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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
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Clampity Clamped.
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Grid Drawn and ready to flatten:
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The Flattening Process:
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What's your base plate? Looks like a piece of tile. :hmmm:
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
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Much Better, should spread easy now.
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Mark X's all the way down the board and then spread.
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What it looks like Spread Out/Finished
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Why I wear Gloves:
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I still manage to get crap on my fingers, this gets it right off.
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Mark what you have pasted and then have a beer to celebrate(miller light is all i have left after my party sat.)
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Get out of my kitchen Slarti!!!:D
I have the same table and chairs.
Nice looking start.
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.Quote:
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. :tu
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
I actually took some paper and wiped it down a couple times to try and get whatever excess i had on there off.Quote:
Originally Posted by joke1176
I think i used a bit too coarse a grit of sandpaper too, but it felt smooth.
Thanks! That is your CrO powder on that strop :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris L
The zip loc baggies did look familiar.;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
Chris L
Looks good. I think I may want to try that someday...I have a few of those little green baggies lying around too!
Yeah.. so I just used this. I think this is about 4" wide :) You could probably try to find a smaller width of balsa
That's really wide! I would turn it around every once in a while so both halves (length-wise) get even wear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
The plus side is that it is hard not to get the entire blade. Touched up the razor this morning with it and got a great shave.Quote:
Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave
Hmmm what grit of sand paper would folks suggest for flattening the balsa? or I suppose more importantly how would you suggest ensuring no residual grit remains post lapping? (Don't want my 16,000grit refined edge ramming into an 80 grit boulder)
Also my honing station is a flat marble desk that I intended to just place the balsa upon w/o mounting it to a tile does anyone with more experience see this presenting a major problem?
Looks good, Slartibartfast. I just made one myself (thread is Made A Paddle Strop With ChrisL's ChromeOX, no pics though) and it turned out very well.
I considered "lapping" the balsa too, but believe it or not it is as flat as it will ever be. Could be the plate of 15 lbs flat steel that I used to "clamp down" the balsa to my backer while the glue dried. I was sure to bevel the edges before I stropped though.
Only took me a few minutes to lap it, so i figured i would take the time :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan82
That's the beauty of balsa wood and sandpaper - it's done in seconds!
were did you get cromium oxide powder?
SRD sells Chromium Oxide paste..............
