS IS?

 

[rbscebu]

@Slash McCoy I have read it and we talked about this a few weeks back and I really appreciate your extensive feedback.

That being said, I do not know what I want, as I have no reference. Again, I'm brand new to SR shaving, never had one. I took advice of people who know more (everything?) about it when deciding what razor to get.

As stated above, everyone who has a Koraat claims this comes crazy sharp.

For me the question is not that much what makes the sharpest of the sharpest blades ever, but what do I need to do to maintain the edge I'm going to receive AS IS.

FWIU, I basically only need a leather strop and after 50 or so shaves MAYBE a few rounds on a 12K Naniwa.

So, I'm trying to figure out what's the absolute minimum equipment required to maintain the edge. I wouldn't dare try to change the bevel or any other part of the anatomy of the razor.

I might get a Gold Dollar one day to practice... or I might not, but with this $300 razor I trust the artist who produce it that it's the best the way it is and so I only want to maintain it the way it is.

That's what I want, hence - my original Q - what is that I truly need to maintain it AS IS?

Absolute minimal equipment - I would suggest; hanging leather strop, 300mm x 75mm balsa strop and a 5g tube of 0.1um diamond paste.

Naniwa is not needed for now and may never be needed if, after each shave, you give it 50 laps on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.

I do however recommend that you make three balsa strops (trust me, you will use them) and get a 5g tube of each 0.5um, 0.25um and 0.1um diamond paste. The paste should last you 20 to 40 years. You will probably have to get the diamond paste from the US (Amazon). I had to pay about USD 15 for shipping US to PH.

 

[camoloc]

Absolute minimal equipment - I would suggest; hanging leather strop, 300mm x 75mm balsa strop and a 5g tube of 0.1um diamond paste.

Naniwa is not needed for now and may never be needed if, after each shave, you give it 50 laps on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.

I do however recommend that you make three balsa strops (trust me, you will use them) and get a 5g tube of each 0.5um, 0.25um and 0.1um diamond paste. The paste should last you 20 to 40 years. You will probably have to get the diamond paste from the US (Amazon). I had to pay about USD 15 for shipping US to PH.

I got mine from the big site......but the concentration percentage was awful high at 50%

last night after finishing up with the .1u I did a HHT and under light could actually see the hair pop off and fly upward going end over end.

14k film on glass or marble might not be a bad idea if things get really wonky.....economical. that then pasted strops.

thanks to slash and cebu for sharing this knowledge.

camo

 

[Slash McCoy]

@Slash McCoy I have read it and we talked about this a few weeks back and I really appreciate your extensive feedback.

That being said, I do not know what I want, as I have no reference. Again, I'm brand new to SR shaving, never had one. I took advice of people who know more (everything?) about it when deciding what razor to get.

As stated above, everyone who has a Koraat claims this comes crazy sharp.

For me the question is not that much what makes the sharpest of the sharpest blades ever, but what do I need to do to maintain the edge I'm going to receive AS IS.

FWIU, I basically only need a leather strop and after 50 or so shaves MAYBE a few rounds on a 12K Naniwa.

So, I'm trying to figure out what's the absolute minimum equipment required to maintain the edge. I wouldn't dare try to change the bevel or any other part of the anatomy of the razor.

I might get a Gold Dollar one day to practice... or I might not, but with this $300 razor I trust the artist who produce it that it's the best the way it is and so I only want to maintain it the way it is.

That's what I want, hence - my original Q - what is that I truly need to maintain it AS IS?

I have not owned or held a Koraat so I do not know the level of edge quality that it ships with. I have heard that they were very well honed. This is subjective, though. I am sure it will shave nicely. Is it equal to a Method edge? Anything is possible, I suppose. Is it sharp enough to benefit from the .1u diamond? Again, I guess it is possible. I doubt it, though, and very likely it was honed by Ulrik with tape. I don't know for sure. In which case, it would take weeks to "hone" out to the edge on the balsa, especially if you only have the .1u.

What you need to maintain it "AS IS", depends on how it "IS". And I have no first hand knowledge. To be certain, use The Method. But it is your razor. A well lapped 12k Naniwa will make it sharp enough for a decent shave once you master it, which should not take too many sessions. You will have to decide whether to use tape or not. I recommend not but your razor. If he used tape and you do not, then initially your razor's edge will not contact the hone until the bevel has essentially been reset. The honing contact area will initially be only the top edge of the bevel and will slowly expand until it goes all the way out to the edge of the razor. An 8k or even a 4k could speed this up but if you are not already skilled at honing razors I would suggest that you send it out the first time or two. Coarser stones remove more steel and increase the chance of significant but more or less correctable damage. (HINT: practice on an inexpensive vintage razor first! Make your mistakes on a $30 razor, not a $300 razor!)

I can only tell you that given a sharp razor that is honed without tape, the three stage balsa progression will bring it up to max sharpness and comfort. And from there, the .1u can maintain it indefinitely. How sharp yours will be I cannot say for sure but it is unlikely to be up to .1u balsa standards. Whether the razor was honed with tape or not, again I can only guess.

In the final analysis, it is your razor and you decide how to maintain it.

A balsa strop doesn't even qualify as a true DIY project. All you are doing is glueing some balsa to some acrylic, lapping it on a sheet of sandpaper, and applying diamond paste, all in a controlled manner. If you are not handy enough to do that then I foresee some difficulty in learning to hone. Nobody really makes them to sell, at least not up to Method standard, because there simply is no room to mark up a piece of acrylic and a piece of balsa that have simply been glued together and treated with diamond paste. It would cost me about $15 in materials and about $8 in inbound shipping cost. There is $23 approximately. Figure an hour of my time at $35 or so, and add cost of tools and materials used in the process, another $3 or so. Lights, another little bit. A tiny bit of profit, and realistically it would be a thing at $60 per. Who would pay that, when they can just buy the acrylic, balsa, and paste, and put it together themselves for 1/4 that? Plus, would you trust someone else to do it correctly? Surely not.

You seem to be asking for a blessing to do what you are going to do, anyway. You can't have it. I don't think a 12k Naniwa or a half baked pasted stropping setup will do the job up to Method standards. As for my permission, you certainly don't need that. I have presented the best possible way to maintain your razor and you are free to follow it or not, or choose any way of keeping or making it sharp that you can envision. TBH I would rather see you start off with a cheap but good vintage and make your learning mistakes on that, with your nice new Koraat held in reserve for the day you can truly say you are experienced and knowledgeable in the use and maintainence of a straight razor. Especially if you are in doubt as to how to proceed or have decided not to follow an established regimen.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I got mine from the big site......but the concentration percentage was awful high at 50%

last night after finishing up with the .1u I did a HHT and under light could actually see the hair pop off and fly upward going end over end.

14k film on glass or marble might not be a bad idea if things get really wonky.....economical. that then pasted strops.

thanks to slash and cebu for sharing this knowledge.

camo

50% seems to work just fine, as long as you wipe down the surface after applying it and rubbing it in well. Just scatter little touch dots around, spread with fingertips, and rub vigorously with the palm of your hand and some considerable pressure, about the weight of your whole arm. Wipe it well with an old tshirt and good to go. 10%, 50%, it's all good. I know I dissed the 50% in the past but I actually think now that it is just fine to use that. Maybe even better. The finer points of The Method, IMHO, are still evolving a little. The framework is definitely solidly established and proven.

And yeah I too would recommend 1u film over the Naniwa as long as the OP gets the right stuff. I think he is sold on the Nanny, though, and it will work fine if he laps it good.

 

[camoloc]

50% seems to work just fine, as long as you wipe down the surface after applying it and rubbing it in well. Just scatter little touch dots around, spread with fingertips, and rub vigorously with the palm of your hand and some considerable pressure, about the weight of your whole arm. Wipe it well with an old tshirt and good to go. 10%, 50%, it's all good. I know I dissed the 50% in the past but I actually think now that it is just fine to use that. Maybe even better. The finer points of The Method, IMHO, are still evolving a little. The framework is definitely solidly established and proven.

And yeah I too would recommend 1u film over the Naniwa as long as the OP gets the right stuff. I think he is sold on the Nanny, though, and it will work fine if he laps it good.

yes sir, thats exactly what I did......rubbed & spread all over with hand then old tshirt bits....

at 50% the .1u and .25u were pretty hard comming out of the syringe.

worked wonderfully!!!!

camo

 

[macintoshBR]

Good point from Slash: Koraat razors ARE honed with tape (Tesa Extreme cloth tape to be precise). You definitely should use tape with the Koraat and balsa strops. Leather strop does not require the use of tape.

Anyway, my recommendation remains the same: as a beginner, try not adding multiple variables into the mix. First, learn to shave and strop on leather. It's already a steep learning curve.

Then, the best, easiest and most consistent way to keep an edge sharp in the long term is using The Method and occasionally 1um Lapping Film

 

[Levue]

Ok I got a nice piece of balsa and i just cut the first block off.
Question- the balsa must be kept raw right? Or it can be threated with some water protection sort of coating?

 

[LJS]

That sure looks like pine to me Levue.

 

[Levue]

Mostly I have Kent, but they don't do .1u and I think my big syringe of .1u is from techdiamondtools and I think I have some from Ted Pella. I am in the .U.S. though.

I like the Kent because it is in 20g mini-tubs instead of syringes. And very economical, FWIW. Kent has a presence on Amazon.com. A tub is about $13.80 or thereabouts and that much will last a lifetime. If Amazon shipping is too high you might reach out directly to www.kentsupplies.com and see what you can work out on a package deal, all the grits you might ever use, in one shipment. They don't have .1u so you will still needd to source that. The .1u is very important as it mellows out the harshness of the .5u and .25u grits.

Actually Ted Pella Inc contacted me saying they have a distributor in Italy..they forwarded my request to them
nanovision.it

 

[Levue]

That sure looks like pine to me Levue.

Damn ! Don't know anything about wood !
They just told me go in the back and pick the one you want.
Useless for a strop to use with diamond paste?

Nevermind I will go back and get the balsa.

 

[Slash McCoy]

That sure looks like pine to me Levue.

Definitely White Pine, not Balsa.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Lumber yards and hardware stores will not have balsa. It is often used for making models such as model airplanes so look at your local hobby shop or look online. Get 1/4" thick. Thicker will swell more and be less dimensionally stable. Use this thickness and rely on your acrylic to stabilize it against flex and warp. That is the correct way to do it and the only way that is proven effective. A 36" x 3" piece, 1/4" thick should only cost about $5, or about $15 in EU or UK. That will make three balsa strops, a foot long each. The three acrylic pieces should cost about $10 or maybe $15 each in EU. Don't go thinner than that if you value your fingertips. You need the thickness to keep your fingertips below the path of the razor.

Yeah the pine is pretty much useless for this.

 

[rbscebu]

@Slash McCoy, I partly agree with you on the balsa strop materials. Balsa up to about 12mm (1/2") thick is still relatively stable. Under 5mm (3/16") thick is about the minimum for practicality. My preferred thickness is about 10mm and have had no problems with that, even living on a tropical island.

As for acrylic being the only base that has proven to work, I disagree. It has been proven to work but not the only base proven to work. Not everyone has ready access to 20mm (3/4") thick cast acrylic. An alternative is to use aluminium or a piece of glazed tile (cut to size) glued onto some light-weight timber to give it the required thickness.

Using a tile and timber has proven itself to me.

 

[rbscebu]

@KrstGor if your SR was honed with tape, all bets are off with regard to just using a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop. I have never tried to maintain an edge that was initially honed with tape.

If honed with tape, I suggest that you just follow the advice of the honer and forget balsa stropping for this blade, unless you want to balsa strop it with tape every time (a PITA).

 

[KrstGor]

@KrstGor if your SR was honed with tape, all bets are off with regard to just using a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop. I have never tried to maintain an edge that was initially honed with tape.

If honed with tape, I suggest that you just follow the advice of the honer and forget balsa stropping for this blade, unless you want to balsa strop it with tape every time (a PITA).

Understood, thanks!!

Again, my intention is to maintain it AS IS. That's all I want.

I will ask Ulrik for instructions on edge maintenance in more detail.

 

[macintoshBR]

This is what Ulrik told me 3 months ago:

"If you want to refresh the edge, I would recomend to use one layer of cloth tape to cover the spine and to do the touchup on any normal finisher you want. I use a 10K naniwa, but you can also use a 12K or a coticule, a Thuringian slate, an Arkansas stone aso.... "

 

[KrstGor]

This is what Ulrik told me 3 months ago:

"If you want to refresh the edge, I would recomend to use one layer of cloth tape to cover the spine and to do the touchup on any normal finisher you want. I use a 10K naniwa, but you can also use a 12K or a coticule, a Thuringian slate, an Arkansas stone aso.... "

And this is exactly what I (always) wanted... as I have the affinity for the NATURAL things and while I do not doubt this balsa thing and diamond paste can give great results, it just makes no appeal to me.

Somehow this idea of "the man, the blade and the stone" has smth. magical, almost transcendental to it ... like an ancient warrior.

 

[camoloc]

I can recently attest......

that a hard extra fine black ark will give a nice finished edge as will both a Cnat and 14k 3M film. the balsa brings a whole other level of sharpness.......but also smoothness to me.

im sold on the Method business.....I went into it to with an open mind trying to avoid skepticism about something I didnt know about. what ive found is sharp and smooth.

I dont want to come off as a "FanBoy"......just sharing my experience.

camo