Thread: Strop Vs. Balsa Wood Bench Hone

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.

Sarend...

It works to put the balsa sheet on the edge of a counter and duct tape the ends to hold it in place. I did that a few times, and then just held with my left hand.

Eventually, I suspect I will adhere the balsa wood more permanently. Now, just learning.

I found the reference to use of pine wood instead of balsa wood. (Did I read that above, or just somewhere this morning.) I guess about any softer wood will work?

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

I found the reference to use of pine wood instead of balsa wood. I guess about any softer wood will work?

One thing to consider when using pine is that depending on the wood, it might sweat out beads of resin/rosin, which might create bumps or screw up the draw. I don't know if that has ever happened, but you might watch out for that.

Just IMHO, the balsa .... "Aircraft balsa" I picked up at the hobby store is very nicely flat and finished. My guess is it is softer than pine. IME pine bought at Home Depot or wherever is subject to warping and to splitting. OTOH, experimentation is what it is about.