Thread: Balsa wood bench hone questions...

I have glued a 1/4 inch piece of balsa to a flat surface (a piece of 1" plywood).

I am wondering if I need to lap (sand) the hone surface (the balsa) before I apply the Chromium Oxide.

And when I do apply the Chromium Oxide what is the best way to apply it to a peice of balsa.

I hesitate to mix it with water or oil because I think if I get the balsa wet the grain expansion will ruin the flat lapped (??) surface.

Opinions and ideas please.

Thanks

I use a 10" long piece of 1"x4" hardwood with balsa glued to it and I lap it the same as I do any other hone, by using a piece of glass and some 320 wet/dry sand paper. Sand only dry! Mark the balsa with pencil lightly across the length of the board and then sand until the pencil is gone.
I apply the chromium oxide by lightly rubbing it on all areas of the balsa and then blend the lumps with my finger or a rag so the board is covered evenly. It helps if you put the board of balsa and chromium in the sun for a few minutes, but it is not necessary. A medium coat is best.
Then, just as you would strop, hit twenty times, plus or minus, and that's it. I use a light to medium pressure when stropping. I personally find that stropping with leather after the balsa is not necessary. This method gives me the best results that I have gotten yet, in sharpness.

Thanks for your input.

I've just used the balsa as is. That stuff is so soft, I'd be amazed if you could keep the sandpaper grit from getting imbedded in it (which would be terrible for a razors edge).

If you have a way of planing it smooth, that would be best, but using it just as is has worked fine for me.

i am in the midst of making one using 1/4 inch by 3 1/2 poplar just to see how it works. the wood cost me like $5 total (includes piece to make the body out of) so why not. the poplar was already planed which was nice. i'm thinking of making 2 so i can progress through the pastes, have one with no paste and finish on the leather stop. i can't afford a high grit hone so i figure i will keep myself busy with stuff like this.

from what i can tell sanding may be a bad idea, as someone already said because of the grind being embedded in the wood. planing is best.

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

I've just used the balsa as is. That stuff is so soft, I'd be amazed if you could keep the sandpaper grit from getting imbedded in it (which would be terrible for a razors edge).

If you have a way of planing it smooth, that would be best, but using it just as is has worked fine for me.

That's two of us, Russel. I've made to balsa strops and checked both for flatness. Unlike a hone which I want to be dead flat, the softness of the balsa I've found is such that when stropping, it hits the edges of my razors completely without sanding the balsa surface. In other words, mine were flat enough. I mixed chrome ox powder with some Norton honing oil and painted a big "X" on one of them. That's all it needed and oil didn't raise any grain.

Chris L