Thread: Strop Vs. Balsa Wood Bench Hone

Well, thank you, sir. I am going to give it a try. I may not be handy, but I believe I can do this one.

Are you using Chromium Oxide paste of Diamond paste?

I am using diamond paste on the balsa. I have a flatbed hone with a piece of felt and chrom ox also a Livi loom strop with one side chrome ox. The chrome ox is quite good but I think the diamond is a bit more aggressive. That is an impression and not necessarily a fact.

I bought some balsa wood strips that were 3 inches by 3 foot several weeks ago. (Cut in half to get #2 3 inch by 1.5 foot pieces.) I didn't know whether they would become part of my "arsenal", so didn't glue them or anything else other than just use them as is. So far, so good. I like the balsa action with pastes. However, with some use I can see that the balsa wood itself will degrade. At first glance, I am inclined to skip the affixing to a paddle or plexiglass and continue to use the strip of balsa alone. If the balsa degrades, which I think it will, I will probably just replace the wood every month or two. (About $3 for the 3 inch by 3 foot section.)

For those who have used balsa for longer than a few weeks, doesn't the balsa need replacing every few months? And, if you paste it to something, doesn't this make replacing it harder?

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

For those who have used balsa for longer than a few weeks, doesn't the balsa need replacing every few months? And, if you paste it to something, doesn't this make replacing it harder?

Larry, a friend of mine who hones a lot of razors and finishes on balsa with diamond paste told me that over time it will load up. He hits it with sand paper and glues another piece on top of the existing one. I can either glue to the flip side of my plexi or do as my friend does. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and I think it is a long ways off for me.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

He hits it with sand paper and glues another piece on top of the existing one.

The other option is simply to use a thicker piece of balsa. I've made quite a few with 1/4" or 3/8" balsa, which really isn't much more expensive, and there's enough material to it that you can fairly easily sand it down and repaste without replacing the balsa.

Depending on the prices for balsa at your local hobby shop, it's probably cheaper, since you can sand past the surface several times over.

Also, Lowes carries small pieces of kiln dried, furniture grade oak that while expensive, are probably much cheaper than 1/2" plexi unless you've got stock laying around.

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

The other option is simply to use a thicker piece of balsa. I've made quite a few with 1/4" or 3/8" balsa, which really isn't much more expensive, and there's enough material to it that you can fairly easily sand it down and repaste without replacing the balsa.

Depending on the prices for balsa at your local hobby shop, it's probably cheaper, since you can sand past the surface several times over.

Also, Lowes carries small pieces of kiln dried, furniture grade oak that while expensive, are probably much cheaper than 1/2" plexi unless you've got stock laying around.

My friend tried that. He found that it was better in his opinion to just replace the balsa with a new piece. Performance issues he told me. I think the issue was getting past the residue and remaining relatively flat. The stuff is so cheap and easy to make a hone that for me it isn't worth the labor to try and clean a used one up. YMMV.

The plastics place where I got the plexi is a fairly large shop but not a factory sized operation so they don't mind catering to individuals and cut my pieces out of scrap. Charged me a buck apiece. I like plexi because I have less worry about warping than with wood.

It seems that SR shavers are a pretty independent group; we tend to do things for ourselves.

I purchased my bolsa wood on the way home yesterday. I though about just using the bolsa wood by itself, and then I remembered my non-dextrous left hand. I am going to adhere it to something for the simple reason I want a base on which to hold.

Thank you for all your posts and examples. I feel better about trying the bolsa wood route.