Thread: paddle strop

I believe the reason balsa is used is not because it is cheap but because it has an incredible ability to hold the substance you are using in its poures. When I load one of my balsa strops with Crox, I rub the crox into the balsa and then wipe as much off the surface as I can.

The crox is then captured in the poures and the softness of the balsa allows the blade to be honed with each stroke. If you have too much crox on the surface, when using leather, it seems to not work well until most of it is gone. Then it works great for awhile until it is removed from the leather. Sort of like a variable grit stone.

One thing I have found out using the balsa is that fewer and lighter strokes are needed to accomplish what you want, and the surface lasts much longer than my hard leather.

This is just my own observation, however, and someone else may have a different experience.

Enjoy!

Ray