Thread: First Paddle or Bench Strop

Thanks to X , Steve, and Ilija. Appreciate it fellas.

Justin

Put me down in the "those who use balsa like it a lot" category. I have two abrasive setups: a paddle strop with leather and two pieces of pasted balsa.

I haven't had nearly as much success with the pasted leather as I have with the balsa. I think it's because the diamond grit embeds deeper into the balsa than the leather, making the balsa cut slower. I tend to overhone edges when I'm using the leather, but I haven't had that problem with the balsa. The balsa edges also feel smoother to me, again possibly because of the slower cutting process.

The jury's still out, though, since I have a few more combinations that I'll be trying out soon...

Josh

I would go for the two-sided bench hone - not much more, but gives you the ability to use two pastes.

I only have a Miller pasted paddle with 3, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 micron diamond paste, with the 0.25 on balsa.

I've had no problems with any chipping and I find the 0.25 on the balsa really gets my razors very sharp - I think its a combination of the high grit and the balsa that lets me go to that fine a grit without the edge being too sharp for my skin. The balsa cuts a little slower and also provides a very flat surfact - both of which seem to make a difference.

I'm going to try some CO2 at some point and will likely try it on both leather and balsa.

The CO2 should work just fine on stainless razors - but I'm sure others with actual experience with this combo will chime in with their views.

Also, some people claim that CO2 puts a smoother edge on a razor than diamond pastes - again, I can't comment either way.

Uhmmmm Chris, I don't think carbon-dioxide (CO2) would make an effective abrasive. I'm assuming you meant what we thought was CrO2, but turned out to be Cr2O3. FWIW I agree with you that just because inox tends to be a bit harder, that small difference in hardness won't render such an abrasive ineffective.

Originally Posted by suzuki

I'm going to try some CO2 at some point ...

"I've been breathing and breathing on my razor for weeks and it's just not getting any sharper"!

X

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Uhmmmm Chris, I don't think carbon-dioxide (CO2) would make an effective abrasive. I'm assuming you meant what we thought was CrO2, but turned out to be Cr2O3. FWIW I agree with you that just because inox tends to be a bit harder, that small difference in hardness won't render such an abrasive ineffective.

My bad, of course I meant Cr2O3.

However, liquid CO2 might be effective if you wanted to try your hand at ice-hardening