Thread: The Slartibartfast Pasted Balsa Strop

So... I finally got around to building my own pasted strop. Was easy and cheap. Here is how i did it and the end result.


The Supplies:
I cut a piece of 12x12 tile i had lying around and cut a section from a piece of balsa form hobby lobby


Clampity Clamped.



Grid Drawn and ready to flatten:


The Flattening Process:

What's your base plate? Looks like a piece of tile.

Also, be sure and paste LIGHTLY. Everybody says this, and I can testify to the negative effects of an overpasted strop.

That bein' said, it is balsa, and you can always sand it off.

Lets mix some CrO powder with a little bit of mineral oil



Much Better, should spread easy now.


Mark X's all the way down the board and then spread.


What it looks like Spread Out/Finished


Why I wear Gloves:


I still manage to get crap on my fingers, this gets it right off.


Mark what you have pasted and then have a beer to celebrate(miller light is all i have left after my party sat.)

Get out of my kitchen Slarti!!!

I have the same table and chairs.

Nice looking start.

Originally Posted by joke1176

What's your base plate? Looks like a piece of tile.

Also, be sure and paste LIGHTLY. Everybody says this, and I can testify to the negative effects of an overpasted strop.

That bein' said, it is balsa, and you can always sand it off.

Just a piece of Tile I guess i will find out if i overpasted.. comment that i'm an idiot if it looks like i did so no one else makes hte same mistake.

I would call it a little heavy, but test it out and see. If it dulls or screws up your edge, it's too heavy.

If not, disregard my ravings and keep drinking.

You're going to love what that does to your edges. Be sure to wipe the spine of your razors well for about a month or two after stropping on the oil pasted chrome ox. It take awhile for it to dry and sink in to the balsa. If you have a very nice strop like a Tony Miller that you don't want to taint, I wouldn't go from pasted balsa to really nice looking strop since even after wiping the spine (and if done veeery carefully the bevels) you'll still have a residual amount of the green stuff that will come off the blade.

Report back on this post about how your edges are!

I'd do only 10 passes on that strop, then 30+ on leather and test shave. Resist the temptation to do too many passes on the chrome ox, especially when it's fresh.

Just some extra tips.

Chris L

Originally Posted by joke1176

I would call it a little heavy, but test it out and see. If it dulls or screws up your edge, it's too heavy.

If not, disregard my ravings and keep drinking.

I actually took some paper and wiped it down a couple times to try and get whatever excess i had on there off.

I think i used a bit too coarse a grit of sandpaper too, but it felt smooth.

Originally Posted by Chris L

You're going to love what that does to your edges. Be sure to wipe the spine of your razors well for about a month or two after stropping on the oil pasted chrome ox. It take awhile for it to dry and sink in to the balsa. If you have a very nice strop like a Tony Miller that you don't want to taint, I wouldn't go from pasted balsa to really nice looking strop since even after wiping the spine (and if done veeery carefully the bevels) you'll still have a residual amount of the green stuff that will come off the blade.

Report back on this post about how your edges are!

I'd do only 10 passes on that strop, then 30+ on leather and test shave. Resist the temptation to do too many passes on the chrome ox, especially when it's fresh.

Just some extra tips.

Chris L

Thanks! That is your CrO powder on that strop

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Thanks! That is your CrO powder on that strop

The zip loc baggies did look familiar.

Chris L